The Fashion Cycle

Environmental issues have been spreading like wildfire and now, they have crackled their way into the fashion industry. For those who still think that fashion spells needle-like stilettos, the runway and glossy hair, they are highly mistaken. In December 2006, Levi’s launched eco-jeans. Spools of thread magically weaving the organic cotton, which require less chemicals and pesticides to grow, threading in the recycled buttons, rivets and zippers and dyeing them in soy-based ink thus creating jeans which make a girl become putty and aiding the environment simultaneously. Stella McCartney is not only a staunch vegetarian but also a firm environmentalist. A crusader for animal-rights, she doesn’t use any fur, leather or reptile skin which other fashion houses find indispensable. She is an avid supporter of PETA. Efforts like hers are preventing precious species from dying out. Some of the world’s biggest surf labels like Billabong, Roxy and Nixon are joining forces to create Project Blue. The aim of this project is to preserve the Earth’s crystal, clear mirrors: the oceans. To achieve this, they are checking the swirling concoction of waste emanating from industries, hence painting the arid browns on the globe to placid blues and greens. London Fashion Week showcased a host of labels that manufactured garments in an eco-friendly manner. They used organic/natural production methods and raw materials. These small measures are helping to bandage the wounded Earth. The brainchild of U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver is an initiative that helps the AIDS victims in Africa by teaming up with global giants like Converse, Apple and MTV. Converse recently launched a limited edition range of Chuck Taylor All Star hi-tops in electric red, black and white. And who can forget the Livestrong bands which stormed the world for years? The youth are mirrors of celebrities and the fashion industry. So why don’t we reflect the eco-friendly image and go green? In this process, we don’t only heal the smouldering Earth but also look drop-dead gorgeous while doing it.
Tara Sen

Misfortune
“I grew up as my mother’s idea and my father’s idée fixe.” – Rose Loveall

A musician called John Wesley Harding (now an author, Wesley Stace) once sang a retro English ballad called “Miss Fortune” about a boy who was adopted by the “richest man in the world” but lived most of his life thinking he was a girl. Subsequently, he often claimed that the piece had an air of “unfinished business” about it. Out of this dissatisfaction was born a brilliant novel.
Our story opens with the highly fragile and eccentric Lord Geoffroy Loveall, in desperate need of an heir, finding a baby in some sort of a garbage dump. Delighted, he takes the baby home and presents it to his mother as the heir to Love Hall.
Years prior to this incident, Lord lost his little sister, his best friend and confidante, and constantly blamed himself for her death. Consequently, he decides to deny to himself and to those close to him that the baby is a boy. He decides to call him Rose. He decides to buy him dresses. He decides that his heir will be a girl and that that girl will replace his long-mourned sister.
Lord Loveall literally “skirts” the issue and those around him humour him. His mother soon passes away. He marries the librarian of Love Hall, who supports the Lord’s illusions because she believes that men and women were once united and had been split into different selves. She sees this baby boy as a test case for her idea that “male” and “female” are mere social roles.
Little Rose grows up blissfully unaware of her own gender, enjoying her close friendship with two servant children, Stephen and Sarah, hitting boundaries at every cricket game and learning to shave, wearing dresses and spending entire nights talking to Sarah in her room.
All this until Rose’s world comes crashing down around her when Lord Geoffroy Loveall’s distant family finds out the truth and she is banished from Love Hall as an impostor.
Although the novel seems to be set in the 19th century, it is almost timeless, a look in the past from the year 2005 with all the ideals and mentality of the 21st century, a flashback in a certain sense – and yet not. It is filled constant references to Greek mythology and unforgettable English ballads, and the story is often told from the point of view of different characters without ever veering to the unclear or the confusing.
Rodney Welch of the Washington Post goes so far as to call this tale “some inspired collaboration between Charles Dickens and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar” and this comparison is completely justified. The story tells of decadence, orphans, murder, amnesia, greed, ballads, books and wild farce in quick succession and makes the reader suspend disbelief with great enthusiasm.
For fear of giving too much away, I’ll end by saying that Misfortune has been the most satisfying read I’ve had in a long time (although I could have had it earlier considering I bought it in 2006. J)
(recommended for ages 15+) Sara Chatterjee

That’s What She Said…

Barbara Walters once said, “Show me someone who never gossips, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t interested in people.”
Did Star Jones really lose all that weight naturally? Did Aishwarya marry Abhishek for money? Are Saurav Ganguly and Dhoni actually friends? Did Obama and Hillary Clinton actually get into a fight? These are common dinner-time queries. One hears them everywhere one goes, discussed by everyone from so-called uninterested businessmen, to my hairdresser.
To that effect, gossip has always been about people, about artists, actresses, and even politicians. In short, gossip has consistently been a part of our social lives; regardless if we choose to engage in it or not. Besides, if you tell me you haven’t gossiped about something or the other; well, you’d just be lying.
Gossip has been around for quite a long time. Even though some religions might oppose it; (read: Islam, Judaism and Christianity, amongst others) gossip has evolved into a separate lifestyle the world over. And despite the fact that all Islamic, Jewish and Christian texts condemn gossip and consider it a sin; it hasn’t stopped orthodox members of these religions from swapping stories: effectively gossiping.
The gossip magazine rose in popularity in the 1950’s as mainstream populations clamored for insight into the sordid lives of the rich and famous. Today, gossip tabloids are found on virtually every newsstand worldwide. Why?
As Barbara Walters so eloquently put it, we are interested in the lives of others. It is human nature to be curious.
So from the Victorian parlors of England to the infamous Upper East Side Manhattan luncheons, gossip has been and will continue to be a force in our lives.
Vani Shriya & Suvira Chadha