In the midst of a grunge revival we’re seeing the cultural icons of 30-somethings used as selling tools. But surely this is a generation who are uncomfortable about being marketed to?   This is the generation who lapped up Naomi Klein’s ‘No Logo’, saw themselves reflected in ‘Reality Bites’ and ‘Fight Club,’ got worked up about [...]

It was interesting being in Barcelona over the Christmas break.  The great thing about being in the city over the holidays is all the shop’s shutters are down, exposing a fascinating cultural negotiation. Since the sensational success of the 1992 Olympics, Barcelona has been transformed into a hotspot of tourism and migration – in some [...]

In 2010 Neil Young released his 33rd (!) studio album.  Neil Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.  Our mom danced to the recent hit ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ at her wedding reception.  These facts lead us to one irrefutable conclusion; Neil Young is old.  And like [...]

Both love and wealth are reified in the image of the diamond. These two adverts found in a recent issue of Vogue appeared in time for Valentine’s Day and represent wildly different visions of what love is. One is passive, elegant, head over heals romantic and hopelessly conservative. The other is competitive, aggressive and ice [...]

We feel it is almost our duty to talk about M.I.A. beyond “the bird” that metaphorically poo-ed on Madonna’s “big day back” at Super Bowl. Beyond her meteoric rise as a hip-hop artist, M.I.A. (Maya Arulpragasam) is a committed activist.  The daughter of Tamil freedom fighter faced intense prejudice growing-up as a teenager in Britain [...]

To celebrate the relaunch of www.vogue.fr Editor in Chief Emmanuelle Alt and French TV personality Mademoiselle Agnes – along with a posse of beautiful super models – performed a version of Wham!’s “Wake Me up Before You Go-Go,” a personal favourite of Ms Alt.   Paris Fashion Week kicks off at the end of this month [...]

Grayson Perry’s ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman‘ is dominated by the figure of Alan Measles, the artist’s 50-year-old teddy bear. The ragged, dog-eared toy has become the “God of Perry’s imaginary world,” playing the part of hero and ultimate male role model. Scattered throughout the exhibition are images of Alan Measles – Alan as fertility [...]

Ambit Magazine Ambit #207 was launched on January 26th with readings from contributors, including Lotte Kramer’s beautiful and moving poetry. Founded in 1959 by Martin Bax who still edits the iconic British literary institution. It has counted J.G Ballard, Carol Ann Duffy and Geoff Nicholson as contributors and editors, and continues to promote new work. [...]

John Paul Gaultier’s recent collection is based on the singular styling of the late Amy Winehouse.  “Based” is perhaps too generous.  Gaultier practically lifts the clothes off Winehouse’s back and puts them on his bee-hived, darkly eye-linered, fag-smoking models.  Winehouse’s father has expressed the family’s general disgust and shock at the collection, claiming that it [...]

Now, hold back your rage a minute, comrades in marketing, because we’re going to say two things in the next sentence that might upset you. We don’t like portmanteaus* and we’re bored of infographics.   The whole infographics thing was undoubtedly born from fine intentions. But we’re tired of them and think there are some [...]