issue 21 // volume 42

Indie fashion feature: Redbubble

 

life & style // no. 17

> Giving back to the little guy.

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

 

| ave you ever bought
something you absolutely

adored, only to find that it
went on sale so now everyone
and their mom has the exact
same garment you do? Though
popular fashion is fun, it stops
being so when you find you
look like everyone else. Fashion
is meant to bea very personal
thing; it’s supposed to reflect
your own sense of the world.
That can be a tall order to place
on the shoulders of something
that is dictated so much by
outside forces—availability,
popular trends, price-point, etc.

This is why independent
fashion is so important. Often
independent fashion isn’t
under the same restrictions
as brand-name fashion. The
clothes themselves simply reflect
the designer’s aesthetics, not
necessarily what’s trending.

But what do you get when
you take the entire concept

And now for something completely different...

> A look at unconventional fashion statements at the Grammy Awards.

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

 

wards season is one of my

favourite times of year. Not
because I care about the awards
themselves, but because I want
to see the celebrities in their
red carpet fashion, especially
those who screwed up big time
and came off looking like a
train wreck. Unfortunately,
the Grammy Awards, which
aired on February 15, left me
very little to complain about.

As popular music expands its
horizons, the aesthetic scene that
surrounds the music industry
grows exponentially. Gone are
the days of the photogenic pop
sensations, perfectly coifed
and ready to thank God as they
clutch their tiny gold trophy
in perfectly manicured hands.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re
still around—it’s just now they
have some company. Women
and men of all different body
shapes and style-inspirations
have joined in on the fun, adding
to this massive melting pot of
fashion expression. All in all,
it creates this really amazing,
creative dynamic—showing
people world-wide that you don’t
have to be “perfect” to look it.

Starting off, | want to point
out Elle King, who was one of
my favourite standouts of the

of independent fashion, and
make it even more under
the thumb of the artists
and creators of the world?
Simple. You get Redbubble.
Redbubble isn’t the
brainchild of any one
designer; instead, it’s an online
marketplace that offers a variety
of products that are print-on-
demand. This means that artists
will upload digital versions of
their work, and the manufacturer
will produce products with that
image on it—anything from
sweatshirts to fleece blankets.
These various products can all
be ordered from the website
redbubble.com, and a portion
of the profits will go to the
artist whose image you chose.
This allows for a huge variety
of things to shop through. You
can go by a particular artist you
like, a fandom, a character, an art
genre, a celebrity—the options
are endless. And because it’s
print-on-demand, it means that
they will never be out of your size.
I have purchased and seen

night. As a curvy woman, she
dressed for her shape by choosing
a silhouette that accentuated her
hour-glass figure and cinched
her in at the waist without
making her look like a sausage.
What I like most about her dress
was the fact it was very close to
being over the top. We're talking
feathers, beads, lace... it’s enough
to make your head spin. The
reason why it didn’t is because
she maintained a cohesive colour
story. Yes, there is a lot going
on, but because the entire dress
is black with only little hints of
silver, the look doesn’t overwhelm
her. She’s also a fairly tall woman,
so she can carry a bigger look
without being enveloped by it.
Next, we're going to go to
the complete opposite of the
spectrum and take a look at
Zendaya. Unlike King, Zendaya
is extremely petite, and I find
that she often wears gowns or
separates with prints or textures
that overwhelm her tiny frame.
This showing, however, I was
quite impressed by. She replaced
her usual too-frilly look with
a slick, androgynous suit that
made her look extremely tall.
The simplicity of the suit was off
set with a high-fashion mullet,
which many have criticized her
for. I, on the other hand, thought
the entire look was fantastic.
It reminded me of an updated
version of David Bowie’s look

a lot of things from this website,
and I can safely tell you that the
quality never ceases to amaze
me. Their t-shirts are amazingly
soft, their tote-bags are both
enormous and strong, and their
mugs are totally dishwasher safe.
I love this site, and have long
since bookmarked it for when I
need a quick gift idea for a friend.
The only thing that kind
of sucks is that because of the
nature of how the products are
made (basically it’s made to
order), the shipping time does
take a little longer. However,
because of the quality standards
I’m more than happy to wait—
but you might want to keep
this in mind if you’re ordering
something for someone else.
Pricewise everything
varies depending on the
artist, so you could be looking
at a $20-50 shirt. The trick
is to not allow yourself to
get suckered into buying
something at an inflated cost.

in the early ‘80s, which was
probably its intent. After all, the
man was an icon—Gaga can't be
the only one paying homage.
Next up, we're going to look
at avery unlikely source for
fashion advice—Swedish heavy
metal band Ghost. The band
won Best Metal Performance
for their song “Cirice,” and they
showed up to the event looking
slick as heck. Now I’ma big fan
of heavy metal, but Ill be the
first to admit that the artists that
come out of this genre don’t often
have the biggest appreciation
for good tailoring. Proving
that good style isn’t limited to
Pharrell Williams, lead singer
Papa Emeritus II] and four of his
masked bandmates appeared in
matching black military jackets
that were perfectly tailored for
each one of them. I’m serious,
not a puckered seam in sight!
Emeritus was a little more
flamboyant, sporting his jacket
open in the front and made out
of a black satin, as opposed to his
bandmates, who appeared to be
wearing a more traditional fabric
as well as perfectly coordinated
gunmetal masks. The overall
look was cohesive and actually
pretty elegant. Nothing looks
better on a man than a perfectly
cut jacket—even if the rest of his
appearance is slightly terrifying.

 

 

 

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Image via redbubble.net

Ghost via Hol lywoodreporter.com

Elle King via indianexpress.com