Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto was born in Tokyo in 1943. He graduated for Keio University with a Law Degree in 1966 but went on to learn tailoring under  who is considered to be a master tailor and is known for his avant-garde tailoring feature Japanese design architects. His more prestigious awards for his contributions to fashion include Commandeur of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, the Ordre national du Mérite, the Royal Designer for Industry and the Master of Design award by Fashion Group International.

"'I think that my men's clothes look as good on women as my women's clothing […] When I started designing, I wanted to make men's clothes for women." More recently he has expounded: “When I started making clothes for my line Y’s in 1977, all I wanted was for women to wear men’s clothes. I jumped on the idea of designing coats for women. It meant something to me – the idea of a coat guarding and hiding a woman’s body. I wanted to protect the woman’s body from something – maybe from men’s eyes or a cold wind.”

His work focusses on genderless forms, which enable both men and women to wear his clothing. I love that his work is almost always monochromatic. The tailoring is beautiful and the layering and drapery is so attractive. He is the most influential designer in my life. His work has influenced my illustration and my dress sense at times. I will never not be fond of him, he's adorable and massively skilled.

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohji_Yamamoto}

Privilege

I work in a fast food restaurant and everyday food is being thrown at that could otherwise be given to those in need. I never ever understood until I brought it up to my manager and he went on to explain that we aren't allowed to give  perfectly good food to homeless people because they could sue the company. Fair enough, but there are services which allow the food to safely be transported to homeless shelters, school clubs etc. and I am going to be bringing it up again because I want change.

I think it should be a legal requirement that restaurants have the facilities to enable them to drop off food to various places that would benefit from the donations. I read an article on the independent which claims that 'Britain's restaurants throw away more than 600,000 tonnes of food a year' and I think it's so disgusting that there are people dying for food and food is jut being tossed away. 

The problem is privilege. People who are doing alright in life forget about those that aren't and tend to not give a shit. I've done it myself, I've wasted food before and each time my mum would get so mad at me for the same reason I am mad now. It's all well me talking about my privilege, many people talk about it but it's not about talking, it's about doing. I still pass homeless people and a voice in my head screams at me "Skye help out, ask thm it they want something" and I get so shy tht I end up letting the opportunity pass. It pisses me off. And I get so angry that people don't care to do things for others. They wait until they're put in a vulnerable position before they *maybe* decide to help others. We'll all be dead one day and the least we can do is respect and help eachother. 

Susie Mesure, (2010), UK Restaurants Waste 600,000 Tonnes of Food a Year

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-restaurants-waste-600000-tons-of-food-a-year-2108978.html

Double standards

It's always dumbfounded me how men are allowed to sleep with however many women and be praised and congratulated on it, whereas girls do the same and are made to feel less of a person. 

I did some reading which basically spoke about how girls are attracted to guys who are liked by other girls (preselection). Women feel they can change their guy who's had history into heing a man who's only exclusive to her. Guys are ready to accept their guy friends as being players because they seem to have game and aspire to be in tht position, whereas a girl bein loose is seen as vulnerable and being taken for granted. The madonna-white complex days that guys want girls to be madonnas to other guys and whores just for them, probably because it would hurt their ego to see their girl attract other guys. 

Women should have the sexual freedom that men have and nobody should be shamed for enjoying something natural. Same goes for people in monogamous relationships, as long as each participant has given consent and there's mutual respect, I say let people do what they want. 

Athlone McGinnis, (2013), Why There Will Always Be A Sexual Double Standard

http://www.returnofkings.com/17646/why-there-will-always-be-a-sexual-double-standard

Get out of my Country

A friend of mine who is half Australian and now lives there came down for the summer and I remember he made a comment about Australia Day and made jokes about the Aboriginies wanting to celebrate, as if they weren't allowed to. I was mad at myself for not pointing out that it was their land first, and not anybody else's, so they had the most right to celebrate their land but I just couldn't believe the cheek of it. 

It made me think of America and how back in the day there was segregation and you still have people talking about "go back to Africa/Asia" or whatever foreign country they wanna spew hatred towards. It's like, the country was taken by your ancestors. People were raped, murdered and wiped out. The original descendants are the only ones who have that kind of right to say "leave". 

We have the similar problem here in the UK. There's the BNP who want to send foreigners back to where they came from and I've heard an old man ramble on about immigrants and how they should get out, but, it were the British who were taking people from foreign lands and making them slaves. What about when these same people want to travel? You want Africans out of your country but you'll happily go on a safari. You'll say that you want Indians out, but you'll snap away at the Taj Mahal. Furthermore, this land was built on immigrants and still is. 

People are just so ignorant and there rally is no other word for it. They claim patriarchy and are so protective of their kind but have no idea about the history of their land. 

When land is stolen it is not rightfully yours, so I don't believe you have a right to tell anyone else to leave. Especially those brought over by your ancestors. 

predominantly, they have a right to celebrate. 

Education is so important. I find that some of the most ignorant people are the same ones who have access to education. I do think that history needs to be taught on matters like colonisation, to reveal the reality of why the world is the way it is and how it got there. 

What is it with some guys?

Every day when I get ready, I consciously dress for myself. I don't dress for Peter, I don't dress for Jane, I dress for myself. I'm in a relationship now, but even when I was single, I never thought "I'll have my legs on show to impress the men I pass" or "I'll wear this vest top to the club because guys will find me sexy". 

Now I know some women think that way, but my point is, why do some men feel as though women dress for them and exist only to please them? And furthermore, why does the way a woman dress give you any kind of right to touch or catcall her? It's unacceptable and I don't feel as though the way a woman dresses makes them a target. I've been out in a hoodie and unflattering jeans and have still be harassed. It's as if, everything a woman does must revolve around a man. 

There are numerous articles online giving tips in how to be more sexy for men and how to flirt with them. Wikihow has some tips for looking "sexy" for a guy. These instructions incline being "clean" and wear "matching, clean clothes that fit" amongst other basic things. What I don't get it, if you don't do these things already for yourself, why are you doing it for a man?

I've heard and seen women and men talk about how "men hate tattoos" and "always act like a lady". For what reason? If a guy doesn't like me for me, he won't get far with me. I think woman should start doing what they want. Men want "natural women", no makeup, no implants, natural hair, yet, they idolise celebrities like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Kim Kardashian who all have "unnatural" elements to their person.

http://m.wikihow.com/Look-Sexy-for-a-Guy

Those Who Have Everything

In life we are told, that if we live a glamorous lifestyle and have a lot of money, we will be happy. So it's easy to associate mental illnesses such as depression, with people who are struggling or going through hardship. What about those who have everything though? How could they possibly go through any kind of hardship if they have money, and live a lifestyle that many crave but will never see?, it doesn't make sense. These were the thoughts that were floating around my mind when I was 15 years old and discovered that one of my favourite models, Daul Kim, had hung herself.

http://blogue.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Picture-195-583x423.png

Daul Kim was a South Korean fashion model, painter and blogger who had walked down catwalks at Paris Fashion Week, graced covers of  magazines such as Vogue and walked for notable designers including Vivienne Westwood, Chanel and Alexander McQueen. She was named 'Model of the Year' by Anan magazine in 2008 and even sparked controversy in Korea for posing nude in i-D magazine. As her career developed, she moved to Paris.

The kind of lifestyle she lead, from an outsider's perspective, seems perfect. An elite lifestyle, an image of perfection who could afford anything - that's a happy life, right? It's not until you take a closer look at her blog posts and her paintings, that you see the cracks. She talks about loneliness and depression, and said "i relate to nothing... i just know/the more i gain/the more lonely it is". Her last post in November was titled 'say hi to forever'. It was a tendency to title her posts with 'say hi to' and the 'forever' foreshadowed what her built up feelings would result in. She was only 20, and being 19 going on 20 myself it's just strange to put myself in that situation. However, being older and having gone through a low phase myself, I have more of an understanding of depression. It knows no bounds and it doesn't matter what kind of lifestyle you have, nobody is invisible. I remember feeling so awful and getting mad at myself because "there are people dying out there, what have you got to cry about?". It's a mental illness and I think the sooner people start to understand that, the easier it will get to stop blaming and questioning people who are suffering, and start helping them appropriately.


Daul Kim, (2007-2009), 'I LIKE TO FORK MYSELF',
http://iliketoforkmyself.blogspot.co.uk

Banksy

Banksy is the pseudonym for the UK based graffiti artist, political activist, painter and film director. I'm not going to lie I've always avoided researching Banksy because I just found him a bit of a typical artist to talk about but here I am.

 

His satirical streetrat combined dark humour with graffiti, which is executed in his distinctive stencilling technique. His work provides political commentary and is displayed on walls, bridges and buildings across the World. Banksy's work was made up of the Bristol underground scene which was made up of collaborations between artists and musicians. It is noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, a Parisian artist who worked with stencils in 1981. Banksy stated that he was inspired by a "3D" graffiti artist, who later became the leading founder of 'Massive Attack'. Banksy is well known for his contempt against the government for labelling graffiti as vandalism, which is why he displays his artwork so freely on buildings etc. None of his pieces are for sale, but art auctioneers try to sell his work on spot and the highest bidder has the responsibility of removing the artwork. Banksy's first film, 'Exit through the gift shop' was billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie" made it's debut in the 2010 Sundance a Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2011.

http://www.opticalspy.com/banksy-gallery.html#PhotoSwipe1400233530919

Like I mentioned in my Authorship post, people are drawn to mystery, and I feel like Banksy is some kind of superhero. You see a regular guy, but when nobody's around he's Banksy, the political commentator. Although I haven't ever shown much interest in him, he seems like a pretty cool guy and I am fond of quite a few of his works and what they say about the world we live in. They are thought-provoking and great topics for discussion.