Lifestyle
At London Fashion Week, Street Style Turned Heads
Leading up to London Fashion Week, the vibes, as the saying goes, were off. More than a few brands scrapped shows they had been planning and others forewent planning them at all. But any doom and gloom as fashion week approached did not deter the most passionate fans, whose eclectic attire in and outside shows nodded to London’s sartorial tradition of bucking convention.
Many spectators took inventive approaches to layering that had heads turning. Draping a saturated cable-knit sweater over a dark winter coat, for instance, or sandwiching a collegiate sweater between two button-up shirts. Some of the most interesting layered looks technically involved no layering at all. Instead, they included pieces with unique textures or fabrications that functioned as an optical illusion.
As for the clothes on the runways, the tumult surrounding this fashion week season seemed to have instilled in certain designers a motto of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it — too much.”
Erdem Moralioglu showed the beautiful floral dresses his label is recognized for, along with some spectacularly shimmery creations fabricated with tinsel-like fringe. Simone Rocha’s romantic collection featured all manner of faux furs: some embellished dresses, some were used as scarves and one came in the form of a bra top modeled by Alexa Chung. And Edeline Lee, who is known for presenting her collections in elaborately choreographed performances, had models dueling with weapons that included fists, swords and high-heeled shoes.
Inside the World Cup Cultural Exchange
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What does America look like to visitors?
We’re finding out in real time as fans and athletes from all over the world visit the United States for World Cup matches across the country. From Ranch dressing, to the wonders of all-you-can-eat buffets, tourists are getting a taste of all the USA has to offer, but how do we square the warm welcome for the World Cup with the United States’ recent stances on immigration? Brittany is joined by immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd, and NPR reporter Juliana Kim to find out.
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This episode was produced by Liam McBain and Corey Antonio Rose. It was edited by Neena Pathak. Our Supervising Producer is Cher Vincent. Our Executive Producer is Barton Girdwood. Our VP of Programming is Yolanda Sangweni.
In central London’s Waterloo Place, a life-size statue that emerged overnight in late April has been creating a stir. When I visited a few weeks after it was erected, local authorities had already set up protective barriers around it.
The installation — signed by the famed street artist Banksy — depicts a man in a suit hoisting a flag as he strides over a precipice. As he marches on, the flag blows backward to cover his face, leaving him unaware he’s only a step away from a perilous fall.
Set among grand monuments celebrating Britain’s past, the “flag man” takes on a particular visual irony at a time when the country — and much of the world — is debating its path forward.
Like many viewers there, I found myself wondering whether this statue is Banksy’s warning about the consequences of uncritical nationalism, or simply a reflection on human shortsightedness. Or, perhaps, it is just prompting us to ponder a broader question: What happens when devotion to a symbol prevents us from seeing what lies ahead?
Whatever the message, the work feels remarkably attuned to the current moment.
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