#saying Israel as a country is a 'necessity' for jewish people

[knifegrrrl1312]

some people must realize the existence of the country of israel will not protect jewish people, it will not help with antisemitism, its not ""black and white thinking"" to think the country of israel is unnecessary, and nothing more than a fascist dream unfortunately. I think that making all the jewish people go live in israel to escape antisemitism is kinda antisemetic because i know for a FACT all these politicians are drooling at the mouth sending jewish people to israel so they aren't in their country- its fucking antisemitism im sorry, other people support israel for their OWN personal prejudices and thats not protecting jewish people, it never will.

The kingdom of Israel was something that existed in ancient history, as far as i'm aware it exists now to colonize Palestine, to excuse genocide, and the country of israel has done nothing but push actual antisemitism often for their own needs. People will say they support Palestine and Landback and the liberation of Palestine but you also say that Israel as a country is a necessity for jewish people??? and you think you "support" jewish people?? like ur just a fucking liar then :/ jewish people can live in palestine, alongside palestinians, without colonizing or genociding them. (no im not talking ab a two state solution 🙄)

like are you people even interested in fighting antisemitism? are you really interested in figting systemic antisemitism? Do you Really care about jewish people or do you just not want to look like a antisemite. Like fuck don't say from the river to the sea if you think that israel is a 'necessity' for jewish people when its not.

#israel #palestine #free palestine #controversial text post #i saw a post today from someone who was supposedly pro palestine #saying Israel as a country is a 'necessity' for jewish people #this person sounds like they just didnt want to seem antisemetic. I cant stand poeple like that #kill the cop in your head or else itll lead to brainrot like this #its okay to make mistakes but man. Israel isnt a necessity. U are brainwashed

[fairuzfan]

I think you misinterpreted what that Bund anon said. I know how it feels now that a lot of people try to distract the attention from people in Gaza and victimize Israelis and zionists falsely using antisemitism. But what that anon meant is that the strive for a country or a homeland for Jewish people itself isn't something inherently wrong and bad. With the increasing antisemitism its understandable that Jewish people feel more insecure than years before. I hope you are aware that the antisemitism isn't only the fake one that zionists use. There have been a number of attacks on random Jewish people and community centers or houses. Like they said Israel itself was oppressive and colonial from the start. Zionists even before the creation of Israel were actively harming Palestinian population (despite pogroms were mutual). But what they meant was that it shouldn't necessarily be like that. You can't say that any Jewish attempts or desire to make a country for themselves will necessarily be like this.

I hope I delivered my point correctly.

Hello. I'm actually very tired regarding the topic and won't be answering/discussing anything after this, or at least I will try not to. I'm not interested in a discussion on the matter.

Unfortunately, Zionism, in the modern day, is a political ideology that relies on settler colonialism. Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, himself said this in his book. He straight up says it is a colonial project.

If you still call yourself a Zionist right now in this day and age knowing what Zionism represents, then I am wholly uninterested in your viewpoints. The post that caused the other anon to send me something (click) had a quote from a tweet that sums up my fundamental point:

“There’s a actual existing Zionism which practices apartheid and denial of human rights. But there’s another Zionism inside my head which is all rainbows and kosher marshmallows, so who can say which is the real Zionism?”

I'm not going to talk about the topic of Jewish homeland as a necessity. That is not what I'm talking about right now. I am saying that Zionism is the reason for the displacement and murder of my family members and friends. It is the reason the United States is so heavily invested in the state of Israel. It is the reason the people of Gaza are being bombed day and night, being starved. It is the reason the people in the West Bank are literally pushed out of their homes.

Regardless of your hopes and dreams, that is the reality I am living with. If you align yourself under the term "Zionism," then yes, you are for the murder and displacement of my people. I am not willing to budge on this.

You can argue all you want about what sort of Zionist you want to be, but just know that Palestinians will see you and be afraid of you, regardless of your ethnicity or emotional ties to the word.

#please do not argue with me on this #my reality is not less than your dreams

[alwaysbewoke]

NINE HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS COMPARE ZIONIST POLICIES TO THOSE OF THE NAZIS

“Sometime after [1956] I heard a news item about Israelis herding Palestinians into settlement camps. I just could not believe this. Weren’t the Israelis also Jews? Hadn’t we – they – just survived the greatest pogrom of our history? Weren’t [concentration] camps – often euphemistically called ‘settlement camps’ by the Nazis – the main feature of this pogrom? How could Jews in any measure do unto others what had been done to them? How could these Israeli Jews oppress and imprison other people? In my romantic imagination, the Jews in Israel were socialists and people who knew right from wrong. This was clearly incorrect. I felt let down, as if I was being robbed of a part of what I had thought was my heritage. …

I have to say to the Israeli government, which claims to speak in the name of all Jews, that it is not speaking in my name. I will not remain silent in the face of the attempted annihilation of the Palestinians; the sale of arms to repressive regimes around the world; the attempt to stifle criticism of Israel in the media worldwide; or the twisting of the knife labelled ‘guilt’ in order to gain economic concessions from Western countries. Of course, Israel’s geo-political position has a greater bearing on this, at the moment. I will not allow the confounding of the terms ‘anti-Semitic’ and ‘anti-Zionist’ to go unchallenged.”

Dr. Marika Sherwood, ‘How I became an anti-Israel Jew’, Middle East Monitor, 7/3/18. Marika Sherwood is a survivor of the Budapest ghetto.

-----

“Israel, in order to survive, has to renounce the wish for domination and then it will be a much better place for Jews also. The immediate analogy which a lot of people are making in Israel is Germany. Not only the Germany of Hitler and the Nazis but even the former German Empire wanted to dominate Europe. What happened in Japan after the attack on China is that they wanted to dominate a huge area of Asia. When Germany and Japan renounced the wish for domination, they became much nicer societies for the Japanese and Germans themselves. In addition to all the Arab considerations, I would like to see Israel, by renouncing the desire for domination, including domination of the Palestinians, become a much nicer place for Israelis to live.”

Dr. Israel Shahak, Middle East Policy Journal, Summer 1989, no.29. Israel Shahak was a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

-----

“I am pained by the parallels I observe between my experiences in Germany prior to 1939 and those suffered by Palestinians today. I cannot help but hear echoes of the Nazi mythos of ‘blood and soil’ in the rhetoric of settler fundamentalism which claims a sacred right to all the lands of biblical Judea and Samaria. The various forms of collective punishment visited upon the Palestinian people – coerced ghettoization behind a ‘security wall’; the bulldozing of homes and destruction of fields; the bombing of schools, mosques, and government buildings; an economic blockade that deprives people of the water, food, medicine, education and the basic necessities for dignified survival – force me to recall the deprivations and humiliations that I experienced in my youth. This century-long process of oppression means unimaginable suffering for Palestinians.” 

Dr. Hajo Meyer, ‘An Ethical Tradition Betrayed’, Huffington Post, 27/1/10. Hajo Meyer was a survivor of Auschwitz.

-----

“As a Jewish youngster growing up in Budapest, an infant survivor of the Nazi genocide, I was for years haunted by a question resounding in my brain with such force that sometimes my head would spin: ‘How was it possible? How could the world have let such horrors happen?’

 It was a naïve question, that of a child. I know better now: such is reality. Whether in Vietnam or Rwanda or Syria, humanity stands by either complicitly or unconsciously or helplessly, as it always does. In Gaza today we find ways of justifying the bombing of hospitals, the annihilation of families at dinner, the killing of pre-adolescents playing soccer on a beach. …

There is no understanding Gaza out of context – Hamas rockets or unjustifiable terrorist attacks on civilians – and that context is the longest ongoing ethnic cleansing operation in the recent and present centuries, the ongoing attempt to destroy Palestinian nationhood.

The Palestinians use tunnels? So did my heroes, the poorly armed fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto. Unlike Israel, Palestinians lack Apache helicopters, guided drones, jet fighters with bombs, laser-guided artillery. Out of impotent defiance, they fire inept rockets, causing terror for innocent Israelis but rarely physical harm. With such a gross imbalance of power, there is no equivalence of culpability. …

And what shall we do, we ordinary people? I pray we can listen to our hearts. My heart tells me that ‘never again’ is not a tribal slogan, that the murder of my grandparents in Auschwitz does not justify the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians, that justice, truth, peace are not tribal prerogatives. That Israel’s ‘right to defend itself,’ unarguable in principle, does not validate mass killing.

Dr. Gabor Mate, ‘Beautiful Dream of Israel has become a Nightmare’, Toronto Star, 22/7/14. Gabor Mate is a survivor of the Budapest ghetto.

#israel #gaza #gaza strip #palestine #free palestine #anti-semitic #islamophobia #zionism

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

i wonder if the liberal zionists (assuming the more “hardline” zionists would just universally justify all of the israeli state’s actions) who describe israel as a “non-racist” “land back project” for the benefit of “indigenous jews” know about israel’s arms sales to apartheid south africa in 1975? and to the genocidal serb army during the Bosnian civil war 1992-1995? (Or was that one OK because they mostly killed Muslims?) how does that fit into their theoretical model of the zionist project?

What do they think of Israel’s historical record of arms sales?

In 1994, Israeli-made bullets, rifles and grenades were allegedly used in Rwanda’s genocide which killed at least 800,000 people. Israel supplied weapons to the Serbian army that waged war against Bosnia from 1992-1995.

Despite the Israeli government’s own statement in 2018 declaring it had ceased sales to Myanmar, the Haaretz newspaper reported last year that weapons manufacturers continued supplying the military government until 2022, in violation of the 2017 international arms embargo against the country.

And, in September [2023], Israel supplied UAVs, missiles and mortars to Azerbaijan for its campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, during which 100,000 ethnic Armenians were displaced.

what do they think about israel offering to send nuclear weapons to an apartheid state?

and you can’t say “it was a different time” or say “it was bad but it was like necessary realpolitik” in good faith because the whole zionist argument is that israel as a project was a moral and necessary project the entire time. 1975 and 1995 really are not that long ago in geopolitical terms.

Israel has remained an international arms dealer to this day, selling arms to an estimated 130 countries.

i mean the zionists are the same people who equivocate and/or “softly” justify the 1948 Nakba which was a brazen genocide.

The accusations of holding israel to a “double standard” are also totally empty rhetoric.

1. Do you actually think that within the critics of israel there is a preponderance of people that are OK with apartheid and genocide in any case apart from when israel did it?

2. Putting that aside, if you are considering the question of moral “double standards,” what is YOUR universal moral standard? Are YOU OK with apartheid and genocide when committed by countries and actors other than israel, against predominantly non-jewish demographics? (Often using Israel-supplied weapons, of course.)

And when all is said and done, if you liberal zionists recognize the immorality of the israeli arms industry, how do you possibly plan to stop israel from continuing this abhorrent practice? short of the dissolution of the state of israel of course. Or is your ethnonationalism so strong that any sin is permissible so long as it profits the zionist project? what is your moral red line? what sin could israel possibly commit that you would consider the moral necessity of dissolving the israeli state?

to any jewish person reading, at what point does the supposed moral imperative of the sanctity of life outweigh the supposed moral imperative of a “jewish state?”

as a supposed inheritor of American nationality and Jewish ethnicity, under predominant ideological models there exists this supposed connection between me and America and between me and Zionism and between me and Israel. If i was born in Israel or if i moved there (perhaps to an illegal settlement in the west bank) i would immediately have a directly oppressive relationship to palestinians. (In a similar yet different way to the status i have as a white american...)

In my childhood I was educated about religion, about American history, (including the ugly parts of slavery and genocide and segregation, etc) about racism, about the holocaust, about israel, (including the ugliness of the nakba and the border walls and the checkpoints, etc). The pervasiveness of moral vacuousness and hipocrisy in this country have, for my entire adult life, made me feel alienated from other americans and, yes, from many American Jewish communities. Later in life I met other anti-zionist jews but i felt like there was no way to undo my foundation of irreligiosity, atheism, lack of feeling any strong ethnic, racial, religious, or national identity. (This was contributed to by the fact that one of my parents is an immigrant. a sense of between-ness made me feel an outsider to both my paternal and maternal heritages, and the entire idea of ethnicity and nationality felt somewhat constructed even from early childhood.)

Zionism is the state ideology of Israel and, it seems, the United States as well, partially so. (American Empire has to be propped up through ideology to manufacture consent.) Though, notably, the overwhelming majority of avowed Zionists in the US are, in fact, Evangelical Christians. But that’s something I don’t even want to get into right now.

One of the only things that DOESN’T make me feel alienated is internationalism. I feel a kinship with the distant Palestinian who is bombarded and shot with American-supplied weapons, and with the nearby American who is bludgeoned and shot by Israeli-trained police officers.

(Free Palestine, Death to the American Empire.)

#israel #jumblr

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robert Reich:

Yesterday, Joe Biden spoke out against antisemitism. I’m glad he did. But I also worry that by speaking out against antisemitism without acknowledging what has sparked the student protests across America, he is conflating those protests with antisemitism.

By and large, the protests are not motivated by antisemitism. There may be some antisemites among demonstrators. Protest movements are often ignited by many different things and attract an assortment of people with a range of motives. But after many talks with demonstrators and faculty, it seems clear to me this protest movement is centered on moral outrage at the killings of tens of thousands of innocent people in Gaza, most of them women and children. Many of the demonstrators are themselves Jewish. Jews have been involved in these protests for the same reason Jews were so involved in other social justice movements — such as the struggles for women’s rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, voting rights, free speech, and LGBTQ+ rights. And against the Vietnam War, apartheid in South Africa, and the Iraq War. The oppression that Jewish people have experienced for hundreds if not thousands of years has taught Jews the necessity of standing up to injustice — whatever its form and whenever it appears.  

Yesterday, House Republicans continued their hearings on antisemitism. They called public school officials from three of the most politically liberal communities in the nation — Berkeley, California; New York City; and Montgomery County, Maryland. Their hearings on antisemitism in higher education helped topple the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania and pushed Columbia’s president to promise a crackdown on campus antisemitism. Her crackdown led to the arrest of more than 100 protesters at Columbia and a further surge in student activism there. House Republicans are politicizing and weaponizing antisemitism. They are using supposed antisemitism in education as a means of pursuing their cultural populist agenda, which for years has denigrated universities and public schools. They are also intent on splitting liberal Democrats over the war in Gaza.

[...]

I was reminded of this by the Antisemitism Awareness Act, passed in the House of Representatives on May 1, by a 320-91 vote. It would codify, for the purpose of enforcing federal civil rights law in higher education, a definition of antisemitism that includes rejection of Israel as a Jewish state. The bill also adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which includes “claims of Jews killing Jesus.”

Although the bill was initiated by House Republicans, much of the opposition to it has come from the Christian right, which wants to be able to continue saying that Jews killed Jesus. [...] But antisemitism can’t and shouldn’t be legislated away. Once we start defining what views are impermissible on a university campus or in public schools — for getting a job, receiving research funding, or getting promoted — we’re back in the era of Senator Joe McCarthy and communist witch hunts. And once we start conflating antisemitism with protests against mass brutality, such as the slaughter in Gaza, we invite blindness to injustices in which America is complicit.

Robert Reich nails it in this piece about antisemitism and college campus protests. The protests at campuses across the country are not motivated by antisemitism, but anger over Israel's genocide campaign in Gaza.

The Congressional hearings on antisemitism in colleges serve a purpose: to politicize and weaponize the definition of antisemitism and to generate anti-higher education sentiments.

#Robert Reich #Joe Biden #Campus Protests #Antisemitism #Substack #Israel/Hamas War #Ceasefire NOW Protests #Antisemitism Awareness Act #Israel Apartheid State

[izmrw]

A comment that I saw on YouTube and my response to it

“What makes me mad and sad is people calling Israel oppressors when this whole conflict started and has gone on for decades because

Palestine hates Jews and refuses to live in peace beside them. They claim ownership of Jews ancestral homeland (that they colonised even though they claim otherwise), start an almost century long conflict, and then cry that they are the victims when the first leader of Palestine essentially said Hitler was right!

I don't agree with what Israel's government is doing, but let's not act like this conflict isn't anti-Semitic at its core.

If you replace the word Palestinians with Nazis do you feel sad? If Israel was bombing neo-Nazis proclaiming to be innocent would you stand up for those neo-Nazis?

This conflict could end right this second if Palestine would stop being anti-Semitic. I see so many people claiming this isn't just about religious persecution, and yet I saw with my own eyes on social media an Israeli say they just want the conflict to end and to live in peace, and the response they received was 'We pray for you for death, destruction, torment, disasters, misfortunes, and eternal suffering. We will pray for your bodies to burn with diseases that have no cure. Sickness take you to the depths of hell and make you firewood for hell. God is with Palestine and we won't stop until all of you are dead'.

(Not only does this make me sick to know that someone could even think to type this and be so malicious, but as someone with Jewish heritage it's also a little frightening.)

And this was on a post about unicef calling for action to protect children in both countries...

Why is that the Holocaust is considered one of the worst events in history, but when Jews fight back against the people that want them dead, they become evil and vile?

Idk man supporting Palestine doesn't sit right with me.

Everyone is free to do what they want, and I'll still support this channel cause I come here for kpop content, but I don't agree with anyone supporting either side quite frankly.”

this has nothing to do with religion, i has nothing to do with anti-semitism and honestly its sad that you’d compare the likes of innocent palestinas to neo-nazis. it has never been about religion this is a political war, let me explain.

75 years ago america decided to take palestine’s land and make it for jewish people after the world war. since 1948 palestinas are being murdered, this is a genocide. if you compare the death toll from israelis to palestinas its way more on their side. israel is being backed by the usa, they have military weapons and everything else whereas palestina has what? israel are commiting WAR crimes, they refuse to stop cease-fire when it has been agreed on by both sides, even russia doesn’t do that, bombing children’s hospitals and civilian towns, cutting off their access to food, water, electricity, all basic necessities to live.

israelis want to live “peacefully” with palestinas? isreal has never wanted to live peacefully with palestinas, they wouldnt have been bombing them for the last 75 years if that were the case, but also does that even sound right? palestinas should live peacefully with their oppressors, the ones who killed their family, friends everyone?

Israelis have been murdering innocent palestinas since 1948 and the retaliate for what the first? maybe second time? and all of a sudden it’s “my heart goes out to israel” where was this support for palestine when they were being slaughtered, when children were dying.

let me make a comparison for you, in the last 10 days more palestina children have been killed than in the ukraine conflict which started in 2022. israel claim to want to eradicate hamas, but it’s truly them trying to kill all palestinas.

you claim its religion but let me explain to you why it’s not. palestine used to be a peaceful country where muslims, jews and christians lived together as jerusalem is important for all of them. however after america forced their israel agenda on the land, it became moreso an apartheid for jewish people, now palestine is mainly muslim and christian, you compared palestinas to NAZIS? which is a grave misinformation on its own but you could not be further from the truth. the israeli government has called palestinas children of between the law of humanity and the law of the jungle, isreali politicians have said that thwir is a gal between the lives of israeli children and palestinian children, saying their lives aren’t worth as much, israel has also compared them to the likes of rats, which is very similar in what hitler did when he started the holocaust.

you also mentioned jews are fighting back against the ones that want them dead

strike 1, misinformation. first of all a lot of jewish people aren’t zionist, israelis are not even not the oppressed, they are the oppressor. isreal brought a gun to a, no not even a knife fight, but a a paper sword fight. the power is very mismatched.

the comment with palestinas wanting them dead, cannot be further from the truth, let me remind you again that palestina used to be 1/3 jewish, and also how are you so sure its not from an israeli, but fine let’s assume it’s not, the i guess it’d be from a radical-hama which is a terrorist organisation, think about it, because of a terrorist organisation that they claim they want to kill, innocent lives are being lost, when like ive said before, its not about eradicating hamas, israel bombed the children’s hospital in gaza, made up a fake story claiming that hamas bombed it and for what?

the entire thing is also politics usa is backing israel because they made israel, they pulled back all their ressources from ukraine to send to israel and Biden requested 69bil for help for israel (it would cost less to fix homelessness is the usa) china wants to support Palestine because they want to strip the usas power and become the 1. themselves.

you say palestine stole jews homeland which is strike 2, misinformation (again) I citied this from the internet and went to fact-check this with multiple different websites.

Can Jews have their own country? They are forbidden according to Torah, Talmud, their own highly rated scholars and the bible. The problem is that Israel has degenerated to a secular liberal state who do not follow their own religion anymore and the arguments for it are from the perspective of secular liberalism not religion.

like i said jerusalem is important for all 3 major religions claim that Palestine stole that is ridiculous, why should jerusalem be for jews only, by your way of thinking, isn’t that Islamophobic and anti-christianity?

twisting the genocide of palestinas to anti-semitism is misinformation.

being neutral is ignorance.

i hope before you decide to go compare palestinas to nazis again, you think about what i said, and educate yourself more.

#free palestine #genocide #palestine #eradication #ethnic cleansing #free gaza #shamal #yamen #kosomisrael

[amphtaminedreams]

Sitting Front Row at my Big 10 of the Decade (Still on a Budget, Obviously): Lookbook No.21

HiIiIi,

If you are reading, thank you for continuing to have a mild passing interest in my nonsense in 2024!!

I want to start this post off by stating that it’s been 7 months since Israel’s genocide of Palestinians began. This isn’t to say what followed October 7th is a new phenomenon/that Israel began this offensive without having perpetrated violence against Palestinians in the past. I am talking about this unprecedentedly aggressive and relentless campaign specifically following the incident on 7/10. The Palestinian death toll at the time of writing is upwards of 30,000, though this figure only pertains to confirmed deaths. There is not one single hospital in Gaza still standing. The real number is likely even higher when we take this into account.

I know this is completely unrelated to the post my title suggests, and I know that this isn’t the only humanitarian crisis going on in the world, but this genocide is something that our government here in the UK and many other Western countries have played a clear-cut, active role in accelerating. With that being said, until we see the commencement of some meaningful intervention, I'll start every post this way. I’m sure 99% of people who come across my posts will scroll right on past but they might read the first few sentences before they do and this is something we can’t lose sight of.

Israel has purposely targeted journalists (in itself proof that if it was just Hamas operatives the IDF wanted to take out, they could have done that rather than indiscriminately bombing civilians for almost 6 months) so there seems to be fewer updates on the situation on social media, but it would be misguided to think the kind of atrocities we first saw circulating when the IDF began this particular campaign have slowed down. Many of the individuals who were exposing the horrific things that have been happening in Gaza and the West Bank are dead, and that is the awful reality. These independent journalists were our only window to the truth about what is happening, and in their absence, the mainstream media seem determined to maintain a kind of ambiguity which avoids directly attributing the mass murder to Zionist ideology. It is no surprise that the worldwide elite are so devoid of empathy as to condone Israel’s actions but I don’t think anyone thought it would stretch to them pushing the narrative that “a government murdering thousands of people is morally wrong” is a controversial, bigoted statement.

Yet here we are, being gaslit by the Western media and Israeli propaganda into believing that this mass slaughter of Palestinians is just part and parcel of “war”, a necessity in response to a great chaotic evil that represents a threat to Western society at large. The Hamas attack at a festival in Tel Aviv, Israel tell the world, was an unprecedented, inexplicable, unexpected attack by a group motivated purely by extremist ideology and hatred of Jewish people, who are barbaric for the sake of being barbaric, and that Palestinian people harbour these terrorists because they share the same hatred-fuelled beliefs. We’ve seen major media outlets worldwide spend the last 7 months bombarding us with this version of events, politicians with no explicit ties (their entirely predictable undeclared financial ones notwithstanding of course) to the region go out of their way to state criticism of Israel’s actions equates to resenting the defence of Jewish people’s safety; the absurdity of this rhetoric is that, much like the IDF’s bombing of the sites they suspect hostages are being held at, it does the exact opposite of what it claims to do. Promoting the idea that just by being Jewish one must have a stake in Israel’s existence, and the brutality over Palestinians this necessitates, points the finger at innocent Jewish people who have no ties to Netanyahu’s agenda and falsely asserts their complicity, fuelling antisemitism.

The media, owned and controlled by the elite group of individuals whose money undermines every part of our democracy, is not purporting Israel's narrative to uphold principles of truth or justice. If this were true, if mainstream journalism and politicians were interested in holding anyone to account, why in the years preceding this have major media outlets neglected to cover the oppressive tactics and violence used by the Israeli government in the 50 years leading up to 7/10? If they had been reporting on the kinds of human rights atrocities the state of Israel depends on, people would be much quicker to grasp the reality of the current situation.

The average person would quickly see through the claims that the Israeli government’s conduct since October 2023 has been an unavoidable, begrudged response to a terrifying and unexpected level of threat. They’d see this situation as it truly is: a long-awaited, and entirely predictable, press-ready justification to accelerate what is at best, a campaign of displacement of native Palestinians, and at worst, a prolonged Holocaust. The lack of context when our politicians discuss the issue is completely intentional, because if they were to acknowledge the events preceding the 7/10 attacks, the parallels to what happened to Jewish people during the Second World War would be crystal clear, and the hypocrisy would speak for itself. Any calls for a ceasefire only now that several European aid workers have been targeted would be seen as the nails in their coffins at the next election(s), representative of their disregard for those whose lives do not affect their political careers; if it had not already been made blindingly obvious by their domestic policies, the self-absorption, lack of integrity and empathy, insincerity and callousness of all but a handful of British politicians, has been laid bare for all to see. The same can be said of a staggering number of politicians across the “developed” world. 

If we unilaterally came to this understanding, and furthermore, had some kind of collective awakening to the fact that mainstream media is only an extension of self-aggrandising, self-serving narratives built on lies of omission and deceptive framing which are purported by the same morally corrupt 1% monopolising big business and democracy, perhaps the figureheads of these institutions wouldn’t be so bold as to confidently justify their support of Israel’s actions. It is shit that you have to wade full of a river of crap to find anything resembling a factual, contextualised account of the truth, but this is the world we live in, and it is intentionally structured this way so the 1% can keep preserving their own interests regardless of the suffering it inflicts on others.

Here in the UK, if we weren’t so accustomed to lies, the rhetoric surrounding peaceful protestors which labels them as “antisemitic” would be laughable, rather than something the Prime Minister could stand on a podium outside 12 Downing Street and repeat with a straight face. But it is, of course, in his and many of his peers’ interest that we don’t take issue with their complicity in Israel’s ethnic cleansing. However much the continued shows of institutional deference towards the George Bushes and Tony Blairs of the world points to the life of a retired war criminal being a relatively cushy one, Biden, Sunak, Trudea, Starmer and many other morally abhorrent “public servants” don’t seem to want to abandon their ego trips just yet and clearly depend on public approval to maintain their leadership positions, hence their dedication to the Israeli government’s “self-defence” narrative. If we want to see them withdraw their support, we have to decisively, disruptively, consistently dismantle their lies. We have to make it known that our ego-stroking can quite easily be transferred to someone else who is, whilst probably equally undeserving of it, willing to push to stop Israel’s terrorisation of Palestinians. After all, the recent historically Labour voting constituents of Rochdale unexpectedly elected an independent candidate, a vocal critic of Keir Starmer’s pro-Israel stance.

The following is the fact-based truth which in this confusing af world is the very least we can extend to one another. Western leaders who fail to meaningfully fight for Palestine refuse to speak that language because it would undermine their regurgitation of the Israeli government’s simplistic, deceitful narrative to justify their support.

Israel’s attack of Gaza and the West Bank are illegal under international law. There’s a reason Keir Starmer, whose past career as a human rights lawyer would make him fully aware of that, chooses not to elaborate on the reasons for his pro-Israel stance. He, and other intelligent people like him, avoid accusations of hypocrisy by ignoring these simple facts. Whilst they purport the lie that Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the West Bank were ever permissible because they’ve been in “self-defence” in response to the Hamas attack of 07/10, this right to “self-defence” is negated by their obligation as the occupying force in Palestinian territory to uphold the safety of the civilians living there. Bombing Palestinians’ homes, schools, hospitals, their entire neighbourhoods, clearly violates this clause.

It also violates international law forbidding collective punishment, I.E the actions of Hamas, regardless of whether they democratically represent Palestinians, can never be responded to by way of violence against the demographic group the hostile force is associated with, even if they reside amongst them. 

Though Israel’s attack on Gaza is predominantly referred to as a “war”, this is not a legitimate characterisation of events, acting only to suggest those Palestinian casualties voluntarily put themselves at risk. None of the criteria for Oppenheim’s definition of war are met; this decrees war as being a conflict between two forces intended for one force to impose their version of peace over the other. Not only do Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank lack their own independent wing of armed forces akin to the IDF, but they are also already living under the conditions Israel have imposed upon them. If the argument to be made is that the Hamas attack was a disturbance of the peace in Israeli territory, then appropriate conduct suggests the IDF deal with the threat inside their territory, not to attack Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. Whilst support for Hamas amongst Palestinians is understandable, based on their demands for liberation from oppressive Israeli occupation, it still does not constitute affiliation or responsibility for their actions. Targeting civilians in the absence of concrete evidence of involvement in Hamas perceived “act of war”, based on shared ethnicity with the group responsible, amounts to ethnic cleansing. Their deaths cannot be classed as “casualties of war”. The only disruptions of peace in the West Bank and Gaza are those incited by the unnecessary brutality of the IDF themselves, resulting from the reasonable fatigue of living under an oppressive regime.

All our support and arming of Israel has done is aid them in their violation of international law, which is to rid the Israel-Palestine region of the native Arab population, a far from elusive goal of theirs which began with the Nakba over 50 years ago. Israel’s conduct since October 2023 and the Western World’s complicity is far from a break with tradition. 

From the state of Israel’s earliest inception, British war time mandate has been used to permit wealthy predominantly European settlers of Jewish descent to confiscate Palestinian property and belongings. Unsurprisingly, the British government were also heavily involved in the fragmentation of what is now the Israel-Palestine region. This fragmentation not only prevented Palestinian refugees returning to their land after the war, but also forced 750,000 of the Palestinian population who remained out of their communities, as 78% of the entire Palestine region was allocated to the growing Jewish settler population. Of the entire region which previously comprised of 90% privately-owned Palestinian property, the native Palestinian population were forced into the remaining 22% of land within the region, split between the two opposing shoreline zones of Gaza and the West Bank. They were forbidden from returning to their former homes, and from leaving their zone or the region altogether by military checkpoints. Whilst 900 new exclusively Jewish communities have been developed since Israel’s inception, not one new build community has been developed for native Palestinians, many of whom Israel still classify as “stateless” refugees. They are legally forbidden from returning to their ancestral homes, and physically confined to small enclaves where structural disadvantages, inevitable overcrowding and purposeful lack of access to natural recourses have created inevitable, inescapable pockets of poverty.

Though the Israeli government formerly suspended military rule in 1966, approximately 1,800 of laws that came under the mandate remain, and IDF forces remain even in the significantly smaller regions where Palestinians are permitted to reside in. Despite comprising 30% of the population, of all public land, 3% is now controlled by Palestinian authorities. Even in these Palestinian regions, even though it violates rulings of the Geneva Convention, Israelis are still free to develop their own communities.

To be clear: if any state can claim self-defence, it is not Israel. Over the last half century, they have stolen land, businesses, recourses, goods, and infrastructure from Palestinians. They have forcibly confined them into overcrowded, intentionally undeveloped townships where they use military powers to prevent them from leaving. They have responded to Palestinian dissent with brutal violence; water cannons, grenades, and tasers are all commonly used against peaceful protestors. They use indefinite confinement on childrenfor “crimes” as minimal as throwing stones, and refuse to abide by the internationally recognised proceedings necessary to ensure detainees a fair trial.

Unlike Israelis, Palestinians cannot leave their designated enclaves without (rarely granted) permission from Israeli forces. They cannot even leave the country without permission from Israeli forces. They cannot marry outside their zone without permission from Israeli forces. Acquire business permits. Obtain land. Move goods in or out of their designated zone. Those who stayed in Jewish territory when the new regional borders were drawn out, who had not fled during the war, were effectively forced into ghettos, and denied citizenship. Across the region, Palestinians are robbed of their self-determination, freedom and of basic human rights to recourses as basic as drinking water; Jewish farmers in the Jordan Valley, which takes up only 30% of the West Bank, are allocated 18 times the amount of water made available to Palestinian citizens across the entire West Bank.

In context, there are no “two sides”, no state of events where what is unfolding can be seen as a mutually agreed upon conflict between two free agents. Israel chooses to eliminate Palestinians, and all they are doing is attempting to survive. Their systematic oppression has left them disempowered to the extent that I am sure they would be aware of the amount of destruction Israel would inflict upon them if they did ever collectively declare their hostility. 

Upwards of 30,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in less than 7 months, and this is probably what they have always feared. What they likely did not expect was that something so horrific could ever be globally perceived as an event they are active participants in, or are reaping some benefit from.

We cannot possibly assume that every one of the thousands of Palestinians murdered by Israel, funded by American politicians, with weapons we have produced in this country and which our politicians have willingly provided, played any role in Hamas attacks. Even without context, the statistics do not reflect the typical pattern of casualties of war.  Israel claims 10,000 fatalities, though they cannot produce any evidence of these numbers. By their own admittance, the fatalities they can confirm are predominately those of IDF soldiers. The story in Gaza is wildly different; 70% of the deceased are women and children. These are not fighters. They are predominantly mothers and children, the latter too young to what it even means to align themselves with a "terrorist" group. And even if they did. When peaceful resistance is repeatedly met with violence, resistance becomes violent. The formation of groups like Hamas are not novel phenomena, they are an inevitability of a population grown sick of being stepped on.

Hamas don’t claim to stand for gratuitous violence or the erasure of the entire Jewish population worldwide as the Israeli propaganda machine claim. There are many Israeli hostages who initially stated they were treated decently by Hamas operatives before criticism of Israel’s actions required a perpetuation of Hamas brutality, so as not to have Israel’s attacks deemed “disproportionate”. But regardless, let’s say the worst is all true. For a second, we ignore the context which makes Hamas existence entirely predictable. It still does not justify the violence of the Israeli government. Support for a fringe political group, however unreasonable their principles supposedly are, does not justify the group’s supporters’ murder. 

Palestinians have been forced into ghettos, structurally bound poverty, robbed of their history and possessions, and now killed and starved en masse. The Israeli government is full of fervent Zionists who have always wanted the country to be rid of the native Arab population, and voted for by wealthy Israelis who, when polled, consistently express the view that Palestinians are inferior and unwelcome in their country (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/3/10/poll-half-of-israeli-jews-want-palestinians-expelled). This isn’t about “rescuing hostages”, the Israeli PM has refused Hamas offer to return them time and time again where a ceasefire has been a condition of the agreement. Some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s closest political associates have spoken of “burning Gaza to the ground”. Already, they are advertising flattened Palestinian communities as available space for new Israeli property developments. This isn’t about “eliminating Hamas”, nor is there the evidence Israeli operatives believe this is a “kill or be killed” situation; the IDF have shown that they are perfectly capable of singling out and targeting specific individuals, but instead predominantly opted to bomb civilian safe zones, hospitals even, en masse. Whilst almost all civilians in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes for safe zones only to become victims of IDF attacks there too, and drone footage shows the area they fled has been all but flattened, Israeli civilians, free to leave the country at any time, choose to remain, with many young Israelis broadcasting the continuation of their normal, comfortable lives in candid social media posts, mocking the death of Palestinians while they’re at it. The narrative around 7/10 which the Israeli government use as justification for their actions, initially parroted by politicians in Western nations too, is riddled with conflicting evidence. Stories of beheaded babies and widespread sexual violence, which have since been questioned based on the lack of accompanying evidence and the questionable journalistic integrity of the original sources, play into the worst nightmares of Islamophobes worldwide, stitched together to position Hamas as an inexplicable, medieval force of evil whose existences threatens the entire Western world and way of life. What there is evidence for is Palestinian civilians being shot with their hands tied behind their backs then buried in mass graves, little girls and boys' bodies ripped to shreds by IDF attacks, and doctors executed whilst trying to save the lives of newborn babies and children.

We have to keep repeating the facts, which we actually have, you know, the evidence! for: the illegality of what Israel are doing, the murder of children, the circumstances under which a group like Hamas would emerge, the way recent events fit into a bigger long documented picture of the Israeli government’s expulsion, oppression and dehumanisation of the native Palestinian population. 

We can’t stop challenging the idea that this is a “war”, that anything goes, that we can only shrug our shoulders at Israeli citizen’s makeshift blockade of aid into Gaza as if the famine occurring isn’t just as much a part of Netanyahu’s plan as the bombing campaign is. We have to make our representative's aware that we see exactly what Israel is doing, and that we won’t allow politicians in this country to continue their careers whilst they champion Israel’s campaign of deceit.

WE NEED TO KEEP BOYCOTTING, TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING, ATTENDING PROTESTS WHERE WE CAN, LET OUR REPRESENTATIVES KNOW THEY WILL FEEL OUR ANGER TOWARDS THEIR INDIFFERENCE AND/OR SUPPORT AT THE POLLS THIS YEAR!

There are more and more examples of these boycotts and protests working every day as an increasing number of world leaders come out in condemnation of Israel.

I know it’s going to be really jarring for me to just go into fashion chat after this but I just don’t want to waste any opportunity to repeat the truth which so many Palestinians have lost their lives for trying to get out there. For reference, here is the 2022 Amnesty report I referred to for guidance when writing this section, which offers an in depth account of Israel’s development of an apartheid state: 

It’s a really helpful and comprehensive article. But there are undoubtedly people who break down the issue far better than I can. I’m going to try and find a post I can reblog with all the best sources of information to follow this up with as soon as possible.

Onto the far less important bit. If you don’t care about fashion and have 0 interest in a stranger’s online rambles, nor want to be distracted from what I am fully aware are some immeasurably more significant issues going on in the world rn feel free to stop reading here because that makes complete sense! If you, like myself, are trying to appreciate the life we are fortunate enough to have by indulging in our silly little passions, and one of them IS fashion, hi:-)

Keep reading??? I guess?? If you fancy it??

Despite all the horrible stuff going on in the world rn I feel optimistic about being 25 in 2024, and along with the rest of us seasonally depressed lot, summer approaching. This new year, which coincided within a week of my 25th (idk why I phrased that like my birthday isn’t on the same day every year tehe), gave me the sense of a fresh start I needed to throw myself fully into eating disorder recovery and practice what I’ve learned in treatment for anorexia, which I am so lucky to have had access to through the NHS. Not sure why but the significance of 25 years as a quarter of a century and it being a year that ends in an even number feels correct. The even years always feel better (ignoring the shitstorm of a year that was 2020 ofc, lmao), or is that just me? Like 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018? Come on now. I can’t even remember the others nor do I want to tbh, lol.

I decided my goals for this year are to be less rigid with counting calories, on guard for unnecessary self-shaming about my body and eating habits, & ultimately, to be intentional in prioritising my creative drive over the tediously bitchy little disordered eating voice in my brain:) only by practising mindfulness towards how I distribute my attention have the first 2 goals become possible. Most importantly, only once I became physically healthy was my brain capable of that mindfulness, which is something that has obviously necessitates weight gain! I say this in case someone who stumbles across this post needs to hear that because I know there’s a lot of people who want to recover from anorexia who are held back by the belief they can do this without putting on weight, or ever “giving in” to extreme hunger. To be brutally honest, it can’t be done, but that stage of fear and shame and feeling out of control does end. It’s been 8 months of extreme hunger and a year of therapy but I’m here! I’ve got normal hunger signals back! Yay! And I can trust that they come from a place of my body wanting to keep itself healthy. That safety within myself is a nice feeling. I’m going totally off topic here which I said I wouldn’t do but again, these thoughts feel like something I don’t want to waste the opportunity to say, just in case it does make someone reconsider things. It feels appropriate to put here:

-trigger warning: this post contains images which may be uncomfortable for those struggling with an ED-

Please DM me if you are reading this and feel this is a subject you need to vent to someone about, I promise I wont try and force advice on anyone, I just know how lonely an eating disorder is and want to listen if that helps:)

Going back to the post, it’s come from being in the right headspace to dedicate to things that are way more fulfilling than anything to do with body image satisfaction or binge eating. I won’t go on about it any more but I will I do an update dedicated to recovery in a recap of the second half of 2023 soon. What I’ve said about recovery is oversimplified here because I just wanted to drop a bit of context. It’s important because physically recovering from anorexia is what allowed me to get enthusiastic about things again, and when you’re in that danger zone, you forget about all the other things you find purpose in doing.

Because I’ve been struggling with body image I haven’t been making the effort to put outfits together like I used to. Being “into” fashion was probably the one thing I didn’t lose in AN because honestly, an online shopping spree and successive outfit planning was an immediate, low-effort mood boost. It was not good for my bank account, the climate, or my conscience, lmao. Definitely not glorifying it. It was just all I had to delude myself into thinking starvation was worth it at the time. When my body changed, I lost interest in trying to put outfits together, and whilst this was good for curbing impulse purchasing, the revolving line up of trackies, pyjamas, and work clothes I have become somewhat dependent on does my confidence 0 favours either. For that reason, I’ve been forcing myself to make the effort now and again to plan something to wear outside the house, but with a renewed focus on sustainable shopping habits and the prioritisation of comfort in my outfits, which means reflecting on whether my feeling “safe” in a piece of clothing is dependent on the state of my body image. Like if there’s a skirt that I think “shit, I can’t wear that when I’m bloated”, I’m gonna leave that one in the basket or the Vinted Favourites for the time being. Instead I’ve been slowly building up second hand basics in bigger sizes which have the versatility to go with anything.

This has kinda necessitated me reconfiguring my personal style. That, and feeling a lil creative, is what brought me back to this lookbook I started in April last year. 2nd year uni struggle, AN brain and shitty life stuff relegated it to the drafts, but here it is, a WHOLE FUCKING YEARRR later:D

I’ve gone back and forth on whether I should be returning to it at all because I was in the very early days of treatment when I took the photos and I don’t want it to be a promotion of this being a normal, sustainable way to look. At the end of the day, however, this is something I have suffered with on and off for 10+ years of my life and there havebeen times where I looked unhealthy at both ends of the spectrum-I’m not going to erase any proof of my existence during those times. What I just want to reiterate is that mentally and physically I had to feel like shit to be this weight and I don’t think for 99.9% of the population there’s any way of being this weight without this shit experience alongside it. This is why I get so het up about the majority of runway models being severely underweight but that’s a whole other post. The fashion industry & body image have an utterly fucked relationship but things are changing, even if the pace of that change is frustratingly slow!

My point is that although I was unhealthy, (and so I’ll reiterate here: trigger warning for eating disorders), I really was super happy with the way the outfits came out, as well as the end result of all the fun I had editing on photoshop, lol. I’m in my “Kate Middleton”/Kensington Palace PR intern era, you could say. So ultimately, I’ve decided over the past couple of months to go ahead and finish the bloody post! It’s a second edition of the “Sitting in the Front Row at…” post I did a couple of years ago (original here: https://amphtaminedreams.tumblr.com/post/649892714333257728/sitting-front-row-aton-a-budget-obvs), which I cannot take any credit for coming up with the idea for. Yes, I admit it, there are some good things to come out of TikTok! And this look-book format was one of them, which was picking up traction on that platform at the time of my first post. This time round, however, rather than picking brands that have the most clear-cut and recognisable aesthetic which is kinda what I did before, these 10 outfits were inspired by brands which have/had had the biggest influence on my personal style. Like I said, it’s been helpful to go back to as I try to remind myself that I can still enjoy putting a cute outfit together. I do not need to be runway model malnourished for that shit:-) With all that exposition out of the way, I’m gonna go ahead and get on with it! Let me unleash my shitty collages onto the world! I had fun doing them:D

Rokh

So I’ve actually done a post dedicated to Rokh before (link here: https://amphtaminedreams.tumblr.com/post/666281480350203904/currently-obsessing-over-debrief-no1-rokh-yes) which is why I won’t include many photos of their collections in this little bit.

But what I will do is express my love for them all over again!

You know when you’ve been having a conversation about something and then a related ad pops up on Facebook or Instagram or whatever and you’re like…hang on, Apple…were you..listening in? You want to be mad about the potential surveillance but you see the clothes you're being recommended and infuriatingly, the overwhelming thought is, shit…they got me good. I just wish whilst they’re at it, harvesting my preferences etc., they’d take account of my complaints about their piece of shit phones becoming increasingly redundant every time they push a software update for the new iPhone model, and give me some of that sweet settlement money to shut me up. Some of us can’t afford that yearly purchase x

Anyway, I set up that example because I’m starting to feel the exact same way about Rok Hwang. The brand’s Korean-born designer is so consistent in his ability to bring my dream wardrobe to life, if I were to develop severe enough a case of main character syndrome, I’d probably start to wonder if been in my head this whole time note-taking, ears pricking up for the mental commentary which ensues when I open up Vogue Runway, X/Y/Z celebrity’s street style dedicated fan Instagram, costume design analysis YouTuber’s video essay etc. If it were possible to develop an algorithm which amalgamates every clothing-related thought that enters a person’s brain to create their perfect fashion designer, this genius of a man would pop out at the end for me.

Hwang represents just one of the many East Asian fashion designers who are consistently ahead of the curve. Along with designers like ShuShu/Tong and Susan Fang, which are two of my newly discovered favourite brands, and Sandy Liang, he has helped repopularise the celebration of cute, kitsch, and girlhood in fashion; that designers of such heritage would excel in engineering the meeting of cute with high fashion makes sense given the region sits at the epicentre of the aesthetic’s commercialisation. Where Hwang and the others reimagining of the aesthetic cues inextricably linked to stereotypical feminine youth (school playground plaid, blouses and blazers, as well as bows, ribbons & ruffles, to name a few) have trickled down, been filtered through the lens of social media, and then encompassed by the Western World’s need to label and market EVERYTHINGGG, I would argue that many of the “aesthetics” which solidified the popularity of this new approach to discussing fashion, owe a lot to these designers' output on the runway. “Coquette”, “balletcore”, “dark academia”, we’d recognise touches of them all throughout Rokh’s last few collections, but most noticeable of all is the harmony with which he brings so many contrasting “aesthetics” together to create Rokh's distinctive look.

-top to bottom, clockwise L-R: RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S24, F/W22, pre-fall 2022-

This Rokh look is one which caters perfectly to the niche of my personal style which I hope to bring to life through my outfit on my best days:-) that is to say, I want to wear something that embodies the soft, daydreaming, girly-girl in me but does so with reference to the darker, harsher, more provocative cultural movements and media that inspire me too. That sounds really really pretentious, don’t worry, I’m fully aware! I suppose these days the term “fairy grunge” encapsulates what I mean but being the special little snowflake I am I don’t warm to the term, probably because I associate the whole micro trend labelling system with bringing about yet another acceleration in the pace of the fast fashion cycle. Outfits which I see defined by that name usually do hit my sweet spot, they always have, it’s just unfortunate that I feel compelled to go all “iT’s nOt a phAsE, mOM!” after saying that because TikTok has ruined it for me!

That’s not to say Rok Hwang’s collections are really “fairy grunge”. They’re a bit darker, witchier, but equally more streamlined and “put together” than that, which is more tailored towards a runway than an Instagram reel. What they have in common is that Hwang’s collections and the aesthetic label are top tier examples of the girly/grungy balancing act. He does what I love, in taking something dainty or preppy looking, potentially grannyish, and then sprinkling in something a bit tougher so it doesn’t feel like I’m totally infantilising myself, basically working the kinds of things we felt pretty in as little girls into the wardrobe of a grown woman who just wants to be left alone to get on with life! I am a princess at heart, yes, but I also know the way the world is and I have the spirit of the wannabe riotgrrrl in me too, lol.

In terms of the specifics of a Rokh outfit, though, and how Rok Hwang actually achieves that look, there’s a few key elements of the blueprint that came to mind when I was going over the clothes I have in my own wardrobe. Longline coats, trench coats especially, pleats, plaid, metal hardware, and lace are all recurring details throughout his work and are something I’ve always considered staples in my own wardrobe, so that makes his styling feel much more accessible to me. There is a hint of Burberry in his work (obvs only the brand at its very best considering how hit-or-miss it's been of late) but where Daniel Roseberry takes his collections down a more androgynous route, Rokh to me, although dark, is a distinctly feminine, and ultimately really elegant take on that workwear to street wear vibe.

So, yes, I of course included a trench coat! This one, off the top of my head (I know I have referenced it another post at some point) is I think from a charity shop? And then the cut-out blazer is custom made from @Numb&Dumb on Depop. The tartan skirt was part of one of my biannual fast fashion shops, from Urban Renewal @ Urban Outfitters, and the lace bralet from ASOS. Finally, this adorable fluffy white bag was a 2022 Christmas present also from ASOS and the patent boots I’ve had for years now, I think bought from Missguided (again, I have defo confirmed whether this is correct in past look books because I know they have been a go-to in these things for ages). As always, I’m just specifying these things because although it’s unlikely they’re still sold on the original site, you might be able to find them second hand! I once managed to find something I saw in the Brighton Urban Outfitters, and regretted not buying at the time, on Depop 2 years later so if you’ve got that kind of commitment to the fit, you might have the same luck, lol.

Blumarine

The first Blumarine collection since Nicola Brognano’s departure, debuted at Milan Fashion Week, BROKE MY HEART. Completely unrecognisable from the brand Nicola has done the most incredible job in establishing over the past few years. His work has had an undeniable hold on me from the get-go. I never thought I’d see the day I became partial to revisiting the 2000s, as I always had that in mind mind as a dark, dark period for fashion, lmao, but he did that. I can quite confidently say Nicola Brognano did for Y2K, Miu Miu did for prissy academia, and it’s him we owe credit to for the era’s resurgence in popularity.

Browsing through one of his Blumarine collections appealed to both my current self and my inner child in the most fabulous way. That’s to say that somehow, he managed to translate the wardrobes of the animated Bratz Rock Angelz intro irl outfits, and in recent years brought this mystical quality to his collections too, which elevated the brand even further. He took the fun, less offensive elements of Y2K fashion which were present in Blumarine founder Anna Molinari’s work, and revived them for a new era of fashion. Whilst making Blumarine a lot cooler and “grown up”, Nicola still managed to maintain Molinari’s hyper feminine aesthetic, incorporating subtle nods to her original designs. The tendency to close her runway presentations with dresses featuring ethereal, flowing silhouettes, as well her inclusion of youthful, coquettish motifs throughout her work, the reoccurring focus on butterflies and florals to cite the obvious examples, are all staples of early Blumarine that Nicola built upon as creative director. Whilst he developed a version of the brand which was at a glance, wildly different, it was still full to the brim with subtle references to Blumarine’s beginnings.

He didn’t lose these elements, he just made them a lot more interesting. Under Nicola Brognano’s direction, Anna Molinari’s Y2K Barbie girls went all Monster High, with a bit of Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie style post-party, late night sleaze. You could see this as the flip side of the prom Disney pop girl era which Molinari’s collections leaned into at the time. In that sense, Nicola gave brand continuity, but catered to the modern woman, who is trying her best despite the lingering hostility of older generations to embrace and express a wilder, uninhibited side without shame. Blumarine under Nicola championed revealing the inner siren rather than playing demure about it and letting it out on cue in accordance with patriarchal expectations. The tiered chiffon, oft ruffled, mini skirts, for example, which were a reoccurring feature in Molinari’s Blumarine collections, evolved into the ultra low rise pleated micro mini under Nicola. Whilst the colour palette and fit and flare silhouette remained, the ripples were sharpened to become harsh pleats sitting below the more tapered top half of the skirt. To play into the Y2K party girl vibe, Nicola’s skirts pushed the limits of what we’ll call the pre-third wave feminism purity threshold, likely the governing force behind the amount of leg Molinari’s skirts ever revealed, with her minis, whilst typically sitting above the knee, only ever teasing at being “indecent”.

-1st row, l-r: RTW F/W13, S/S13, F/W15, S/S15, 2nd row: RTW S/S16, F/W14, S/S14, F/W16, row 3 to 5, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S17, S/S18, F/W18, F/W17, F/W19, resort 2019-

Then there’s the ditsy, delicate details and prints, a definitive staple of the early collections, which under the helm of Nicola Brognano’s direction evolved into blueprints for the silhouettes of his garments, accessories in particular, or were splashed across barely-there mesh in a way that reads more like lightly tattooed skin on wearers than overpowering, chintzy fabrics. Rather than draping clothes in the materials which constituted the entirety of the garment back in Molinari’s day, Nicola got aggressive with all that lace and chiffon, often using them torn or frayed, wrapping these ribbon-like strips around his models’ glowing skin in a way which highlighted and complimented the stripped back female form rather than as a means of obscuring it. You could believe that once upon a time the women Nicola styled for his runway presentations were dressed a bit like the early Blumarine girls, sure, but only in the context that they’d worn those same clothes throughout an entire decade of non-stop partying, mosh pitting, and watching too many reruns of the Simple Life in the interim, forced a la Drag Race sewing challenge to make something new from the leftovers for Nicola’s show. Seeing the end result, i think most of us are in agreement that if this were the case, every look on that runaway would be worthy of a challenge win. Not a hot glue gun in sight. Pure cunt.

If it weren’t for Nicola’s direction of Blumarine, I don’t know if we’d see brands like Diesel or LoveShackFancy getting the kind of hype they’re getting right now, so I have to thank him not just for his own work but these gifts too. I didn’t think any designer would be able to make me reconsider my vehement hatred for Y2K fashion but he did it. Next on the list of fashion eras in need of a complete reimagining is 80s fashion. Though my heart is BROKEN! Seeing what they’ve done to Blumarine since Nicola Brognano has stepped down as the brands creative director, this could be a huge opportunity for him to start his own label and keep on doing what he’s doing, reinventing revolting fashion trends and making them fucking gorgeoussss. If I were capable of planting thoughts in other people’s minds I’d be giving him an 80s fixation as we speak.

When it came to putting an outfit influenced by Nicola Brognano’s Blumarine together, this grey to khaki fade ultra mini skirt from Minga London was the obvious choice. It was, however, also something I needed to work out how I’d be comfortable wearing; although the style is adorable, my underwear collection isn’t the cute coordinated kind that would make flashing everyone in the vicinity feel like a fun, cheeky thing to do on a night out. If you, unlike myself, are the kind of person that so sufficiently has their shit together they wear pretty matching sets, you won’t have this dilemma, however, trousers under skirts is another 2000s trend I’m surprisingly into as of late. Who would’ve thought we’d bring back the combination we spent several years bashing Ashley Tisdsle for when she did it on the HSM red carpet, smh.

-row 1 to 3, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S20, resort 2022, RTW F/W21, pre-fall 2022, RTW S/S22, 4th row clockwise l-r: RTW F/W22, F/W23, pre-fall 2023, pre-fall 2024, resort 2024, RTW S/S24, resort 2023, RTW S/S23-

For that reason, and also to stay in theme with the somewhat arcane motifs peppered throughout Nicola’s recent collections (his use of crucifixes, the windswept, mermaid-like hair, and the decorative angel wings all being good examples), I chose to wear a pair of celestial/tarot print flared mesh trousers I brought from Urban Outfitters a couple of years ago underneath the skirt. I went for a velvet wrap around detail cropped top which I bought from ASOS in early 2023, in a khaki green that Nicola used a lot over the last few years. IDK whether to put that creative choice down to him referencing the popularity of camouflage print in the 2000s or to signalling that Blumarine, under his direction, would be tougher, more nomadic and free spirited than flirtatious and elegant as it had been under Molinari, but regardless. I’m just happy for a green moment, anything that might reverse the effects of Michelle Visage’s green hate campaign, because it’s such an underrated colour for clothes imo!

Gucci

It will be a surprise to absolutely no one who’s ever read more than one fashion post of mine (if such a person exists, lol) that I will repeat my first “In the Front Row at…” post and include a Gucci inspired outfit again, because I never miss a chance to yap on about how much I adore Alessandro Michele’s work. Don’t get me wrong, Gucci F/W24 this Milan Fashion Week was a big improvement from S/S24 but it’s still not a patch on any of the frequently groundbreaking work Michele showcased whilst he was creative director. Whilst he doesn’t seem the natural choice to take over Valentino from Pierpaolo Piccioli, I am just so excited to be seeing his work on the runway again. Don’t get me wrong, I can admit there were times when his styling was a bit much, like charity shop mannequin dressed in the dark levels of discord going on, but 70% of the time, the outfits we saw on the runway were examples of creative brilliance. A particular stand out is his RTW F/W20 collection, which on god, changed my life, or personal style trajectory at the very least. BDSM style harnesses, structuring plucked right out of the French rococo period, and Wes Anderson-esque co-ords. Who tf would’ve thought that would work? Before anything else, Alessandro’s time as Gucci’s creative director showcased his explorative spirit, which separated him from the many designers playing safe and adhering to the typical formulas of the fashion world, knowing that their stuff will sell based on the reputation of the label alone. We don’t see as much appreciation for the art of curating a unique outfit as in past decades when fashion had to be revolutionary in some way to be taken seriously, and that is why Alessandro’s work was so mesmerising. I’m sure there are many who disagree but it never felt like he was quirky for the sake of being quirky. The mish-mash always seemed purposeful, as though intended to translate the evolution of some sharp dressing, well-travelled, particularly eccentric individual’s wardrobe into a collection of wearable snapshots.

I say this in the sense that Michele made weaving together various periods of fashion history in seem effortless, the styling consistent in painting a picture of the kind of person who would pick out the pieces, in love with glamour and opulence but also drawn to the disruptive and discomforting, craving a bit of dramatic flair and misadventure in their life. His unique eye for complementary prints, shapes and colours made his vision for Gucci consistently shine through the various eras featured, and it went from your run-of-the-mill predictable prestige fashion house (I’m thinking Chanel, YSL, dare I say it Prada…like can we please stop pretending a lot of their collections of late are not completely interchangeable) to one that was always unexpected, exciting and inventive.

When it comes to the fashion climate over the last 10 years (have your internal monologue prepare to impersonate Aquaria here), the word eclectic has not define Gucci, rather Gucci has defined eclectic. Alessandro Michele gave the impression of a determined contrarian, dedicated to proving you can take two wildly different, seemingly clashing trends or period pieces, and bring them together into one singular visual symbiosis, like they were an intuitive match all along; whilst the rest of us were understandably losing our minds during the pandemic, he successfully combined Old Hollywood style cocktail dresses with equestrian gear like it was nbd. I’ll say something along these lines a million times in this post, and I’m sure I have on several occasions already, but he does that thing I love where he adds just the right amount of edge to a piece that’s otherwise paper doll delicate so as to have you believing it would never looked finished or lived in any other way. Alessandro never appeared scared of his Gucci collections being “too” extravagant or costume-y, so I don’t think he’d know the rule of “take one thing off before you leave the house” if it hit him in the face. Instead, he displayed a niche for storytelling, his method of styling his collections in fitting with those of the owner of a bottomless trunk of vintage pieces built up over several decades. We’re talking a person influenced by every subculture and encounter with luxury they’ve had in their lifetime, who couldn’t care less what piece came from where and if some specific fusion of past and present trend made “sense", just that once all dressed up, the contrasting aesthetics were in balance. In my very biased eyes, his constant aversion towards the fashion industry’s boxes established Alessandro Michele as a champion of modern punk on the runway.

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: RTW F/W15, pre-fall 2013, RTW F/W21, F/W22, resort 2023, RTW F/W23, S/S15, S/S14, F/W13, row 3 to 4, clockwise l-r: resort 2021, RTW F/W20, F/W19, S/S20, resort 2020, row 5 to 8, clockwise L-R: resort 2019, pre-fall 2019, pre-fall 2018, RTW S/S18, F/W18, S/S19-

SO, how do you even begin to try and replicate that? I felt that since I did my last Gucci inspired outfit, the range of Michele’s references had extended even further. The theming of the Love Parade collection went all the way from cowboy to cabaret, lol. Sooo, I went back to the basics and focussed on my favourite recurrent features defining his time at Gucci: fur, latex, lace, bold colours, cyberpunk influences, bohemian silhouettes, and (deep breath) the spiritual motifs, which I know is a little vague but by which I mean his use of religious iconography and mysticism as jumping off points for the details he employs in his work, crucifixes and celestial prints being quite prominent ones to give a couple of examples. Fur was a convenient starting point because I had this NastyGal coat I bought from Vinted sitting around waiting to be worn, which I was aware back in April 2023 when I took these photos would otherwise be shoved into the back of my wardrobe until at least mid-February 2024. I overshot a bit because we went to Paris for 2 days at the beginning of January and the -2 degree weather made this wearable yeti acceptable much earlier than planned, but it was right choice for a Gucci inspired outfit in the meantime.

Falling into the same category of things this lookbook gave me an excuse to wear that I otherwise wouldn’t have dare to leave the house in was the faux leather star shaped harness. Why I ever bought this from one of those festival girlie Depop shops as if I would ever be bold enough to actually take it to a festival, idk, but what I did know was that it ticked 3 of my Alessandro Michele Gucci staple boxes: close enough to latex, resting on the threshold between cyberpunk tech-wear and dominatrix (I am sincerely hoping the fact I wore it over something else gets across that I know I would be entirely unsuited to that kind of work), and celestial, in the most literal sense of the word, lol! You can’t do an Alessandro Michele inspired outfit and not have some layering going on, which gave me a reason beyond “I feel…silly:(“ to wear the harness OVER the rest of my outfit rather than just on its own. The rest of the outfit was a very cool lightweight maxi skirt from Collusion covered in some kind of renaissance era biblical scene, which felt right as a way of incorporating Alessandro’s reverence for traditional religious art and symbology. Honestly, coming back to the photos I took in this outfit was also a helpful reminder that I need to budget a sewing machine into my next paycheck too, before I lose all the confidence I developed from a beginner’s lesson I had in January, at any rate. This skirt is one of a handful of unique and treasured items of clothing I don’t wanna let go of since growing out of them and really wanna try and alter instead:(

But anyway, with that noted, just a generic white laced corset, pink fedora (which offsets the cream coat and cool toned skirt in a way I think Alessandro would approve of if I do say so myself) and lace dress over the top remain. If you’re looking to scour Vinted/Depop for either of them, both the hat and skirt were brought from ASOS in early 2023. The dress is Reclaimed Vintage & the hat I’m 99% sure is ASOS Design. I think the dress is still on ASOS but I still have it’s and it’s not gonna fit me anytime soon so if you’re interested, feel free to PM me. If I can make the bad shopping choices I made to try and fill the void left by all the foods I was craving into a victory for sustainable fashion instead...yeah, that would certainly lift my guilt a little-_-

-clockwise l-r: resort 2018, RTW F/W17, pre-fall 2017, RTW F/W16, pre-fall 2016, resort 2016, RTW S/S17, F/W14, S/S16, resort 2017-

Lastly, I chucked on a potentially tacky rhinestone crucifix choker and earrings because there has been a lot of sparkly shit sprinkled throughout the last few Gucci shows. I know the way I’ve phrased it makes it seem as though I’m not a fan of this resurgence in magpie-baiting. I 1000% am. The sequin loving 7 year old within me is still here! I’m just saying that because I am clueless in distinguishing those kind of things. Swarovski crystals, girl? Perhaps. Actual diamonds? Maybe. I really don’t know what the difference is. But Alessandro was throwing sparkles out left right and centre in his last couple of years at Gucci and these 4+ year old pieces of costume jewellery from Dolls Kill, whilst unfortunately being completely incomparable in terms of their price, are an ode to this. I hope he keeps throwing those crystals in alllll the way to the fashion history books where I think it should be duly noted that he deserves a page. Their presence certainly won’t be frowned upon at Valentino so here’s hoping!

Versace

When I say I think Donatella Versace’s interpretation of her brother’s aesthetic is the definition of the term“power dressing”, I know the implication. I see what the dreaded…#girlboss…has become and let it be known, I am not here to slander the good Donatella name like that. I do not see Versace as the uniform of the Facebook MLM Yummy Mummies or as emblematic of the soulless late-stage capitalists disguised as tortured poets (on god, if it’s been 6 months without any signs of life, send help, because fans of the second category probably got me) it wouldn’t be in this post. What I mean is that a Versace outfit has...big dick energy? Do we still say that? Spice. Sophistication. Smarts. More S words I can’t think of. Wanna say sexy secretary without implying the Versace woman is anything other than the CEO. Or using the word “core”. I’ll stop now.

What I think I’m getting at is that Donatella reimagines power dressing for outside of the stereotypical corporate workplace environment. For the splashy, extravagant parties implicitly designed for “networking” but taken as an opportunity by the wearer to have fun dressing to the nines and test the limits of what might constitute a company scandal, for example. Essentially, we’re talking someone who would fit right in if said corporate environment was the HQ of a fashion magazine, but get fired for an unapologetic violation of the dress code at a Forbes 500 company. A woman I’m sure many of us want to be, but cannot, because we are broke, and so instead will allow our workplaces to completely strip us of our dignity and tolerate flagrant disregard for employee rights before we do something that might risk our paycheck. I say “us” but maybe that’s just me. I can’t afford a HR issue and am far too much of a compulsive people pleaser to risk pissing off my boss, tehe! Lovin’ life! xo

Like her brother before her, Donatella exceeds at taking everything that's boring from elite society's understanding of how a "sophisticated woman" should dress and turning it on its head, without completely losing the elegance immediately (and sometimes unjustifiably, if anyone’s seen a Dior collection recently) associated with luxury clothing. Not afraid to include elements that may be viewed as audacious or "new money", Donatella designs for the post-high school prom queen who thrives on every look of disapproval that comes their way when they enter a room of generational wealth, fully aware that for every head shake there’s another modestly dressed onlooker suppressing their desire to similarly indulge their curiosity in provocative, forward-looking, pop culture influenced fashion too.

All that being said, there few scenarios we would expect to see a rich girl that Donatella hasn’t covered. A winter at boarding school, a day on the tennis courts, a week in St.Tropez, out on fucking safari!!! A scenario relatable to the masses, ofc!!!! But that last one is a great example of how Donatella is also comfortable leaning into camp. RTW S/S21 for example, started with what felt like a 80s Miami Beach street style parade and ended in the vein of the mermaid edition of a Victoria’s Secret show. If there’s one designer who is great at using styling to recreate the effortless sex appeal that '90s supermodels like Claudia Schiffer, Gisele Bundchen, Elle Mcphearson etc. brought to the runway, it’s Donatella, who honours her brother’s legacy to this day. Regardless of the model or the theme, the finished product of a Versace runway has you feeling like you’re watching a conveyor belt of Barbie-Bratz doll hybrids, unattainable and aspirational, even if up close you see a few uneven hems. Just do a DW and pretend you cannot see it, lol, and you’ll enjoy yourself. I think it’s doing a disservice, however, to make Versace sound confined to cookie-cutter traditional feminine ideals. Versace wouldn’t be Versace without a hint of sexual intrigue. At the beginning, Gianni’s ability to design garments that removed the male gaze from the equation of what makes a woman “sexy”, instead finally centring what made the actual women around him feel confident and powerful in his translation of concept to clothing, is one of the things that set him apart. This means from the offset, neither Gianni nor Donatella have been boxed in by what’s socially acceptable or “pretty”. Donatella has named Vivienne Westwood as an inspiration, so when I say she does know how to embrace a bit of rock and roll, go down the bad girl route, I’m not speculating, I am just the messenger! I know Versace is far from anti-establishment, but this hasn’t stopped Donatella from being influenced by those aesthetics over the years, cheeky little winks carefully placed in amongst the head-turning sleekness the brand is known for.

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: Atelier Versace haute couture F/W16, S/S16, F/W15, S/S17, F/W17, row 3 to 4, clockwise l-r: Versace RTW F/W17, F/W15, pre-fall 2019, RTW S/S19, resort 2019, RTW F/W18, S/S18, S/S16, row 5 to 6, top to bottom: RTW F/W19, S/S21-

So, when we’re talking about what makes an outfit Versace inspired, what is the answer? Because I’d say that despite the varying muses Donatella seems to have had, it’s pretty recognisable and cohesive as a brand. You see the same silhouettes and materials and accessories popping up over the years which I guess explains a lot of it, but is not any kind of dig at her designs being repetitive (though I was a bit bored by the FW24 collection, truth be told) because she otherwise mixes it up, and a lot of these elements are often justifiable nods to Gianni. I tried to include a few of these in my outfit.

This old Boohoo blouse was a good minimal base to go underneath my favourite part of the outfit which is this faux leather snake print corset, bought from ASOS in early 2023; the corset immediately came to mind as ticking several of the checkboxes I’d mentally include on a list of Versace's aesthetic cues. Bold print, faux leather, emphasised silhouette…I’ll tentatively link the significance of the corset structure back to Gianni’s tongue in cheek exploration of that S&M, dominatrix kind of look which has made similarly fitting garments a recurring feature throughout the brand’s history. I say tentatively, because I don’t want to convey the idea I can really pull that vibe off myself, lmao, but I think that’s why I threw the more professional shirt on underneath. I feel like, conveniently, it worked out pretty well because the combination has what I’ll call the private school princess vibe which appears to be a popular choice when it comes to Donatella's way of stying her designs; just see the latest F/W24 collection and, one of my all time favourites for casual outfit inspiration, the Resort 2019 look book for reference. To bring together the slightly collegiate vibe the blouse under the corset creates, in contrast to these sheer stockings I had lying around, I referred back to that same resort collection where berets were used as a finishing touch for the preppier looking outfits. An old faux leather one I bought from Ebay (I think?) felt more in line with the essence of the brand than a felt/wool blend version of the style.

Just like Gianni did in the early years, Donatella uses classical tailoring and opulent fabrics as a jumping off point to infuse raunchier details more representative of the hyper-glamorous Miami party scene the brand found its footing in. Over the years, we’ve seen sartorial choices likely once controversial to the luxury buyer help solidify Versace’s cultural status. PVC and leather bases, shocks of colour splashed across typically restrained fabrics (such as vinyl and fur, often seen as inherently “statement” aspects of a garment), attention-grabbing prints are all brand signatures, but only in conjunction with the simple, flattering details which made existing high price mark garments aspirational in the early days of runway. To channel this part of the brand identity, I added one of the coats I like to think of as the GOAT when it comes to my excessive outerwear collection, this pink PVC coat with equally shocking pink fur trim, bought from Topshop a couple of years ago.

My regret of the outfit is for sure the green metallic platform heels, which I saw last minute at Primark the day before I planned to take the photos. They were £6 on sale, in my head seemed the closest I could get to Versace’s instantly iconic Aevita pumps for the price, but also something I have never worn again thus sincerely regret buying ever since. Firstly, because I try to avoid participating in trade with a shop whose ethical practices are notoriously questionable (despite their recent greenwashing campaign, I doubt the rises in their prices has anything to do with better employment and environmental protocols, lol) where I can, and secondly, because there is a visually displeasing imbalance between the chonk of the heel & garishness of their green reflective plastic wrap with the actual height they add. If you’ve got statement girth and statement colour, I feel like you need statement height too, lol! They are not the Versace inspired platform Mary Janes they resembled on the shelf once on my actual bloody feet. Lesson learned: you will almost always be disappointed by Primark, and by your own purchasing habits, when you “pop in” there.

-clockwise l-r: Versace resort 22, pre-fall 2022, resort 2021, RTW S/S20, resort 2020, pre-fall 2024, RTW F/W20, pre-fall 2021-

There’s quite the list of brand hallmarks that came to mind when picking my outfit beyond what I’ve already mentioned but if I haven’t dropped it in already, metallics make a frequent appearance throughout the Versace archives, stemming from Gianni’s fascination with both Greek mythology and the baroque period; precious metals are centred as a universal, much-desired symbol of luxury throughout both, and so it follows that Gianni could conceive of nothing more magical than to have models walk the runway dripping in the stuff. To this end, he went so far as to invent his own lightweight chainmail fabric called Oroton, which is so ingenious and definitely not spoken about enough because wtf!? I had no idea about this until I wrote this post! Is this not common knowledge or am I just clueless? This internal debate is a frequent if not daily one so I can live with the fact I probably can’t gauge a general consensus in response to that question, fashion students who beat the odds and stumble across this, pls don’t lecture me:( Obviously, I can’t get hands on something like that myself, lol, but I knew I needed something in that arena to finish off the outfit, which left alone would be facilitating my penchant for throwing on a million rings and necklaces running amok. I had to think carefully!! The closest I could get was to pile on the chain necklaces, and include this chainmail rhinestoned belt I got years ago from Brandy Melville, on top of the rest of my outfit. Plus, the inclusion of metallics as a core element of Versace arguably allowed for the exploration and incorporation of the ways metal is featured in other, less glamour focussed ways of dressing, which also factored into the skirt I chose. An example: Gianni’s use of embellishments and his experiment with safety pins as a means of structuring his dresses paved the way for an entire collection inspired by the punk movement of the '90s (RTW S/S94 in particular). In the last decade, Donatella has paid homage to the theme more than once (notably the RTW F/W 2012, F/W13, F/W17, F/W12, pre-fall 2019, and F/W20 collections ), which is no surprise, given her vocal admiration for Vivienne I mentioned earlier. I can’t lie, punk Versace is my absolute favourite, and definitely the biggest influence on my choice of outfit here. Over and above the faux leather and its classic A-line fit, I picked this ASOS skirt I bought early last year for this outfit because of the safety pin detailing which holds it together.

It’s seemingly not just Gianni’s interpretation of punk that influenced Donatella’s designs, and there are a number of face value similarities between her work, Westwood’s, and Gianni’s, that have her exploration of the style feel, and look, both seamless and organic: the shared unashamed emphases on the feminine shape, use of colourful silks and satins to evoke the desirability of historical muses, the boudoir inspired touches from lace and suspenders to lingerie worn as casual wear and barely there slip-dresses dotted throughout, all of which made for bold declarations of encouragement for women wishing to reclaim the innate power of female sensuality. Compare the form fitting Versace dresses to Vivienne’s famous corsets, the ethereal fabrics used to accentuate the body whilst keeping the actual revelation of it to one’s own discretion, for example. The frequent inclusion of leather (both faux and otherwise) and similar looking wet-look, high sheen fabrics in both, along with heavy duty outerwear, is just another clear point of overlap between the Versace look and the tough, armour-like pieces popularised by the boundary-pushing punk movement. Leather jackets, platform heels, and the occasional dip into attention-grabbing, high-contrast colour palettes sprinkled in amongst a deluge of black were perhaps intended in both cases to grab and dominate everyone’s attention.

The bigger take away here though is that it seems Donatella recognises the value of adaptability in the fashion world, and by extension, the application of this principle to the mass market. It would follow that the relative subtlety Donatella has deployed when translating Versace’s central components into its products of late is impressively tactical; I mention “subtlety” not to imply these characteristics have been sparse, but rather to describe the nature of the translation, which sees the brand’s signatures appear in the form of simple, accessible and, most importantly, versatile garments. Frequently generic enough for high street retailers to produce in mass quantities and variations making them both popular with the average consumer, I have to assume this is critical to the continued interest in the brand even amongst those who argue there’s been a stark decline in garment quality under Donatella.

-row 1 to 4, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S13, S/S15, S/S14, F/W13, row 5 & 6, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S23, F/W21, resort 2023, pre-fall 2013, resort 2014-

The Aevita platform pumps are just one of many instances of widely duplicated trends which have first (not very first, before anyone kicks up a fuss and argues I’m trying to claim Donatella created Mary-Janes) appeared on the Versace runway and diffused down to high street stores and back into our collective consciousness. The headscarves we saw models wearing in the F/W21 RTW collection, however, are another good example of a Versace signature (bold coloured/printed silks and satins) being translated to a more accessible, crowd-pleasing product. It’s this widespread appeal perhaps, as well as recent debate about the ethical conduct of certain brands, which makes Versace one of a handful of examples of the established big-name fashion houses left that retains its cultural relevance. It’s debatable whether the statement can be extended to fashion industry experts, since I know a lot of people criticise Donatella too (for the shoddy hemlines in particular, lol) but whilst the general consensus is that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Virginie Viard have ran Dior and Chanel into the ground, it seems there are a crowd of us who still get excited for a Versace collection. It’s definitely got something to do with its popularity amongst current household names like Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa, but imo, it’s because the brand is one of the remaining prominent names in fashion which we rely on to reliably pump out modern takes on the classics. From my perspective, Donatella knows how to appeal to both those familiar with the brand’s archival content, those most enthused by a fresh but recognisable take on the label’s classic look, as well as the mass consumer audience, which ranks it high on my list of anticipated, and influential, shows when fashion week comes around.

Simone Rocha

Simone is another designer with a very clear vision and brand. Similarly to Rokh and Gucci, she is incredible at combining dainty, intricate, youthful feminine pieces that take inspiration from her heritage with edge. The bones of a Simone Rocha look is all precious, doll-like silhouettes, oversized collars, ruffles, and in general, lots of elements which hark back to an era when women were supposed to look pretty and do not much else. But subverting this ideal, Simone combines these features with typically masculine grunge and metal influenced touches, such as oversized bike jackets, platform boots, and harnesses, all of which wouldn’t be out of place at a Blink 182 concert in the 2000s.

When I think of the end result, of head to toe Simone Rocha, I think of a present day retelling of a myth where some goddess is punished for her beauty and grace by a bunch of horny men who think she wronged them, but this Tim round gets to come back and fuck them all up:-) so I’m sure Simone has been commended for creating the uniform of the modern warrior goddess already, but if it hasn’t been mentioned in a while, this is a reminder of what it is she does so brilliantly. She has created a wardrobe for a woman who has not by any measure lost touch with, nor wishes to diminish, the softness associated with femininity. Instead, she continually updates parts of this look for both practical purposes and in order to reflect the inherent strength that leaning into womanhood often requires you to have in the face of constant underestimation by patriarchal society.

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S16, F/W15, F/W17, F/W14, S/S17, S/S15, F/W16, S/S19, row 3 to 8, clockwise l-r: RTW F/W18, S/S18, S/S20, S/S21, F/W20, F/W19-

She loves to layer, and in this way, all the softness of the individual pieces come together to create a bit of bulk, which underlies the disruptive presence a Simone Rocha styled model has on the runway. Naturally, I had to layer, layer, layer too and god knows I love a bit of layering:D SO as a base, I just went with one of my favourite white blouses, which is a slightly chintzy charity shop number. I don’t tend to wear it as is, but more for when I want a white collar to pop over something or to poke out at the end of my sleeves, which it does very well because it’s a few sizes too big for me. TBH, I kind of lean towards going with the most oversized version of a piece of clothing I can find, especially atm, and Simone Rocha’s aesthetic leans firmly in that direction too. A lot of Simone garments look like something you’d see on a vintage China doll, blown up to just about get over the head of a tall man, though really suited to a more petite woman. She tends to drape her signature gossamer babydoll dress over the top of more refined, utilitarian pieces and it’s that combination which modernises the whole look.

In that vein, I had the white shirt, and for the next part of the outfit, I took my time to mentally run through the dresses I already own because as you can probably tell from this post, I acknowledge was not doing well in my goal of shopping sustainably in early 2023. I can’t lie, my head was all over the place pretty much the entirety of last year, I had to defer every single one of my uni deadlines (lol), spent weekends coming home just to work my retail job like a headless chicken for 18 hours straight, and had just started anorexia treatment. Not to yap on about it and make excuses, but impulse purchasing was my unfortunate substitute for comfort eating. I still regret it now, especially since none of that shit I bought will ever fit me again, lol, but we move! I tell myself!

Back to the outfit though! I knew I had a lot of dress which resembled the Simone silhouette already but they were lacking a little character, something along the lines of the abstract floral outlines and embroidery that recur throughout her work. So what did I do? I was a sneaky lil bitch and borrowed an old dress of my mum’s from Coast. The volume of the skirt and the abstract monochromatic floral embroidery felt very in keeping with Simone Rocha’s subdued, stripped back colour palette. She does tend to throw in some light pastels and earthy tones too though, which makes sense, and feels like a means of embracing the delicate sides of nature. For this reason, and the sake of further layering, I wore a semi-sheer pink chiffon smock I got from Vinted, originally from Weekday, over the top. The final touches of a Simone look though, the tougher, rawer elements which aid in creating that look of protective armour around the fragile, doll-like base of the outfit, I knew would be best channelled through footwear and accessories. I love a platform shoe, definitely have way too many of them, but my collection came in useful here, and on top of a pair of sheer thigh high socks I wore these beloved ASOS clomp the house down Mary-Janes which in hindsight, probs would’ve been a better finishing touch to my Versace inspired outfit too. Although I decided on an old (but fake ofc) pearl necklace and headband, I used these harnesses I got from eBay a while back, to toughen the outfit up a bit in the way Simone does so well. I am sooOoo gassed that she's been made the creative director at Jean Paul Gaultier, and her debut haute couture collection for the label was a perfect meeting of her own vision with the brand’s existing iconography.

-clockwise l-r: RTW F/W21, S/S22, F/W22, S/S23-

Alessandra Rich

I’ve always loved Alessandra Rich’s vision, a celebration of the glamour embodied by every rich bitch It Girl of the last century. She channels the fictional: Cher Horowitz, the Heathers, Fallon Carrington, and yes, under appreciated icon Chanel Oberlin (whom I’m sure would be far more appreciated if we could collectively agree to pretend the second season of Scream Queens never happened, lol). But she also nods to the real: Princess Diana, Jackie O, Audrey Hepburn, and my modern day nominee, Julia Hobbs. I may be biased in saying Julia because I want her life, lol, as she doesn’t really apply when it comes to what makes Alessandra’s aesthetic hit the spot for me; I think it’s all about the way she takes these women’s famously revered sense of elegance and polish and reimagines that style in alignment with an agenda to rebel against the prim and proper standards their styles were confined by. I say Julia Hobbs is the exception because she’s already out here living her best life in the kinds of ridiculously mini Miu Miu mini skirts that would’ve got Jackie O forced out of D.C, and you know what? I can only dream of having the nerve to pull that off, lol.

In other words, whilst an Alessandra Rich looks screams “I’m fucking loaded” (can’t relate on that one but can defo be inspired, tehe), it also appeals to the black sheep of that kind of wealthy, established old money family, which makes for a very cool good girl gone bad aesthetic. Think the Posh Totties from St.Trinians. Remember them? I know it might be 15 years too late but I would love a spin off revolving purely around their lives, lol. I truly aspired to be them when I was older, which I maintain the delusional belief could still happen, as I am in some ways mentally stuck at 14.

-clockwise l-r: RTW F/W20, S/S21 pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W17, F/W18, F/W22, S/S22, resort 2022, F/W 21-

Alessandra gives us 90s Chanel-esque co-ords, pearl necklaces, bows, several staple features in keeping with this current coquette craze, but then throws in a bold print, some suspenders, impractically high heels, some contrarian touch that makes an outfit previously wearable to a White House correspondents dinner suddenly way too scandalous. Can I just add here that wearing Alessandra Rich whilst doing so would be the perfect addition to the act of torching that building to the ground after said dinner. A timeless fashion moment, bc LORD! LORDD! I am tired of references to the J-Lo Versace dress. Just saying xx

Though the white lace dress I got from @babi_fus on Depop, originally Urban Outfitters, was a good base for an Alessandra Rich outfit, given white and lace both crop up at some point in almost all of her collections, the halter neck cut didn’t really fit in with the dressy, afternoon tea feel her designs seem to be a twist on. I had to layer. I had to do it! I'll admit I find any excuse to pile it on anyway but in this case it was a must:-)

For that reason, I used this Zara ruffled crop top I bought from Depop to go underneath as a formal touch. Similarly, the argyle pattern of the sheer ASOS knee highs I felt had that St.Trinians vibe Alessandra encapsulates. Unlikely style inspiration, perhaps? I don’t know. I remember being a little bit obsessed with those looks from the get-go. Like I said, even 9 year old me recognised those Posh Totties were the shit.

-clockwise l-r: RTW F/W16, S/S19, F/W19, S/S20, S/S16-

To build on the ‘90s grunge aesthetic Alessandra seems to have been exploring in recent years, I finished things off with my favourite 2000s Avril Lavigne inspired belt (full disclosure, she was another childhood icon, truly wanted to be that woman til I grew up and realised I can’t sing for shit xo) on top of a Tammy Girl sheer lace up cardi from ASOS, and a velvet choker I’ve had for far too long to remember where I bought it from! Probably EBay again, lol! The little chiffon rose is just a hair clip from Amazon I added on top, and finally, the oversized blazer which I have no doubt I’ve relied on in past lookbooks, is from @ccooks on Depop.

Rodarte

Kate and Laura Mulleavy know what the wannabe fashion girls want: an ethereal, other-worldly princess moment but one that still subverts that norm a bit too. Rodarte F/W23, which is the perfect example of this, was the dark fairytale inspired collection which spoke to those of us who have one foot in the past where we, as little girly girls, idolised Disney Princesses, Flower Fairies and prima ballerinas etc etc., but also one foot in the present where we are enthralled by portrayals of dark, gothic femininity and avant-garde fashion. Their dresses are beautiful but underlying their collections are a sense of fun, freedom, and refusal to conform to that quiet, polite, male-gaze focussed respectable princess.

They are designed with women in mind, not necessarily what is considered “sexy” which is what we are always made to feel is the ultimate compliment, but instead drawing from beauty as we see it in the natural world, making floral motifs, flowing silhouettes, and an emphasis on detail key features of the brand. I think these women are as intelligent and thoughtful in their design work as those more abstract names in fashion who are typical commended for these feats. A Rodarte collection never looks rushed, and despite the fairly simple design ethos, manages to remain fresh, interesting, and innovative. Ultimately, in the same vein as is apparent in Simone Rocha’s work, Kate and Laura understand how to convey a sense of both breathtaking elegance and at the same time, strength, power, fierce command of one’s self.

This outfit was comparatively fairly simple. This stunninggg dress was from Urban Outfitters, and I just knew the colour, fit and fabric made it the natural starting point for a Rodarte inspired look. I will say that this dress is one thing I’m finding it hard to part with in recovery, because I never actually ended up wearing it out before it got too small for me, and I felt so magical in it on this occasion when it did still fit-_-

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W14, F/W22, S/S23, F/W19, F/W21, F/W15, F/W13, row 3 to 8, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S19, S/S20, S/S22, F/W16, F/W23, F/W20-

-TW: discussion of eating disorder recovery-

It took me some time to accept that recovery meant I would never fit into most of my clothes again because I’m sure anyone who’s gone through it will agree that AN still feels a part of you for a long time, to the extent that you have rose tinted glasses on, and feel like returning to that weight is the only way you can feel at home again. Accepting that your current body is your home, not some temporary, uncomfortable accommodation you are forced to stay in ‘til you work out how to get back to what you’ve convinced yourself is a kind of “safe place”, is some of the hardest work you have to do. To truly affirm to yourself that you will never feel safe in your body when your worth is contingent on something as volatile as your weight, requires you to let go of anything that suggests changing yourself to become any specific weight, especially one which involves making yourself unhealthy all over again, is a viable solution to any future problems. Like, take it out of your fucking tool kit!

It’s not easy at all. When comparing your body with AN to your body at a healthy weight, it takes a long time to differentiate between “this is how I should look” and “this is how I looked with an illness that I’m fortunate enough to be overcoming” if that makes sense. I definitely still struggle with it, but it has for sure got easier since I started selling and donating clothes which trigger that unhelpful process of mental comparison.

-TW finishes here-

A lot of the stuff I sold or donated I just wasn’t as fond of anymore anyway, or was basic enough that there will always be something similar out there in the future. A lot of it I couldn’t see myself still liking in a few years anyway. Like I can’t see myself being 30 thinking "shit, I wish I still had that neon pink fishnet crop top!" if ya get me.

I have a few really unique things, however, that I hope I’ll be able to up-cycle at some point, once I finally get a sewing machine. This dress is one of them! I mention this here because this is one of the pieces I’m not sure whether I’m being realistic about, lmao.

So, here’s my question for any sewing experts who might see this before I continue: I am being moronic in thinking there’s some way a beginner could alter this dress? The material is somewhere between cheesecloth and chiffon but if any of you are reading this and would be so kind enough to signpost me, a DM would be amazing! IDK how helpful my guess at the fabric is but OFC I can investigate the inner label for specifics. I ask just because it seems it would be too delicate to withstand being taken apart and restitched without tearing in the process. Or if not a beginner, would a tailor do something like that for an affordable price (i.e for less than the £60 I paid for at full price, lol)? Or do I just let the bloody thing go? idk!

-clockwise l-r: RTW S/S17, F/W18, S/S24, S/S21, S/S15, S/S16-

In terms of details for the outfits, anyways (before I go further off topic as I am very aware of my tendency to do that LOL), my aim was to replicate that gothic fairytale vibe Laura and Kate capture in many of their collections. These sheer black gloves, for example, had me feeling a little bit witchy, as did the black flower crown (finally validating my choice to hold onto the bloody thing long after the time any respectable person would wear a flower crown out of the house) and the velvet choker. The choker is the same one from my Alessandra Rich outfit, but I’m pretty sure (and it would make sense, lol) that this flower crown was handmade by someo ne on Etsy. I will do a little bit of browsing of my past orders and add the shop if I can find it but I don’t know if my order history goes as far back as the Vanessa Hudgens Coachella Queen era. Yeah, let that rush of nostalgia hit you like a truck too, join me in my yearning for that simpler time:( If my spluttering at her PR team’s statement addressing the photograph of her gumming white powder from a baggie at the same festival a couple of years later (essentially “Vanessa is diabetic and she needs to micro dose herself with sugar frequently”) didn’t set the stage for my 4 months and counting long obsession with Kensington Palace’s wild attempts to control the KateGate narrative, I don’t know what did.

Speaking of mysterious deaths though (I am joking, I am not that far down the conspiracy hole yet), I didn’t want it to look too much like I was at a funeral. In my mind, I wanted there to just be a couple of points of contrast against the yellow, extremely fairy coded dress. I was going for forest nymph. You know, playful, whimsical, but potentially a bit sinister too, with the black, high society Victorian era widow inspired details my (perhaps questionable) interpretation of this. I mean, given the fact that pretty much anything exclusive to the wealthy was considered “fashion” regardless of how ugly, it is really no surprise that elbow length gloves retained their association with quiet elegance, still making an appearance in haute couture collections, and frequently in Rodarte shows, to this day. Anything theatrically melancholic, anything resembling a garm Queen Victoria might have picked out after her husband died, is always going to have connotations with romantic tragedy, yearning, the discomforting disruption of fantasy by reality, all of which are concepts I think Laura and Kate have embodied through their collections at one point or another. To honour this, I disrupted the perfect Rodarte outfit with the knock-off Versace Primark heels! To my surprise, the end result exceeded my expectations! Woo! Not SUCH a waste of £6 after all. Like I actually think they look better with this outfit. Let’s just call it a plot twist that they worked better for Rodarte than Versace. An unintentional ode to the way Rodarte reimagines the fantasy wardrobes we mentally drafted in girlhood and through a process of refinement, the incorporation of both practical and avant garde elements here and there, makes it relevant to modern fashion. To own something Rodarte is still just as much of a fantasy, don’t get me wrong, but their brand continuity means I can at least produce my own cheap take on their vision.

Mugler

Writing out this post, and trying to explain why I find each of these brands inspiring, I’m noticing a heavily recurring theme, lol; the creative directors I admire the most are those who simultaneously embrace and subvert classical notions of femininity. In other words, whilst silhouettes and fabrics usually associated with fragility, elegance, sensuality, and romanticism, are at the core of the collections, the designers I’ve spoken about do not shy away from references to “masculine” or an androgynous ways of dressing. This explorative approach varies in its manifestation depending on the creative director. Every one I’ve mentioned here possesses a level of talent in doing that I can likely only ever dream of successfully replicating! But all the same I’m inspired by their tactics to the extent that I don’t ever question I'll be satisfied with my attempts at imitation, I.e my subconscious tells me some outfit combination looks a little Gucci inspired, I’m wearing it.

Bottom line, I think my obsessive following of the designers I’ve waffled on about has infiltrated my subconscious; without acknowledging the fact, their blueprints are the guiding force in my striving for a “feminine”/“masculine” balance in my outfit. Whether this is through including details deemed provocative or ostentatious, or, most frequently, experimenting with what patriarchal ideals might deem “ugly” on a woman, the brands I’ve included have definitely given me the confidence to trust my instincts. I have been insulted many a time by little man babies for groovy hats, chunky shoes, and oversized trousers, and honestly, it’s probably only through following the create directors I’ve mentioned over the years that I feel unfazed by their unsolicited opinions, lol! Unless I respect their sense of style first, I’m happy to say I couldn’t give less of a fuck what their take is and when it comes to self-expression, I think that’s the best way to be.

The collections that have been released by Mugler over the years are a masterclass in this balancing act. Though the burlesque inspired designs, at first glance, appear geared towards highlighting what may be traditionally thought of as a woman’s sex appeal, they go beyond the simple sexualisation of the female body. Over the years, Mugler’s various creative directors have followed the lead of Thierry who drew his inspiration from a wide range of gender neutral references, all the way from science fiction characters, comic book heroes and villains, to mythical warriors and biker gangs. Over and above perpetuating the idea that a woman’s body must fit into some rigid hourglass shape, Mugler designs transform in accordance with all kinds of women’s body types, taking the lines and curves female worth has historically been judged on and through his tailoring, morphing the wearer’s form into a powerful structure upon and around which an entire outfit can be created. Some kind of boning or contrast stitching embedded into a garment, typically running parallel to the edges of the body is one of Mugler’s defining aesthetic cues, and the reason why I felt like the ASOS faux leather co-ord was the right choice for the centre point of a Mugler inspired outfit! When I said in my Rodarte section about things I had to let go of, I’d place this in the love-it-right-now-but-would-probs-rather-walk-on-hot-coals-then-wear-it-publicly-in-five-years-time category. Like… I think…it’s a serve? It is in my eyes anyway! That being said, I also think outside of a night out in London, you’re going to get asked if you’re going to a Totally Spies costume party. But look, in the outfit Venn diagram, memorable fashion moment and things that would make you the subject of public ridicule in my hometown are certainly not mutually exclusive categories:-)

-clockwise l-r: RTW F/W21, F/W19, resort 2021, RTW S/S19, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, RTW S/S22, F/W20-

Mugler’s designs, for me, have highlighted the power of tailoring (I acknowledge that sounds an incredibly fancy word to describe the skin tight fit of an ASOS purchase, but pls be aware I use this in the context of its similarities to Mugler pieces in general lol!) which showcases and uplifts the duality of the feminine, which tips the hat towards an orientation to detail, appreciation for beauty, and interest in an object’s visual appeal that for wayyyy! too! fucking! long! has been conflated with being “shallow”, but does so with the practicalities of the modern world in mind; Mugler designs aren’t made for sitting around and looking pretty, they are made for movement and longevity, which goes hand in hand with the frequent use of leather in the brand’s collections. Like something is not “skin tight” for the sake of male fantasy, but instead fits to the skin to highlight the grace and fluidity inherent to the maneuverer of the body, constructed from sleek fabric armour which dips and flows in contrast to the natural hue of the brand’s eternally glowing runway models.

Fabrics and silhouettes aren’t the be-all and end-all of the Mugler “look” however. For as much as the pieces we see transform the body into semi-robotic works of art, this has never translated to the typical “futuristic” colour palette. Whilst white, grey, black and metallics are definitely heavily featured in Mugler’s work, colour is just as essential, especially for David Koma’s (whom I have to say, whilst I have this chance, is so so so underrated!) incarnation of the brand. I know minimalism, and the resulting tilt towards muted colour palettes, has dominated luxury fashion over the past decade, but from the start, Mugler’s tendency to take inspiration from comic books, pop art, and cabaret have set the standard for his successive creative directors to avoid the confines of a monochromatic palette. In his eyes, leaning into womanhood should never obligate us to hiding demurely in the corner, and there are few better ways to assert one’s presence than by blinding everyone in the room with a neon. Well, not necessarily neon, nobody wants to replicate the wardrobe of an '80s aerobics fanatic, but just bold, bright colours in general. You get me!

There’s nothing wrong with restricting yourself to blacks, whites, greys, neutrals; they epitomise the concept of the “staple” piece after all, and I know I’d personally be pretty fucked if I didn’t have so many go-to black pieces, since they go with almost everything! That being said, I could just never get on board with a brand lacking in colour. Colour is fun! I think we are soOoo lucky to be able to witness their natural harmony in nature! They are central to some of the things I marvel at in the world. Like think about it: magnificent sunsets, gorgeously arranged bouquet of flowers, the combination of a person’s skin tone, hair, and eye colour that every so often stops you in your tracks and has you thinking how stunning they are! Sorry to be cheesy, but why not! I feel like we should appreciate nature as much as me can while we can, because soon enough we’ll have destroyed the planet anyway at this rate-_- For all these years I’ve felt like a basic bitch for not being able to sit through old movies but now…is this my justification? The lack of colour?

I get that for a lot of revered designers, e.g. Yohji Yamamoto, Ann Demeulemeester, the muted tones are key to the brand’s identity, and I’m not shitting on them, but I suppose I am just like a little hyperactive child in that I my eyes are drawn to whatever is most visually stimulating, lol. For that reason, I’m a huge fan of the colour blocking, shocking pinks, blues, and reds, and futuristic, oil-spill like blending of complementary shades dotted throughout a Mugler collection, and the way they are used sporadically to demand my attention.

-top to bottom: RTW S/S21, S/S20, F/W22-

This is something I really wanted to incorporate, and hopefully semi-successfully did by way of the sheer tie-dye Topshop top I wore underneath a vintage black blazer. I think the inbuilt shoulder pads were why I went with that; the slightly exaggerated, angular nature of the sleeves the shoulder pads create made meant this jacket felt the closest I could get to the kind of sharp, crisply defined outerwear Mugler has rolled out over the years. My other option was a black PVC trench coat I’ve whipped out for many a past lookbook, and it does have a bit of a Matrix/Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia/potential school shooter vibe (whichever of those you pick probably depends on how you feel about the coats lmao), the first of which would make it appropriate for a Mugler look. I decided against it though, in the end, because with the faux leather co-ord I did feel like it’d be a little bit overkill, too far in the direction of a Russian spy or a sci-fi villain, ya know. The black high sheen heeled boots (an old pair from Missguided, definitely specified in a previous post!) and the black gloves (EBay!) tied it all together well enough that the colours truly did feel like a pop rather than the focus of the outfit, without being overpowering. Gloves are a big thing in Mugler collections, so I couldn’t not include them in my outfit, especially because they were having their moment when I did this lookbook anyway. Where is the inspiration coming from there? Burlesque? Comic book heroes/villains? IDK. But like I said, they’ve been popular on and off for long enough that now I feel they’ll always belong to the realm of the fashion world.

Kim Shui

When I was thinking of designers to do outfits inspired by, Kim Shui immediately came to mind. I’ve loved her collections since I first saw the details from one of them posted on HF Twitter a few years ago and have since eagerly awaited her shows every NYFW. It wasn’t immediately apparent to me why her brand would come to mind along with the likes of Gucci and Rokh, for example, who have been a lot more consistent in terms of their spots in my fashion week top 10s, but the more I thought about it, the more I recognised that as much as the brands that had come to mind already were my favourites, they also had an aesthetic which I was subconsciously linking to distinct items in my wardrobe. In that way, I realised that this isn’t so much a set of outfits inspired by my all time top 10 brands, but more a set of outfits encapsulating the range of brands which have had the most significant influence in my personal style over the last decade. I guess this post is kinda like a little tribute to the designers whose work I think of as the most significant embodiment of each individual component I could single out if I were to dissect the mishmash of inspirational forces in my version of what we call “personal style”. Like I could include Zimmerman and Cavalli, two brands I really love, but the clear intersection they have with Etro as the ruling force behind my gravitational pull towards anything I can conceive of as being worn by Stevie Nicks in her heyday would’ve resulted in this lookbook containing 3 very similar outfits. Etro is the one I remember first being enthralled by, and the one which continues to have the strongest association with the compartment in my brain where all the images of ‘70s bohemian disco and decadence, of Cher, Bianca Jagger, and Diana Ross, are stored, which is why I chose to do what I’m sure you’re thinking is “that old chestnut” again.

Similarly, Kim Shui is probably the first brand I saw on the runway that explicitly blended East Asian culture with Western high fashion paradigms. I don’t know the extent to which her popularity encouraged appreciation for other East Asian owned brands, or contributed to the deserved increase in acknowledgement of Shanghai Fashion Week, for example, but there’s got to be at least a little bit of a link there.

I should note, I’m not claiming for one second this blending of cultures hasn’t been done by other Asian designers before Kim Shui or that cheap takes on traditional Asian styles haven't been co-opted by European brands since the dawn of time. I’m just noting that Kim Shui was the first designer I personally became aware of to authentically embrace her heritage as a core element of her brand’s aesthetic (rather than as a fleeting trend) in such a bold, subversive way, so as to leave a lasting impact on my personal style.

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S20, S/S23, F/W21, S/S21, S/S19, row 3 to 6, clockwise l-r: RTW F/W20, F/W22, F/W23, S/S24, S/S22-

Like I mentioned, designers of East Asian heritage, whilst under recognised given the frequent, unacknowledged diffusion of their work into that of western designers, are not totally absent from the high fashion scene I’m familiar with (the typical New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion week biannual cycle which dominates fashion discourse). What caught my eye about Kim’s work, however, was the way she blended her heritage with a handful of other, less traditionally “conservative” Western ways of dressing, which she recalls being influenced by whilst living in Italy and New York.

Recognisable influences on her work include the decadence and brashness of what she refers to as “Eurotrash”, a controversial term referring to wealthy European socialites in American cities (particularly New York), and their unapologetically extravagant, often provocative way of dressing. Typically popular amongst this group were high fashion brands of Southern European origin like Versace, Dolce & Gabanna but also the Parisian atelier Jean Paul Gaultier, and the adoption of obnoxiously loud print, rich and varied colour palettes, luxurious fabrics, and more often than not, minimal coverage, lol. That is to say, teeny tiny skin tight dresses, plunging necklines, and the incorporation of the boudoir influenced “underwear as outerwear” trend, were all as much a part of the Eurotrash stereotype as bleach blonde hair, late night partying, and fondness for German techno (and accordingly, the daring, futuristic, liberal displays of sexuality associated with the clothing worn in the underground rave scene). Essentially, the prototypical “Eurotrash” woman was the scandalous, more “exotic” version of hyper-feminine, Barbie-esque Y2K It girls like Paris, Britney, and Nicole, who by the same standards could be characterised as somewhat subdued. Though its influence on Kim’s work has arguably lessened since her earliest collections, the urban street wear trends she would’ve been exposed to during her time in New York, such as relaxed, laid back silhouettes and experimentation with graphic print, seemingly influenced by the personalised, custom look associated with the branding of '80s and '90s hip-hop icons, also appear to have informed her work.

The genius comes from the way she cancels out the arguably “tacky” or overly casual elements of such styles through the incorporation of her heritage and love of abstract art, producing designs which act as a collage of the places and people she has encountered throughout her lifetime. Kim embraces statement prints, overt glamour, micro minis and vivid colours, just to name a few examples, evoking the nostalgia associated with Eurotrash and the famous Y2K socialite scene, and capturing the flirtatious, magnetic energy of the headline grabbing wild child in the process. Simultaneously, however, she brings a more intricate, ornate kind of maximalism to the table. Logomania becomes detailed prints referencing traditional Chinese artwork and artists like Kandinsky, hem and necklines are not simply short and deep but points of interest inspired by classic cultural tailoring, and colours, whilst remaining rich and varied in tone, have a thoughtful, ethereal quality to them which bear semblance to mythological illustrations and showcase her admiration for the purposeful selection of complementary hues by pioneers of modern art. Though they’re not exactly Kandisky, these Weekday trousers I chose for the bottom half of the outfit seemed like the kind of nod to his work Kim would approve of; I’d wager a guess that his use of watercolours might have played a role in the prominence of tie dye in earlier Kim Shui collections. Conveniently, the blended pastel tones of the trousers were also the perfect match with this lilac ASOS butterfly hem halter-neck, which had just the right amount of glitter to pay my due respects to the iconic Y2K princesses and ditsy girlish pieces they typically paired with all that Cartier. I say Cartier, but wtf do I know about expensive jewellery. Those who are knowledgeable see my reference to it as a way of saying flashy high-value necklaces, earrings, and bracelets of unknown but likely prestigious origin, lol!

My equivalent was just some silver, grungier (or at the very least, grimier, as far as the discrepancy between my costume jewellery and real precious metal based accessories are concerned) details.

Alone, I wouldn’t necessarily associate a halter top with Kim Shui; Y2K was everywhere in 2023, after all, and to be honest, it’s not the defining feature of her work. My impulse purchasing habit, exhaustion, and general mental chaos last year meant I had far too many of these kinds of tops become sacrificial lambs by way of my inability to follow through on plans to go “out-out”. “Anorexia will end up isolating you!” the therapist I saw a few years ago said, “couldn’t be me!” I thought, channelling the same silly energy of Mr.Birling when he calls the Titanic “unsinkable” in An Inspector Calls for all my fellow British 20-somethings who did that play in GCSE English, lmao. But anyway, the point is, I had a lot of these glitzy little things to choose from-_- This one stood out because I knew in the back of my mind that this lilac spandex crop top from Urban Outfitters in exactly the same colour with a mandarin collar and keyhole cut out was lurking somewhere in my wardrobe. Its inclusion was an obvious choice for this outfit, given a typical Kim Shui collection would be incomplete without one of these necklines, prominent throughout traditional Chinese garments. As a final detail, I wore these pastel pink PVC platform boots from ASOS, which again, I knew deep down I would probably be incapable of mustering the strength to wear outside the house, but was constantly searching for a reason to wear so I could indulge in my ABBA fantasy for just a minute. IDK if go-go boots are necessarily associated with the Eurotrash aesthetic, but they (and platform knee/thigh high boots in general) are heavily featured throughout Kim’s work, so I seized the opportunity to get these bad girls out. I’m not going to research whether that link exists, btw. The least European settlers could do is bring their appreciation for 70s ABBA over to the US with them. Considering the last commodity they imported along with themselves was smallpox and genocidal intentions, a Swiss Euro pop band is a major improvement so…look, I know ABBA was popular there already. I just wanted to make a dig at Western Imperialism. You know, poke tiny little holes in biased historical narratives where I can. It’s the history drop-out in me.

Etro

Is she including Etro again? Though the odds of someone reading both this and my original In the Front Row lookbook are close to non-existent, if you’re out there, I’m sure was your first thought. But yes, don’t say I didn’t prepare you for it! Of course I’m including Etro again. I’ll repeat it: this brand used to be my everything, lol.

Whilst I’ve branched out a bit, and tbh, so has the brand’s creative designers of late, there will still always be a place in my heart for the earthy bohemian feel Etro excelled at. Just as much as I feel drawn to the 90s kinderwhore (I think that term is seen as misogynistic now because it was thought to be “undermining” female grunge enthusiasts at the time but in hindsight I feel that aesthetic is thought of as a legitimate subtype of grunge…so essentially I’m arguing we reclaim it?) movement as exemplified by figures like Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland, I also love the bohemian style associated with 70s psychedelic and folk rock, to which icons like Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, and attendees to Woodstock 1969 were quintessential in time stamping to the decade that followed. Similarly, I’m totally enamoured with the way bohemian fashion evolved during the 70s, culminating in its influence on the disco trend in the latter half of the decade, epitomised by fashion icons like Diana Ross, Bianca Jagger, and Cher, in attendance at the infamous Studio 54. At this time, bohemian silhouettes, colours and materials were just a starting point which evolved to become glitzier, raunchier, and more expensive looking. If the traditional bohemian style craze had an other worldly feel to it, by the time disco came around, the women at the pinnacle of the trend were practically goddesses.

Etro, over the years, has covered all that ground, early bohemian, disco, even the bohemian renaissance of the 2000s, and modernised it, communicating the free spirited essence of that period in a practical, more subtle way, catered towards the more minimalistic, functional mode of dressing we see now. Veronica retains the dreamy patterns, billowing shapes, decorative embroidery and stitching, and rich mixing of textures that defined the bohemian movement. At the same time, she does this in a measured, careful way, that is mindful of the preference for stripped back, androgynous, scandi-influenced fashion by many who have adapted to this new, fast-paced way of life. Yay, rampant late stage capitalism:D I type this fully aware that against my better judgement I was a fervent consumer of fast fashion this time last year and I let myself get very sloppy, lol. But, like I said, I shall declare my errors because by this time, you could probably find them on Vinted/Depop!

-row 1 & 2, clockwise l-r: RTW S/S19, F/W19, S/S21, F/W16, S/S22, pre-fall 2021, RTW F/W18, F/W21, row 3 & 4, l-r: RTW S/S20, resort 2023, row 5 to 6, clockwise l-r: RTW F/W20, S/S17, S/S18, S/S16, pre-fall 2024-

I’ve seen a tonne of listings for the cream Urban Outfitters Afghan coat I chose for this outfit, for example, in all different shades and for decent prices too. I can’t speak for Depop because I can’t sell SHIT on it these days so I barely use it, but yeah, Vinted is your best friend. So is this coat! I do have it in green as well, because it is so comfy and versatile, but the cream felt like the right shade for the UO Paisley print playsuit. The chiffon, faux suede, and fur, and the combination of the bright, spring appropriate tones of the playsuit with the neutral colour of the coat made these two pieces slot perfectly into Etro’s outfit formula. To finish it off, I went with a chunky Regal Rose choker, a pair of faux snake skin knee high boots, and this teal wide brim hat, both of which I brought from EBay, and all of which contribute to the nomadic feel of the look, seeming to borrow from nature in some way. Whilst the floral detail of the choker fill that second brief, I also feel like the weight and sand toned shade of (fake, ofc) gold of the jewellery gives it a slightly antique look, like the very disappointing buried treasure one might stumble across in the middle of a desert. Imagine they also found a shedded snake to turn a pair of sick boots. And brought with them the hat to shield their eyes from the sun. That’s the Etro girl. Flower power Lara Croft, lol. Copywriting that x

-clockwise l-r: RTW F/W23, pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S23, F/W22, resort 2024-

Brands like Etro are a breath of fresh air in amongst this endless parade of branded neutrals we find ourselves in, where donning a basic logo on a beige knitted jumper is considered sufficient to crown someone as being at the top of their fashion game. Boo to Kanye West and his fashion line for this, which I am loath to say pales amongst all the other questionable things he’s done. Imagine. You say so much fucking stupid shit that sucking the fun out of fashion in the 2010s is your most minor offence, lol. Anyway, I have definitely noticed Etro leaning more into branding the past couple of years, and their collections haven’t necessarily been my standouts, especially over the past year. The FW24 collection debuted at the most recent Milan Fashion Week, however, has reassured me that I am totally right in saying Etro is criminally underrated, and holding it dear to my heart.

So, in summary! Thank you for reading/viewing if you got to this part. I’m gonna keep it short, because I don’t have much to say other than that writing this was one of my small distractions each day for the past couple of weeks, and if it was anybody else’s to read that’s fab:)

But on the matter of something important and much more worth your time, I want to end the post with a few links to pages set up by those leading the way in aiding and amplifying the voices of citizens in Gaza. I know the switch back and forth, going from me chatting shit about clothes to discussing horrific real world events, is jarring but it’s like that. Rounding up this post, suddenly everything I’ve talked about seems sick and shallow when we consider the mass murders occurring every day. I’ve been sitting with the fact that we think of the worst kind of evil as some abstract thing that we can’t know the depths of but there cannot possibly be anything more evil occurring in the world right now than this. When you break down the individual suffering, and then multiply it by tens of thousands, and then think we are expected to sit here and dismiss it and all those lives just to preserve an economic relationship, it is the sickest and most depraved humans can get. We’re existing at the same time as it happens and I don’t know if acknowledging it in a completely unrelated post like this in depth is the right or wrong thing to do. There is no way to go on with things, both in real life but especially online, as normal when that level of evil is being perpetrated and government and regulatory bodies are using their power to shut even acknowledgement of it down. So I definitely don’t want to waste any moment of anyone’s attention without signposting towards sources which keep us informed on the issue. Before I include the links below I wanna say thanks again, my DMS are always open, and all the best:) Lauren x

Website for Decolonize Palestine, an online collection of recourses including introductory articles explaining the history of Israel’s oppression of Palestinian people and debunking myths perpetrated about the crisis by the Israeli government: https://decolonizepalestine.com/

Recourse for locating nearby demonstrations against Israel’s attack on Palestine: https://palestinecampaign.org/events/

Website of International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, an organisation founded by a group of lawyers, politicians and academics, who recently presented evidence of Israeli war crimes to the MET: https://www.icjpalestine.com/

Twitter thread by @noor_noorash of emergency gofundme campaigns set up to facilitate the provision of aid and recourses for evacuation to Palestinians: https://twitter.com/noor_noorash/status/1783838318100439403

Instagram post by @adventuresofchefleila which tags the accounts of several groups working directly in Palestine to ensure food and basic needs are accessible: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6KDactrzSR/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Webpage set up by UNICEF to facilitate donations to their preexisting team in Gaza: https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/children-in-gaza-crisis-appeal/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9Zak76fghQMVSZJQBh1b0gVcEAAYASAAEgLxW_D_BwE

Website of the Click for Palestine campaign, where a click can be made once a day to make a small donation: https://arab.org/click-to-help/palestine/#google_vignette

Website for eSims for Gaza, a campaign set up to direct individuals in purchasing an eSim which can be used by the recipient in Gaza to get internet access: https://gazaesims.com/

Website for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions organisation (BDS) which, amongst other ways to get involved, lists the companies where consumer boycotts will place the most pressure on the Israeli government: https://bdsmovement.net/

#fashion #lookbook #inspired by #in the front row #runway #outfit inspiration #rtw #personal style #ootd #ootdinspiration #designer #high fashion #fashion inspo #versace #gucci #alessandra rich #Kim shui #rodarte #blumarine #simone rocha #rokh #etro #mugler #thierry mugler #fashion blog #90s fashion

[purple-worm]

Why are there so many celebs in the west that are huge Israel supporters? I’m talking people that aren’t even Israeli or Jewish. And wasn’t there this thing where Mark Ruffalo supported Palestine but then was forced to delete his tweet and tweet in support of Israel? Why is Hollywood dick riding Israel so hard

ahhh mostly just proof that US propaganda works well. US propaganda relies hard on keeping their public ill-informed about the atrocities they commit, historically painting the wars in middle east as necessities to fight the 'evils' of socialism or 'terrorism'. Generating islamophobia works very in the favor of that. A lot of celebrities speaking up are trying to either: 1. play both sides by condemning hamas and israel 2. openly support israel because it takes one infographic that says "i stand w israel". really, the simplest thing to do if you've never read anything about it but have to say something bc.. why not i guess. or theyre zionists. I dont really know anything about the mark ruffalo thing. but most celebrities that fall in the first category are afraid of being labelled as anti-semites. people in my inbox have done the same, and im a nobody on tumblr. anyone with basic critical thinking knows anti-semitism is different from anti-zionism, and it's worse because confusing both means not taking either of them seriously. anti-semitism deserves to be talked about as an issue of its own, not in the context of zionism. but US propaganda means that if people see anti-semitism being thrown around, people are afraid to talk about what the actual issue at hand is. if people support palestinians first, it is immediately accused as support of Hamas, an islamist militant organization (again, a violent image, easy to breed because of islamophobia). people dont want to associate themselves with either. nobody wants to fucking support hamas. but having hamas as an opponent is GREAT for PR because the actual problem gets thrown under the rug. which is that: the only people who can DO anything about this for it to REALLY end once and for all is : Israel, and the USA. which responsibility the USA is hellbent on absolving itself of. because the occupation of palestine is very much in the imperialist interest of the west. if hamas ends this today, israeli occupation of palestine will still continue. the conflict has no resolution. but in the eyes of western propaganda, the issue has never been the killing of the people of falastine. it's just that this time, israelis die too. so now suddenly people want to Say Something. no one batted an eye for the past 16 years tho. no celebrity wants to admit publicly that their country is the shittiest, and is actually responsible for the killings of the civilians that they're telling us theyre weeping for. either because they cant think it because of their own brainwashing, or PR. americans hate it when america gets shit talked. even when it absolutely fucking deserves it. i mean, that's true about all imperialist countries.

it sucks that it works very well for the west in terms of public perception. because people being vocal about it miss out on calling out the USA, instead going "owow we hate hamas yeahh israel bad toooo.. boohoo BOTH SIDES." what both sides if only one side can actually resolve this... just now i saw AOC distance herself from the protests at times sqaure. im not sure what actually went down there, but i saw some govt folks condemning it for being extremist. but welp. anything that talks about liberation of palestine is painted as being anti-semetic and pro-hamas. not saying these folks dont exist. just that US propaganda doesnt let people make a clear distinction.

#free palestine #palestine #israel #have i rambled about the same thing over and over

[intoxicatedfae]

the world is burning… and so are we

this may feel very weak and stupid to say at a time like this, when genocide is happening. but i feel like i’m biting my tongue and not saying much? i can’t fully identify the reason why i am holding back. why can’t i fight for freedom? i don’t want to look back and feel guilty because i was silent and complaisant. i can’t sit on my feelings anymore but i also feel that i’m not educated or informed enough to say all the things i want to say. and i think that is what has been holding me back.

what i do know is that there are 3 major genocide’s happening right now. the genocide of Palestinians, at the hands of the American and Israeli governments.as well as the genocides happening in the Congo and Sudan (which I know less about and wish to seek more information about these situations). many governments have anti-trans/ anti-lgbtq laws in place. some areas that don’t have laws that restrict the freedoms of queer and trans people are looking to implement them. in america affirmative action was overturned, i believe ICWA was also overturned this year. and reproductive rights have been violated. also, cop city, a militarized police training facility being built in atlanta to train police all over the world in the best ways to “police” their citizens. i put the word police in parentheses because their main goal is no longer to maintain the law and serve and protect citizens from danger. no, they think they are above the law and they want to control us through fear.

all politicians and their governments are corrupt. one of their main goals is to isolate citizens from each other, drain us of our energy, and make us turn on each other. if we’re lonely and tired and angry at our fellow man, how could we ever fight our oppressors? there is power in numbers, so they have chosen to separate us and create a divide. we should be choosing community, unity, and solidarity. you may be afraid to speak out in support of Palestine because you think you don’t know enough about the situation, or nobody else you know is speaking out, or because you think you’ll get hate for antisemitism. however, if you’re staying silent you’re choosing to stand by the decisions your political leaders are making. if you don’t know about the situation research and find out enough to form a solid stance. if nobody else’s you know is speaking out, why not be the first one? maybe everyone in your community needs that push. and remember being pro-Palestine was never and will never be anti-semitic. this is something that is said to scare people into not speaking out but just because you’re against Apartheid, and wrongful colonial occupation does not mean you hate Jewish people at all, rather it means you’re just against corrupt governments trying to get away with sick and twisted actions in the dark.

as an american i believe the american people need to rally together and put an end to this. how can the us treasurer say there is plenty in the budget for at least 2 wars but the country is trillions of dollars in debt? we can’t keep letting the white supremacist that run our country use our tax paying dollars to fund a genocide that largely nobody is in support of. boycott all companies that in support of Israel not just McDonalds and Starbucks and Disney. if you can try honestly i would recommend just not buying anything that isn’t a necessity at all period. if we stop funneling money into the economy 1) there will be no money to fund Israel’s endeavors, and 2) the economy will eventually collapse. if the economy collapsed a new economic structure would have to be built to replace capitalism. this is hella extreme but i think an eventual radical response that we should get prepared for. the government does not care about you so why should you spend your hard earned barely livable wage dollars on anything at all? aside from just boycotting, i’m still trying to find a solution for taxes? if anyone knows how americans can prevent their taxes going towards this plz share.

overall not sure if i said everything i wanted to say here, but i will definitely be writing more of my thoughts so i can further go into detail. for now i can sat do what you can to help Palestine. contact your representatives, donate, protest, share the posts of the surviving citizens remaining in Gaza as they document these ongoing terrors. keep your eyes on Gaza, stay alert, and stay safe.

(also i would like to state i’m just expressing my thoughts not trying to spread information, ((if anything i’m asking to be informed)), but trying to speak about what’s on my mind and in my heart). (also sorry for spelling and grammar errors, not focused on format focused on message)

#palestine #israel #free palestine #liberation #end occupation #ceasefire #spilled thoughts #capitalism #socialism #change #the world is burning #personal essay #politics #radicalize #radicalization

[ngaatee]

When I first began to read about Palestine years and years ago at this point, this is one of the first photos that I ever encountered. And something it succinctly captures is why the West's assertion that "Israel has the right to defend itself" is absurd, and why the notion of a theocratic ethnostate that had and continues to subjugate Palestinian people is not an acceptable solution that we should view as acceptable.

It also reminds us of the way that Zionists conflating Jewish identity with Zionism is ultimately a colonial lie, one that has been used to assert the perceived necessity of an apartheid state. In this photo alone, you understand that the displacement and murder of Palestinian people has been justified through things like this conflating, in order to obfuscate the issue at hand, and to paint anyone that challenges the Zionist Apartheid State as an enemy.

But look at the facts. Approximately one in 3 refugees are Palestinian, and many of them are children. People whose water, electricity and food supply can be cut off at any time are not the aggressors. From Gaza to West Bank, the same manifestations of violence from occupational forces occur daily. Politicians and government officials justify war crime after war crime against Palestinian people and dehumanize them at every turn.

People are being doxxed, harassed and abused for even calling for a ceasefire. People are being told not to challenge the exercising of collective punishment, involving tactics that have been used by occupiers for decades upon decades at this point. And people are being subjected to whataboutisms at every single turn.

Western governments are allowing language designed to dehumanise people. They are making excuses for what happened in Gaza like we haven't seen the same horrific genocidal actions in the West Bank. They use people's tax money for this. You can't have school lunch for kids, or better safety measures, or affordable housing, or student loan forgiveness, or anything else that benefits you as a citizen. If infrastructure such as better transportation needs 100 million to be upgraded, it is impossible to find that money But when it's time to find billions for genocide, suddenly money is no issue, no cost is too great. From money to weapons to the lives of civilians, all the money and expenses in the world are available.

And way too many people are too comfortable discussing Palestinian people in the past tense at every turn. Too many people are ready to just give up. And yet, so many people were told that they could never be free. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Algeria and many more countries, where people started speaking of them like they wouldn't exist, like the institutions, governments and powers that were there could not possibly be toppled by the will of the people. People here were described in the past tense and yet here they still are.

So I say all this to say this: the facts are all there, don't let people use manufactured consent to make you think that the genocide of Palestinians is okay, don't let them use whataboutisms and caveats to distract from the issue at hand, and understand that there are Palestinians in the future. Palestinians are not past tense.

From the river to the sea (say your part now)

#ghada karmi #ellen siegel #free palestine

[justfuckingnougat]

Passover 5784, 3. What makes Jews safe

Disclaimer: This is part of a series of posts on the topic of Israel and Palestine. You are welcome to engage with or share the thoughts expressed herein, however they are ultimately my own personal thoughts and lived experiences and not the word of an expert on this, or really any matter. I speak as a Jew, but neither I nor anyone else can speak on behalf of all Jews. All pictures used as headers are my own, taken in Israel in 2015.

I question I see often in Jewish circles is “How can we be safe” or “Where can we be safe”. I have complicated feeling on that kind of statement, warped by a lifetime of American politics. Here, “Safety” is the language invoked to justify civilian ownership of military grade arms. “Saftey” is used to criminalize and violate the rights of people without homes. “Safety” is used to justify prison camps along our borders. When I visited Israel on a Birthright program in 2015, our group of American and Canadian 20-somethings was joined by a handful of Israeli youths, fresh off of their mandatory enlistment with the IDF. They were a diverse group, with an array of opinions on the world and their country, but one of them, who with my American filter I can only describe as ‘like a republican’, once confronted me about the harsh necessities of Israeli security. He said something to the effect of “Imagine the people who are going to kill your family are hiding under a school. You can stop them, but not without harming the school. But they are going to kill your family if you don’t. What do you do?” At the time, I basically just said “I don’t know” and sought to quickly end the conversation. But I thought then, as I do now, that that is a very good way to justify literally any action. “They will kill my family” I think as I blow up a school. “They will kill my family” as I burn a hospital. “They will kill my family” as I kill theirs.

The promise of military violence is coded in every call to emigrate to Israel I’ve ever heard. “Come to Israel, we are safe here, we have the military to fight for us!” It is always something like that, the reminder that you will be safe and that this safety is thanks to the IDF. It’s especially jarring when you hear it right alongside sentiments like the one I mentioned previously “American’s don’t realize how dangerous it is in Israel and the practical steps we need to take to defend ourselves. They will kill our families if we don’t!”. I want to make it clear I am not talking in hyperbole or hypothetically; these are real sentiments I see, mostly from older Jews, and I have seen, to date, two people express both things within the same day. In case it isn’t clear, the paradox here is that if Israel is truly safe, then they wouldn’t need to take extreme military measures. Both things cannot be true, at least not unless we change what we mean by “safe”.

I mentioned at the start of this how “safety” is invoked in American politics, and there is no greater altar for it than that of the gun. Even outside of the Republican death cult, the gun is worshipped on the left as well, as if, perhaps, the oppressed could simply shoot the oppressor and that would bring us liberty. Our country is a tragic wealth of data on an armed populace. Guns do not make us safe, in fact they are on the forefront of things that kill us. We should respect that data: it was collected from the blood of our children. But the myth of the gun as protector is persistent, despite the fact that a gun cannot put a roof over your head, cannot heal your illnesses, cannot put food on your plate, none of the things that actually make you safe. It makes one promise only: when they come, I will kill them. “They will kill your family” says the gun, “but I can kill them first”. There’s an assumption in there, that your enemy is real and coming for you. That you must take the shot before they kill you and your family. If this wasn’t the case, the gun would have nothing to offer.

When I was in Israel our group visited Mount Herzl, a military graveyard. That whole trip I would take many pictures, and use my brief stints of internet access to post them, each with a silly comment, for the enjoyment of my family and friends. When we left the graveyard there were so many words in me, begging to get out in a way I had not experienced before. They were in my head all day, and finally, when posting my daily pictures, this is what I wrote:

“These are graves on Mount Herzl and they are the most beautiful I have ever seen. Most are covered in grass and there are buckets so you can even water them. You can tell how loved the buried are. I wonder who decorated them so ornately. Mothers and fathers, granparents, brothers and sisters, dear friends, or perhaps simply fellow citizens. Few were older then me. If they were American few could even legally drink. As I walked amongst them I was surprised to find my face was screwing up as I attempted not to weep. These graves are so beautiful, but they are not beautiful to me. Each one pained me and after taking these pictures I could no longer bear to look at them. I didn't want to look at the graves of children any more. The nature of war is so complex, especially in Israel. I am not going to act like I can speak on the necessity of war. In fact at this time I don't think I've ever been further from knowing. But these beautiful graves shook me. Our guide and the Israelis shared their personal stories of how the war effected them. It was like an illness, one that slowly eats away the spirit of a nation, at the souls of people, and of course at the lives of those they love. I couldn't help but think of these graves like mushrooms; beautiful but inescapably the product of death.”

I do not mean to be simply dismissive about Jewish fears. Acts of violent antisemitism are a very real concern. Someone attempted to burn down my childhood temple just 3 years ago, here in Austin Texas. I do not even mean to be dismissive of Israeli fears. But liberation will never be bought with the blood of children, regardless of what flag they fly. I have seen so much talk amongst Zionists about how Jews have survived before and how we continue to survive. I think of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and how Spiegelman’s father, Vladek, is depicted after the war, after coming to America and building a new life. There is a scene where Art and Vladek pick up a hitch-hiking African American. Vladek is irate, revealing after they drop off the hitchhiker that he was watching their wallets the whole time and refers to the hitchhiker with a slur. It’s not the first troubling depiction of the man. Survival did not make him stronger, or more wise, or inured to hate of his own. He is depicted as an emotionally scarred man who found it difficult to trust others. War does not make a people stronger, any more than repeated injury makes a body stronger.

I recently came across a line that truly struck me, an except from the 2023 book Doppleganger by Canadian Jewish author Naomi Klein, talking about how we are taught about the Holocaust: “It’s re-traumatization, not remembering. There is a difference… Remembering puts the shattered pieces of our selves back together again (re-member-ing); it is a quest for wholeness... But re-traumatization is about freezing us in a shattered state; it’s a regime of ritualistic reenactments designed to keep the losses as fresh and painful as possible. Our education did not ask us to probe the parts of ourselves that might be capable of inflicting great harm on others, and to figure out how to resist them. It asked us to be as outraged and indignant at what happened to our ancestors as if it had happened to us—and to stay in that state… Though there were certainly exceptions, for the most part, the goal of this teaching was not to turn us into people who would fight the next genocide wherever it occurred. The goal was to turn us into Zionists”

Im ending this post now, as I compose it in Word among half written paragraphs that I have started and stopped, cut, edited, overthought. I can never seem to work things into something both cohesive and comprehensive. So much is left on the editing floor, only dwarfed by how much never made it through the keyboard in the first place. I leave this here, with this: pacifism is not some kind of naivete. I do not shun war and the violence of the state because I cannot understand the practical and human needs that led to them. Pacifism is hard fought and ultimately worth it, not for ethical or moral superiority, but for practicality. War does not make us safe.

#passover

[cherrystine]

Israel and Palestine war

In early October 2023, a conflict between Israel and Palestine broke out. It all started when the Hamas group attacked the Israelis while celebrating the Nova Music Festival also known as the celebration of "unity and love" on October 7, 2023. There were over 1, 300 Israelis killed and over 150 people have been taken into Gaza as hostages, that made every Israeli mad. The attack were unprecedented in tactics and scale as Israel has not faced its adversaries in street battles on its own territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. After the Hamas fighters carried out harrowing attacks on the Israel, Prime Minister of Israel, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, declared that they are at war. In response, the Israel launched "Operation Swords of Iron" striking what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. The Israelis make that happen and it led to blocking of supply lines of basic necessities to the population of Gaza, especially the water and fuel. Israelis dropped 6,000 bombs on the densely inhabited territory, only to make it complicated because the Hamas group said that the hostages that they were holding have been killed because of the Israel's bombing. The Israel has ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, blocking delivery of electricity, food, fuel and water until the hostages are freed. On october 17, 2023, the latest violence has caused more that 1, 400 deaths in Israel, and more than 3, 000 in gaza, according to the authorities of both sides.

Historical conflict between Israel and Palestine

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the 19th century. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. Jews accepted the decision and they named their country "Israel". On the other side, the arab people didn't like that idea, and rejected it, and start the war with the Israelis.

The war Arab-Israeli started in 1948 and ended in 1949. When the war ended, the Gaza strip went to Egypt while the West Bank to Jordan. The Arab-Israeli war started again which called "6 day war". It started june 5, 1967 and ended june 10, 1967. Israel fought for Gaza strip and West Bank.

In 1987, the Palestine formed the Hamas, a terrorist group who hated the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) for being too secular. This group "Hamas" boycotted the election in 1996 and did the suicide bombing in Israel. Hamas aimed to oppose Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) a group that posed a violent resistance to Israel and risked diverting Palestinian support from the brotherhood. The muslim's brotherhood Palestinian branch grew out of Hamas during the first intifada. The group wants to create an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel's place.

[schraubd]

British Jews Should Announce They Can't Support Corbyn--or Johnson

This was a piece I initially wrote for publication outside of the blog. It had a tumultuous journey, including being accepted in one newspaper before the editor withdrew the offer an hour later. Most recently, it spent two weeks in limbo after the editor who was considering it solicited the draft ... then immediately went on vacation for a week. When he returned, he promised to get to it "first thing Monday". I never heard from him again. Anyway, the election is tomorrow and there's still no sign that he will get back to me, so you're getting the piece here. It's slightly less timely than I'd like -- though much more timely than if I posted it after election day. * * *

Earlier this month, The Guardian published a letter from twenty-four prominent non-Jewish figures, publicly declaring that they could not support Labour in the next election due to the raging antisemitism that has enveloped the party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

For the UK’s beleaguered Jewish community, it was a taste of that elusive elixir: solidarity. The knowledge that Jews do not stand alone, that we do have allies, that there are people who will not stand idly by and do nothing as this wave of antisemitism comes bearing down. That the letter’s signatories included figures like Islamophobia watchdog Fiyaz Mughal, who is intimately and painfully aware of the direct dangers a Tory government would do to him and his community, only makes it more powerful. In a very real sense, this is what it means to have true allies.

These past few years have been rough on British Jews, but if there is a silver lining, it is in moments like these: the public witnessing of all those who remain willing to plant their banner and fight antisemitism. The statements of resignation from persons who no longer can associate with a party that has become a force for hatred against the nation’s Jews. The figures—some Jewish (like MP Ruth Smeeth), some not (like London Mayor Sadiq Khan)—still bravely resisting antisemitism from within the party.

And there is grim satisfaction to be taken in Corbyn’s almost comically-high public disapproval ratings—which have reached upwards of 75% in some polls. For this, too, is at least in part a public and visceral repudiation of the brand of antisemitism Corbyn has come to represent.

Yet it is the ironic misery of the Jewish fate that we cannot even take unmediated satisfaction in those rejecting Labour antisemitism. Why? Well, because of the primary alternative to Labour: the Conservative Party, led by Boris Johnson.

The Tories have their own antisemitism problems, although—and as a liberal it pains me to say this—they pale in comparison to those afflicting Labour, at least today. And for me, I’ve probably written more on Labour antisemitism than I have on any other social problem outside of America or Israel.

But if the Tories are not today as antisemitic as is Labour, where the Tories can be aptly compared to Labour is along the axis of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia. It is fair to say that on those issues, the Conservative Party is institutionally xenophobic in a manner that is on par with Labour’s own institutional antisemitism. Or put differently: Boris Johnson is to Muslims, Blacks, and Asians what Jeremy Corbyn is to Jews.

This is hardly unknown, and the latent nativism of the Conservative Party’s Brexit policy is only the tip of the iceberg. We saw the ugliness of Conservative racism in the Windrush Scandal, where Afro-Caribbean British citizens were harassed, detained, and even deported as part of the Tories’ pledge to create a “hostile environment” for undesired immigrants in the country (notwithstanding the fact that the Windrush Generation consisted of natural-born British subjects). We saw it in the game efforts by Muslim Conservative politicians to draw attention to festering Islamophobia amongst Tory candidates and politicians, and the grinding resistance of the Conservative political leadership to seriously investigate the issue—surely, this resonates with Labour’s own kicking-and-screaming approach to rooting out antisemitism inside its own ranks.

And—like with Corbyn’s Labour party—Tory xenophobia starts right at the top. In 2018, Boris Johnson was slurring Muslim women in Europe as “letter boxes”. Advocates at that time urged then-Prime Minister Theresa May to withdraw Johnson’s whip. She declined. Now he’s Prime Minister. In the meantime, Islamophobic instances in the country surged 375%.

There is a terrible commonality here: the legitimate fears Jews have about a Corbyn-led British government are mirrored by the equally legitimate worries BAMEs (Blacks, Asians, and Minority Ethnics) about the prospect of another term of Conservative rule.

To be clear: the Jewish community has not endorsed these Conservative predations. They are overwhelmingly opposed to Brexit. They have spoken out and stood out against racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia, and have done so consistently.

But there is another step that has not yet been taken. The Jewish community might return solidarity with solidarity, and write their own letter announcing that they cannot sanction voting for Labour—or the Tories. Twenty-four Jewish luminaries, each pledging that just as Labour’s antisemitism means that they cannot support Labour, Conservative racism and xenophobia preclude them from backing the Tories.

The UK, after all, is not a complete two-party system, and in many constituencies there are very live options that extend beyond Labour and Tory. The resurgent Liberal Democrats, for one, bolstered by refugees repelled by Labour antisemitism or Conservative xenophobia and showing renewed strength particularly in marginal constituencies where Labour is flagging. Regionally, the SNP or Plaid Cymru also are often competitive. Even the Greens, in some locales, are a viable option.

None of these parties are perfect. One does not need to search far to find instances of antisemitism in these other parties, for example, and the Liberal Democrats still have trust to re-earn following their disastrous stint as junior coalition partners to the Tories less than a decade ago.

But imperfections notwithstanding, none of these parties has completely caved to gutter populism in the way that both Labour and Tory have. They are cosmopolitan in orientation. They have faced antisemitism and other forms of prejudice, but they’ve responded decisively to it. They are not perfect, but they are viable choices, in a way that neither the Tories nor Labour can at this point claim to be.

And yet, still this companion letter—rejecting Conservative hatred with the same public moral clarity as The Guardian writers rejected Labour hatred—hasn’t been written. As much as many dislike Conservative politics, as much as many loathe Boris Johnson and the insular nativism he stands for—we have not forthrightly declared that the bigotry of his party is of equal moral weight and equal moral impermissibility at the bigotry of Corbyn’s party. We have not insisted that both be rejected.

Responding to the argument that Labour antisemitism had to be overlooked because of the pressing necessity of avoiding the disasters of a Tory government, the Guardian letter writers asked “Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next?”

One could perhaps forgive the Windrush Generation for taking a tentative step forward in reply.

So again: why hasn’t that companion letter been written? Why hasn’t there been the declaration that the Windrushers, the migrants, the Muslims—that these community’s concerns are indispensable in the exact same way that the Jewish community’s concerns should (but often are not) be viewed as indispensable? Why has the wonderful solidarity demonstrated by the Guardian letter not been returned in kind?

The most common answer is that as terrible as Johnson is and as repulsive as Tory policies are, only a Conservative majority can guarantee that Corbyn will not become Prime Minister. Even the LibDems might ultimately elect to coalition with Labour if together they’d form a majority (ironically, many left-wing voters who dislike Corbyn but loathe Johnson express the same worry in reverse to explain why they can’t vote LibDem—they’re convinced that Jo Swinson would instead cut a deal to preserve a Conservative majority). As terrible as Johnson is, stopping Corbyn has to be the number one priority for British Jews. And a vote for anyone but the Tory candidates is, ultimately, a vote for Jeremy Corbyn.

Jewish voters who act under this logic, they would say, are by no means endorsing Brexit, which they detest, or xenophobia, which they abhor. They hate these things, genuinely and sincerely. But their hand has been forced. In this moment, they have to look out for Number One.

I understand this logic. I understand why some Jews might believe that in this moment, we cannot spare the luxury of thinking of others.

 I understand it. But it is, ultimately, spectacularly short-sighted.

To begin, if we accept that British Jews are justified in voting Tory because we are justified looking out for our own existential self-preservation, then we have to accept that non-Jewish minorities are similarly justified in voting Labour in pursuit of their own communal security and safety. We cannot simultaneously say that our vote for the Tories cannot be construed as an endorsement of Conservative xenophobia but their vote for Labour represents tacit approval of Corbynista antisemitism. Maybe both groups feel their hands are tied; trapped between a bad option and a disastrous one. And so we get one letter from the Chief Rabbi, excoriating Jeremy Corbyn as an “unfit” leader, and another competing letter from the Muslim Council of Britain, bemoaning Conservatives open tolerance of Islamophobia.

But if the Jews reluctantly vote Conservative “in our self-interest” and BAME citizens reluctantly vote Labour “in their self-interest”—well, there are a lot more BAME voters in Britain than there are Jewish voters. So the result would be a massive net gain for Labour. Some pursuit of self-interest.

Meanwhile, those Brits who are neither Jewish nor members of any other minority group are given no guidance by this approach. There is no particular reason, after all, for why they should favor ameliorating Jewish fears of antisemitism over BAME fears of xenophobia. From their vantage point, these issues effectively cancel out, and they are freed to vote without regard to caring about either antisemitism or Islamophobia. At the very moment where these issues have been foregrounded in the British public imagination in an unprecedented way, insisting upon the primacy of pure self-interest would ensure that this attention would be squandered and rendered moot.

Of course, all this does not even contemplate the horrible dilemma imposed upon those persons who are both Jewish and BAME—the Afro-Caribbean Jew, for instance. They are truly being torn asunder, told that no matter how they vote they will be betraying a part of their whole self.

And finally, whatever we can say about the status of Tory antisemitism today, painful experience demonstrates that tides of xenophobia, nativism, and illiberal nationalism reflected in the Conservative Party will always eventually swallow Jews as well. That day will come, and if history is any guide it will come quickly. Jews should think twice and thrice before contemplating giving any succor to that brand of politics, no matter what seductive gestures it makes at us today.

So no—it will not do for Jews to back the Tories out of “self-interest”, for doing so will ultimately fail even in protecting ourselves. Ultimately, the reason that Jews should clearly and vocally reject both Labour and Tory is not sentimentality, but solidarity—solidarity in its truest and most robust sense. There simply are not enough Jews in the United Kingdom to make going it alone a viable strategy. We need allies, and so we need to find a way to respond to the reality of Labour antisemitism in a way that binds us closer to our allies rather than atomizing us apart. The solidarity they showed us must be reciprocated in kind.

If there is one theme I have heard over and over again from UK Jews, it is the fear of becoming “politically homeless”: unable to stomach voting for Tory nativism, unable to countenance backing Labour antisemitism.

But as The Guardian letter demonstrated, Jews still have friends, and allies, and people who will have our backs no matter what. And if you’ve got friends, allies, and people who have your back, what do you do if you’re worried about homelessness?

I’d say, you start building a new house—one with room enough for all of us.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/2PcPNkz

#anti-semitism #Boris Johnson #Islamophobia #Jeremy Corbyn #Jews #racism #United Kingdom

[pictureamoebae]

idk how i'm supposed to reconcile my desire to not see the tories in office with my continually reinforced belief that labour leadership in general and jeremy corbyn in particular actively despise jewish people and wish me and my kind harm. there's been too many incidents, each one fouler than the last, over the past months. i want johnson out but i have no faith in the alternative's desire to keep me safe either and idk what to do

Politics.

A simple answer to a complex problem. And now a complex post to a simple question.

This will be very long, but I’m not going to put it behind a cut because it’s too important.

Nothing I say here will cut through to make you feel any more or less safe. What I want to do first is to say I do not doubt for one moment you have fears. Whatever I say next comes from as much a place of wanting you to be and feel safe as anything else. Please keep that in mind if you at any point think I’m attacking your deeply-held fears. I am not. If I’m attacking anything, it’s those who seek to weaponise your fears for their own gain.

While I continue, I’d ask you to keep asking these questions: who is saying things against Corbyn, what are their politics, what kind of world do they want to see, who do they want me to vote for, what are their interests (not as in, do they like music, but as in where do their political interests lie, how do they benefit from society under different governments)? These are good questions to ask when you hear any kind of political claim being made, whether it’s a manifesto pledge, a jibe at a political opponent, or an otherwise seemingly ‘neutral’ article in a newspaper. Everything is stated from a political position, no matter how hard someone works to hide that. And some people work very hard to hide it. Why?

First, I’ll talk about Jeremy Corbyn and his beliefs. You’ll have seen, no doubt, the picture of him being arrested for protesting against apartheid in South Africa? I’ll use this as a jumping off point because it’s in the news today. It’s emblematic of Corbyn’s lifelong approach.

One of the things that Corbyn’s supporters love about him in particular is that he’s a peacemaker. It’s also one of the things that frustrates us the most. 

Love: because his approach to foreign policy has always been one of recognising the necessity of dialogue. It proves an easy stick to beat him with because it’s seen him working to bring all sides together in Northern Ireland (something the Conservative government at the time was also doing in their own way, along with others in Labour), or trying to diffuse tensions and encourage constructive talks in the Middle East, for example. It’s why he was so outspoken in his opposition to illegally invading Iraq (we hit upon one reason here why Tony Blair might have a personal interest in discrediting Corbyn: his involvement in Iraq would be under more scrutiny with a Corbyn-led Labour Party in charge). The list is endless, and he has been proven time and time again to be on the right side of history when it comes to his desire to make peace, not war.

Frustrates: because his natural desire to make peace sees him be far too conciliatory when it comes to both internal Labour Party matters and his approach to media hostility. Backing down on open selection (also known as mandatory reselection) will be seen as one of the biggest mistakes of his leadership in years to come. Time and time again he’s held out the olive branch because his opponents demand it, only to see them set fire to the branch, crush the ashes beneath their heels, and then turn around and say “pass us an olive branch”. One criticism we hear a lot is “Corbyn isn’t a leader”, and the only time I will ever agree that his leadership has been lacking is on this matter. He should have been more forthright and stood his ground. But such is the contradiction at the heart of what makes him the good person he is: that’s not his style. He’s a peacemaker.

Back to his arrest for protesting against South African apartheid. Corbyn served on the national executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement that was “a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa’s non-White population who were persecuted by the policies of apartheid.” At the time, the Tories were pro-apartheid, and could even sometimes be found wearing “hang Nelson Mandela” stickers at their conferences and party events. Standing up so proudly against apartheid wasn’t a popular position to hold at the time. And yet he did it, because it was right.

In 1985 Corbyn was appointed national secretary of Anti-Fascist Action. I don’t know how old you are or your familiarity with British political history, but anti-fascist action in the UK has always centred around defending Jewish people from fascist groups and attack. In the 1970s he organised a demonstration against a National Front march through Wood Green. The National Front were on the rise in the 70s, and it’s seen as something of a golden era by today’s fascists in groups like the EDL who would take us back to that, and go beyond it, if they could. This is just one example of Corbyn directly putting his body on the line to defend Jewish people and others against fascists, following in the footsteps of his mother, who was at the Battle of Cable Street. In his role as parliamentarian, he signed numerous Early Day Motions condemning antisemitism, stretching back decades before he became leader, something that has been recognised in the Times of Israel. In 1987 Corbyn joined Jewish campaigners to stop the demolition of a Jewish cemetery by Islington Council (the demolition was, I note, supported by Margaret Hodge). More recently, in 2010, he petitioned parliament to help resettle Yemeni Jews fleeing from conflict. 

There are countless other examples of his work to support Jewish people, as well as him being a friend to pretty much every other minority people you can think of. It’s not just empty words and platitudes, it’s real action, for decades.

Let me give you an extract from an ‘expose’ meant to discredit Corbyn, and tell me what you think of him after this:

“Dressed in a dirty jacket and creased trousers, Jeremy Corbyn arrived in Westminster as a new MP in the summer of 1983.

He immediately told friends that Parliament was ‘a waste of time’ with no relevance to his Islington constituents, especially the immigrant communities.

To meet them, he set up offices in the Red Rose Centre in Holloway where his door was always open to a tide of human misery: Cypriots, Jamaicans, Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans, South Americans, Somalis, West Saharans and Kurds all sought his help.

The procession of petitioners reinforced his conviction that Britain should allow unrestricted immigration – and offer the world’s destitute an open invitation to share our wealth.

In his opinion, all immigrant communities were victims of white imperialists, and the British state owed them a financial obligation. Anyone who disagreed was racist.”

This was intended as a ‘gotcha’ to prove to right wing readers what a dangerous man Corbyn is. They’re right, he is dangerous. Dangerous to fascists. Dangerous to racists. Dangerous to anyone who wants to take away your liberty, to anyone who wants to harm the vulnerable in society.

So how do we align all of this with what we’ve heard in the press over the past five years? Hopefully the extract above, which was printed in the Daily Mail, starts to make it clear what’s going on. Corbyn has always, throughout his career and before he was elected to parliament, fought tirelessly for peace, for reconciliation, for minority populations here and around the world, including Jewish people. Even before he became leader (outshining even Blair’s popularity at his height among party members), there were people of all political stripes who wanted to discredit him, not even necessarily because they disliked him, but because they despised what he stood for and continues to stand for. 

We’re not just talking about people who want to be able to say and do racist things, but people who have an interest in our political and economic system continuing as it has so they can maintain their economic, social, cultural, and political power. It’s impossible to overstate how important and crucial this point is. It cuts to the heart of everything.

Look at this, from the Labour manifesto that was launched today:

Introduce a War Powers Act to ensure that no prime minister can bypass Parliament to commit to conventional military action. Unlike the Conservatives, we will implement every single recommendation of the Chilcot Inquiry.

Conduct an audit of the impact of Britain’s colonial legacy to understand our contribution to the dynamics of violence and insecurity across regions previously under British colonial rule.

Invest an additional £400 million in our diplomatic capacity to secure Britain’s role as a country that promotes peace, delivers ambitious global climate agreements and works through international organisations to secure political settlements to critical issues.

Establish a judge-led inquiry into our country’s alleged complicity in rendition and torture, and the operation of secret courts.

Issue a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and hold a public review into Britain’s role in the Amritsar massacre.

Allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed.

Uphold the human rights of the people of West Papua and recognise the rights of the people of Western Sahara.

Immediately suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen and to Israel for arms used in violation of the human rights of Palestinian civilians, and conduct a root-and-branch reform of our arms exports regime so ministers can never again turn a blind eye to British-made weapons being used to target innocent civilians.

Reform the international rules-based order to secure justice and accountability for breaches of human rights and international law, such as the bombing of hospitals in Syria, the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, the use of rape as a weapon of war against the Rohingya community in Myanmar and the indiscriminate bombardment of civilians in Yemen.

We will work through the UN and the Commonwealth to insist on the protection of human rights for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil and Muslim populations.

Appoint human-rights advisers to work across the Foreign Office and government to prioritise a co-ordinated approach to human rights.

Advocate for human rights at every bilateral diplomatic meeting.

There are an awful lot of consequences to carrying out these policies. For example, Tony Blair and David Miliband are implicated in rendition, and it stands to reason they will do everything in their power to ensure they aren’t brought to justice for it, or even exposed to scrutiny over it. On the matter of arms sales, not only does it have ramifications for one of the most profitable industries, it also cuts straight to the heart of how and why we choose the international allies we do, and the power relationships inherent in that. This isn’t just a disagreement of opinion, this is threatening to change how we’ve done international politics for a generation or more. It doesn’t get more serious than this. As far as anyone who has an interest in things staying as they are, he must be stopped, by any means necessary.

Let’s talk about antisemitism. Labour is a broad party that reflects a wide range of people and a wide range of opinions from all walks of life and from all corners of the country. It stands to reason that every opinion, thought, and position you can imagine exists in wider society will be found somewhere among Labour members, by virtue of it being a mass membership party. There are terfs in the Labour Party, there are racists in the Labour Party, there are homophobes in the Labour Party, there are sexists in the Labour Party, there are antisemites in the Labour Party – because there are all those kinds of people in our country. There are all those kinds of people in the SNP. There are all those kinds of people in the Tory Party. There are all those kinds of people in the Green Party. There are all those kinds of people in the Lib Dems. What it speaks to, primarily, is the work we have to do, as a country, to educate and counter those bigotries across society. Where they rear their head within the party they must be stamped out immediately. It must be made clear that a socialist party is no place for bigotry and hatred. I think I’ve made it clear above that Corbyn is not an antisemite, and in fact has spent his entire life fighting against antisemitism, including putting his body on the line.

It has become increasingly striking that, over the past five years, Labour has been held to a far greater standard than any other party when it comes to antisemitism or any other kind of bigotry. Boris Johnson’s comments about watermelon smiles and letterboxes get passing comment, Sayeeda Warsi saying that Islamophobia is rampant in the Tory Party and she doesn’t feel safe there is quickly swept under the carpet. Compare the endless months of hand-wringing over Labour’s discussions over adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism to the Conservative’s refusal to adopt similar recommendations by the Muslim Council of Britain over anti-Muslim bigotry.

Yesterday a prominent political journalist tweeted that a Tory candidate had been expelled for antisemitism, and in the same tweet she said that a chair of a local CLP (constituency Labour Party – CLPs are the local organising groups for each constituency in the country) had resigned. In the tweet she linked to a BBC article about the CLP chair resignation. Let’s look at what’s going on here. Firstly, she gave both of these news items the same weight by putting them together in the same tweet. Second, she only linked to the story about the CLP chair, suggesting that was the more important of the two. The CLP chair resigned not over antisemitism or anything like that, but because they were disgruntled at how the selection for their local parliamentary candidate went. If you’ve ever been to a CLP meeting you’ll know that everyone is disgruntled about something. It’s hardly national news. But of course, it is. Because it was decided at some point over the past five years that everything that happens in the Labour Party must be forensically dissected and assessed as a real blow to Corbyn, or proof that Corbyn is terrible. Whereas the real story, that a Tory candidate was expelled for antisemitism, is barely a footnote. Why? Keep asking why.

I don’t know what your opinions are about politics in the United States, or whether you follow it at all, but when asking ‘why?’ it might be useful to think about what’s happening over there and how it compares and contrasts to what’s happening over here. Think about the reaction to Ilhan Omar, the inherent anti-Muslim sentiment and racism in opposition to her, and the way her critics have tried to suggest she is antisemitic. Think about those progressives in the UK who support her and see it as ridiculous scaremongering with a political motive, and how some of those are the same people who throw as much invective at Corbyn as they can. Think about the differences in how progressive politics in the US and progressive politics in the UK are presented. Think about how the same accusations of antisemitism are made against Bernie Sanders, a Jewish man who is open about his support for Israel. Think about those things and ask whether, perhaps, the wider politics of those involved might be behind some of what’s going on.

I’ll end by telling you about me and where I live. I live in Stoke-on-Trent. We have three MPs across the city: Gareth Snell here in Stoke Central, Ruth Smeeth in Stoke North, and a Tory in Stoke South, who in 2017 very narrowly beat Rob Flello, who had been the Labour MP there for quite a while. Rob is a Catholic, and has centred his Catholicism in a lot of his politics. Ruth is Jewish, and has been one of the high profile voices to speak against Corbyn. Despite going to university with Gareth and my husband working with him for years in our previous MP’s office and being his close friend, I don’t know his religious affiliation, if he even has one. I disagree with all three of them on the basis of their politics. 

I’m very glad Rob is no longer in the party, he was an embarrassment, and should have gone years ago. Rob used his Catholicism as an excuse to pursue some awful political positions (against abortion, for example), all the while being an enormous hypocrite (I won’t spill the tea about his personal life, it would be unbecoming). I think you’d agree that it’s possible for me to disagree with his politics, and to even discuss how they intersected with his version of Catholicism, without being bigoted towards Catholics or wishing them harm or wanting Catholicism to be wiped out. My mother is Catholic. (I’m forever grateful her and my dad decided not to assign me a religion, instead leaving it up to me. Their one moment of progressive thinking!)

I disagree with Gareth’s politics, despite as I explained my and my husband’s history of friendship with him, and will be eternally angry with myself for signing his nomination papers in 2017 when he was selected as our candidate to stand against Paul Nuttall of UKIP in the infamous Stoke Central by-election. What’s important here, in our relationship and out of it, is the politics. My anger isn’t at his life, his family, or whatever faith he does or does not hold, but rather at his deceit towards us in the CLP, and his awful, awful approach in parliament towards Brexit.

I disagree with Ruth’s politics, as does my husband, despite him campaigning very hard and being instrumental locally for getting her selected as the candidate for Stoke North back in the day. I disagree with her handling of Brexit, which follows the same line as Gareth’s. They’re both at risk of losing their seats at the election, and have calculated that by doing all they can to seem as though they are Brexit MPs they’ll claw back the support Labour has already lost to the Tories and Brexit Party, not realising that support left long ago and won’t come back just because they personally keep voting against the Labour whip. In the meantime they’re making it increasingly difficult for us to oppose no deal or Johnson’s hard Brexit. I also disagree with Ruth because she’s helped weaponise instances of antisemitism as a way to discredit the left. Just as I disagree with any MP who has done that, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Because, as I have said before, it’s the politics that matter. Just as I can disagree with Rob, even on matters that centre his Catholicism, without it being an attack on Catholics, so too can I disagree with Ruth, even on matters that centre her being Jewish, without it being an attack on Jewish people. And this is where we get into the nuts and bolts of the thing.

I met Chris Williamson a while back, bumping into him at Derby train station. My husband knows him (he knows everyone in the Labour Party, social butterfly that he is), and so we went to say hi. It was the first time I’d met him. I was very clear that, despite my anxiety and hate of confrontation, were he to say anything diminishing antisemitism I was going to speak out. And I did, because he did. The weird thing about Chris is that he was long known as a wonderful anti-racism campaigner and a true friend of the vulnerable and minorities. Something twisted him. Over the past few years it’s like he decided to court controversy, to push as many buttons as he could, to see how far he could go, digging his heels in no matter the cost. I think he should have been kicked out a long time ago, once he made it clear he didn’t care about the damage he caused, either to the Party or to Jewish people, because he was on his own political crusade. I don’t believe he is personally antisemitic, but there comes a point where his actions speak louder than his words, and the effects of his behaviour might as well have an antisemitic root for the harm they cause. I’m glad he was finally kicked out, and I’m furious he’s standing as an independent, risking turning Derby North Tory at a time when the very people he says he cares about, the poor, the vulnerable, migrants, disabled people, need a Labour government more than anything else and cannot survive another five years of Tory rule.

The very real fears Jewish people hold have been weaponised by the right, who always try to seed fear over hope because it gets them votes, and likewise the whole resulting situation has been further exacerbated by people like Chris. I’m infuriated by it all, not least because I don’t doubt that a high proportion of British Jewish people genuinely are scared. But because of political interests and political positioning, their fears are being exploited and redirected away from where they should be to precisely where they shouldn’t. It should be clear to you from what I’ve posted above that you’d be hard pressed to find a non-Jewish MP who has worked more tirelessly than Jeremy Corbyn to protect and defend Jewish people against fascists, just as he has worked tirelessly to defend all minorities. At a time when the far right is on the march, burning synagogues, shooting gay people and Sikhs and Muslims, to have our attention diverted away to focus on the best hope we’ve had in generations to stop it is madness. It’s motivated by political interest, whether that’s on behalf of the Conservative party and general right wing politics (let’s not forget some important points here, like Stephen Pollard being a staunchly right wing Conservative supporter, or like Maureen Lipman announcing her ditching Labour not once, but twice – the first time being under Ed Miliband’s leadership (himself Jewish), because of his support for Palestinian rights). Politics is at the heart of it all. 

Politics is at the heart of it all.

Politics is at the heart of it all, and just as working class people are used as pawns, pitted against migrants and having their fears about precarity and poverty and security weaponised to divert attention away from the real causes of their immiseration, so too are Jewish people being used as pawns, having their real fears exploited to discredit the only chance we’ll have in our lifetimes of defeating the right.

As I said at the start, I don’t expect what I’ve written here will make you feel any more safe. I hope it doesn’t make you feel any less safe. I just ask that you think about the politics of it all, and remember those questions I asked at the beginning: who is saying things against Corbyn, what are their politics, what kind of world do they want to see, who do they want me to vote for, what are their interests, how do they benefit from society under different governments? I ask you to remember that everything is stated from a political position, no matter how hard someone works to hide that. And that some people work very hard to hide it. Why?

Lastly, I want you to know that the very core of my politics is justice. Justice, empathy, fairness. I couldn’t be a socialist without those tenets at the centre of it all. Our world is burning. Our people are dying. This is all only going to get worse. Official figures are that 130,000 people have died unnecessarily as a direct result of Tory austerity. Those figures were released some time ago, so it is surely more now. Millions have already been displaced around the world as a result of the climate catastrophe. Millions more will be displaced, in ever more horrific events, over the next few years. As people have to move around the globe we will see increasing international tensions, bloody clashes, inhumane national policies aimed at keeping those people away, more bodies in trucks, more children washed up dead on beaches, more people killed in sectarian wars. If we continue to turn a blind eye to the rise of the right, we’re condemning millions to untold suffering. If we re-elect a Tory government we’re condemning millions to untold suffering. If we turn to centrism, a system responsible for that rise of the right, a system that has no answers and wants to simply manage things around the edges, we are condemning millions to untold suffering.

What kind of world do you want to see? What kind of world do those who disparage Corbyn despite his well-documented history want to see?

Politics. The simple answer to the complex problem.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Easter Wednesday Liturgical Year: Easter Wednesday by Dom Gueranger, 1908

And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves.–Exodus 14: 27

This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein. The Hebrew word Pasch signifies passage, and we explained yesterday how this great day first became sacred by reason of the Lord's Passover. But there is another meaning which attaches to the word, as we learn from the early Fathers, and the Jewish rabbins. The Pasch is, moreover, the passage of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. These three great facts really happened on one and the same night:–the banquet of the lamb, the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, and the departure from Egypt. Let us, today, consider how this third figure is a further development of our Easter mystery.

The day of Israel's setting forth from Egypt for his predestined country of the Promised Land, is the most important in his whole history; but, both the departure itself, and the circumstances that attended it, were types of future realities to be fulfilled in the Christian Pasch. The people of God was delivered from an idolatrous and tyrannical country: in our Pasch, they who are now our neophytes have courageously emancipated themselves from the slavish sway of satan, and have solemnly renounced the pomps and works of this haughty Pharaoh.

On their road to the Promised Land, the Israelites had to pass through a sea of water; their doing so was a necessity, both for their protection against Pharaoh's army, which was pursuing them, and for their entrance into the land of milk and honey. Our neophytes too, after renouncing the tyrant who had enslaved them, had to go through that same saving element of water, in order to escape their fierce enemies; it carried them safe into the land of their hopes, and stood as a rampart to defend them against invasion.

By the goodness of God, that water, which is an obstacle to man's pursuing his way, was turned into an ally for Israel's march; the laws it had from nature were suspended, and it became the savior of God's people. In like manner, the sacred font,–which, as the Church told us on the Feast of the Epiphany, is made an instrument of divine grace,–has become the refuge and fortress of our happy neophytes; their passing through its waters has put them out of reach of the tyrant's grasp. Having reached the opposite shore, the Israelites see Pharaoh and his army, their shields and their chariots, buried in the sea. When our neophytes looked at the holy font, from which they had risen to the life of grace, they rejoiced to see the tomb where their sins, enemies worse than Pharaoh and his minions, lay buried for ever.

Then did the Israelites march cheerfully on towards the land that God had promised to give them. During the journey, they will have God as their teacher and lawgiver; they will have their thirst quenched by fountains springing up from a rock in the desert; they will be fed on manna sent each day from heaven. Our neophytes, too, will run on unfettered to the heavenly country, their Promised Land. They will go through the desert of this world, uninjured by its miseries and dangers, for the divine lawgiver will teach them, not amidst thunder and lightning, as He did when He gave His law to the Israelites, but with persuasive words of gentlest love, spoken with that sweet manner which set on fire the hearts of the two disciples of Emmaus. Springs of water shall refresh them at every turn, yea of that living water which Jesus, a few weeks back, told the Samaritan woman should be given to them that adore Him in spirit and in truth. And lastly, a heavenly Manna shall be their food, strengthening and delighting them–a Manna far better than that of old, for it will give them immortality.

So that our Pasch means all this: it is a passing through water to the Land of Promise, but with a reality and truth which the Israelites had only under the veil of types, sublime indeed and divine, but mere types. Let then our Passover from the death of original sin to the life of grace, by holy Baptism, be a great feast-day with us. This may not be the anniversary of our Baptism: it matters not; let us fervently celebrate our exodus from the Egypt of the world into the Christian Church; let us, with glad and grateful hearts, renew our baptismal vows, which made our God so liberal in His gifts to us: let us renounce satan, and all his works, and all his pomps.

The Apostle of the Gentiles tells us of another mystery of the waters of Baptism; it gives completion to all we have been saying, and equally forms part of our Pasch. He teaches us, that we were hidden beneath this water, as was Christ in His tomb; and that we then died, and were buried, together with Him (1 Rom. vi. 4). It was the death of our life of sin: that we might live to God, we had to die to sin. When we think of the holy font where we were regenerated, let us call it the tomb, wherein we buried the Old Man, who was to have no resurrection. Baptism by immersion,–which was the ancient mode of administering the Sacrament, and is still used in some countries,–was expressive of this spiritual. burial: the neophyte was made to disappear beneath the water: he was dead to his former life, as our buried Jesus was to His mortal life. But, as our Redeemer did not remain in the tomb, but rose again to a new life, so likewise, says the Apostle (Coloss. ii. 12), they who are baptized, rise again with Him when they come from the font; they bear on them the pledges of immortality and glory, and are the true and living members of that Head, who dieth now no more. Here, again, is our Pasch, our passage from death to life.

At Rome, the Station is in the basilica of Saint Laurence outside the Walls. It is looked upon as the most important of the many churches built by Rome in honor of her favorite Martyr, whose body lies under the high altar. Hither were the neophytes led today, that they might learn, from the example of so brave and generous a soldier of Christ, how courageous they should be in confessing their faith, and how faithful in living up to their baptismal vows. For several centuries, the reception of Baptism was a preparation for martyrdom; but, at all times, it is an enlisting in the service of Christ, which we cannot leave without incurring the guilt and penalty of traitors. 

#easter wednesday

[piouscatholic]

#Candlemas #TheFeastofthePresentationofJesusChrist

#TheFeastofthePurificationoftheBlessedVirginMary #TheFeastoftheHolyEncounter (Feb 2)

9-DAY NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF CANDELARIA

Day 1

Prayer for Every Day of the Novena

O Son of God, who became man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we thank You for giving Your consent to be brought to the temple by Your Mother in order to be presented to God the Father in payment for our sins against divine justice.

By the infinite merits of Your Presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem, and through the prayers of Your most Holy Mother, grant us, through Your act of redeeming us, the grace we need.

O Jesus, light of the world, enlighten our minds and be our guide in our way in this valley of tears.

Give us living faith, firm hope and burning love of God and neighbor, so that in the hour of death we can, like the prophet Simeon, say: “Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace for my eyes have seen the salvation of your people Israel.”

Novena Prayer

O Most Humble Virgin, even as you conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, You chose to remain a virgin even after childbirth, as you were before.

You still went to the temple in fulfilment of the Jewish law of purification, just like the other women after giving birth.

By the merits of your virtue of humility, deliver us from the sin of pride and make us realize our sinfulness and the lowliness of our situation.

Help us to be humble like you even when despised by others and even in the face of sickness and hurts that God may send us, so that we can obtain forgiveness of our sins, repay God’s justice here on earth and be delivered even from the sufferings of purgatory and grant us the grace we ask in this novena (mention favor).

We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

Our Lady of Candelaria, pray for our family.

Our Lady of Candelaria, pray for our parish.

Our Lady of Candelaria, pray for our country.

Amen.

DEVOTIONAL PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF CANDELARIA

Ever Glorious and Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Universe and Mother of Mercy, chosen by the Father to be the Mother of His Son Jesus Christ, I cast myself into your arms confident of finding in your most loving heart peace and fulfillment.

O treasure of Divine Grace and refuge of sinners, be my guide and inspiration in this valley of tears.

O fragrant Lily of Holiness, captivate my heart and have pity on my urgent request – (mention the favor you need).

I ask this favor through that love and humility which you showed at the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple.

O Lady of Candelaria, I thank the Lord for having given you to me an unworthy person to be my own mother who is worthy of all my love.

Be always my intercessor before Jesus for all the graces necessary in my life, besides my personal necessities I also pray for the members of this parish, our Church leaders, and especially our priests.

In our quest for peace and reconciliation please give us the light to brighten our path in this world and lead us further to everlasting joy in heaven. Amen.

Our Lady of Candelaria, pray for us.

#PresentationOfTheChildJesusParishOrg