#momentsforlife is an end of year feature in which PTL Editors look back on standout moments from the year and recall why they meant and continue to mean so much to us. The idea being to celebrate the highs of the past twelve months and to get all sappy and happy before we take a Christmas break.
Here lie our ART & FASHION moments.
Hannah Beer, Editor of ART & FASHION
From Riccardo Tisci designing Kim’s dress for the biggest wedding this side of the Millenium and Kimye appearing on the cover of American Vogue, to Kendall walking practically every S/S 2015 show, 2014 was the year the Kardashians proved they could keep up with more than just themselves. The more sober suited fashion lovers amongst you may shake your head at me for falling into Kris Jenner’s perfectly executed world domination trap, but the fact of the matter is, 2014 took Kim and co from Reality TV Royalty to bona fide Fashion Royalty, and I absolutely loved it. I loved Kendall on the cover of Love, and I actually followed Kim on Instagram just so I could see which designers have sent ridiculously expensive one-of-a-kind tiny clothes to baby North. Call me shallow, but Kardashian Kouture (I’m sorry, I had to) was my favourite thing in fashion this year. And anyway, being shallow worked for Kim.
Figgy Guyver, Deputy Editor of ART & FASHION
As soon as I heard about the Insomnia event, which happened at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh last February, I booked my ticket. The promise of staying up all night in a gallery, surrounded by Louise Bourgeois’ scrawled, scribbled red lines of pen was something I was not going to miss. Amidst performances from a band playing sleepy tunes, writing workshops and a few drams of whisky I got to experience sleeplessness alongside drawings created in a state of insomnia – Bourgeois created the drawings over a six month period when she struggled with sleep. Walking home as the sun was rising, croissant in hand, I remember thinking this was a thoughtful event from a cool gallery.
Sonia Muhwezi, Editor of LITERATURE
Last Christmas, my sister bought me a nail-kit: a perfect gift, because of all things I find that my style is best expressed through my fingers: nail polish, rings, drawings – my hands are my canvas. In 2014 this went into overdrive as I saw my nail polish collection amass to new heights of do-I-really-need-this-much-ness. It also saw me push and play with the art form as much as possible – with colour and style. In fact rarely do I ever wear a uniform colour now: I like to mix-and-match, and try out different effects. And as the year draws to a close and it’s becoming more and more apparent that I won’t be a masters student for too much longer, I’m starting to realise that these may be the last couple of months I can be as ostentatious as I want before I’m unleashed upon the professional world. I may as well enjoy it whilst I can.
Eloise Hendy, Deputy Editor of LITERATURE
In early January I went to an art exhibition, because my mum had said I should and because my boyfriend and I were on a hunt for an arty-types afternoon. I didn’t really know what the show was; I just knew Henry Moore was involved. I’m not a huge Henry Moore fan; I usually think his sculptures are a bit establishment, a bit stately-home garden. This exhibition – Francis Bacon / Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone in the Ashmolean Museum – totally changed my mind. Of course, any unexpected Bacon paintings are going to have an impact – his art churns your insides. But the way the show had been laid out, drawing parallels between the two men, who before I had never connected in my mind, was so clever I was stunned. It shook up all my previously held ideas and amazed me, which is surely what art should aim to do.
Hannah Oliver, Editor of FILM, THEATRE & TV
I’ve become somewhat notorious for the lightning flash and the whippersnap shutter of a bright blue disposable this year. Whenever I see what I think is a picture-perfect moment, I pull out my trusty friend and take a snap. The disposable is tacky, grainy and foolproof. The exposure is so quick that fleeting snippets of time are captured before anyone notices you’re there, and of course nobody bothers to stop what they’re doing and asks to see the picture or for you to take another. It’s all about waiting. I love that. And I’m addicted to the magic of holding in my hand hard-copied frames of memory, developed for five quid in Boots. My flat this year had those wonderful, Edinburgh-typical white-washed walls ten feet to the ceiling, and half of my room became a grid-like installation of cheap, gloss photos. I’d wake up and be taken back to a childhood memory, or a hot night on holiday, or a ring of fancy dress faces. The pictures were blue-tacked and used to drive me crazy when they came loose and fluttered down behind my chest of drawers, leaving tell-tale white spaces. It wasn’t art, exactly. More luck of the draw stuck ad hoc on a wall. But it was beautiful to me – finger smudges, drunken faces, forgotten flashes and all.
Melanie Christie, Deputy Editor of FILM, THEATRE & TV
Queen Lupita. Need I say more? I probably don’t need to, but I’m going to anyway. Like a phoenix from the flames, Lupita Nyong’o burst into our lives in a blaze of glory, gracing us with her inimitable style over and over again during awards season. Not only does she rock every style and colour (google her name and ‘rainbow’…you’ll see), but she does it all with effortless grace and gives inspirational talks on beauty in the process, encouraging people to feel beautiful in their own skin. Her speech at Essence Magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards was incredible and evidence of why she is such a Queen. My personal fashion highlight of hers was that stunning Oscar dress from Prada – it was, and is, the perfect example of a real life Cinderella moment. What us mere mortals did to deserve such a deity, I do not know.
Sam Prance, Editor-in-Chief of PTL
‘He toss my salad like his name Romaaaaiiiine//And when we done, I make him buy me Balmaaaaiiiin.’ Aside from having his label name-checked in one of the most popular songs of the year, Olivier Rousteing has had quite a formidable 2014. Maximising on the sex and power of his previous works and adding a newfound elegance into the mix – he’s developed the Balmain look from that of a confident young girl to that of a woman in charge. What’s more he’s taken a strong stance against the underlying racism which still exists within the fashion industry. Hiring a diverse range of models for his shows and campaigns and taking part in spreads with the likes of Iman, Naomi Campbell and Rihanna may not seem like any great feat – but in the white-centric world of fashion it sadly is. One hopes that with people like Rousteing leading the industry, the days of the token black model will finally disappear. Judging by the celebrity support he wields (RiRi, Beyoncé, The Kardashians – the boyfriend and I have spend a year envying his Instagram) – Rousteing and his #balmainarmy could actually help achieve this sooner than we might think.
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Another one bites the dust. As the keen-eyed among you may have noticed, we’ve lost our entire music team now to exams and essays. Bianca, Nols – we salute you. *note to self – organise #momentsforlife further in advance*
The PTL Team
The PTL Team are the collective of professional journalists (bumbling students) behind all that goes on on Prancing Through LIFE. We’re similar in many ways but different in others. To find out more about each of us specifically, head over to our TEAM page: here.
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