Apr 24th, 2020, 01:09 PM

Confinement Recommendations

By Leila Roker
Person On Computer, Image Credit: Shutterstock/506815912
The Fashion Journalism Class has curated a list of recommendations to fight off that quarantine boredom!

**This is a collaborative article by the Fashion Journalism Class.

Approaching the six week mark of quarantine, we've all torn through our Netflix lists and DIY baking recipes. Here are some more sources of entertainment from the Fashion Journalism class to keep you busy during confinement.

Movie: L'Amour Fou (2010) 

Title Card, Image Credit: L'Amour Fou

Directed by Pierre Thoretton, L’Amour Fou (The Crazy Love, 2010) examines Pierre Bergé’s life with Yves Saint Laurent amidst the backdrop of an impending auction for their entire home collection. As a lover, business partner, and close confidant to one of the greatest French fashion designers of all time, Pierre’s account of his life is anything but rosy. As the film progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that Pierre spent many decades stuck in an abusive relationship that left many bittersweet memories. What I loved most about this film is how director Pierre Thoretton was able to subtly portray a life ruined by fame and fashion. L’Amour Fou serves both as a fashion documentary and a kind warning to others that glitz and glam of things never lasts.

The film is available to stream through Amazon, and other online platforms. 

-Aira Xenelli

Podcast: Blamo! With Jeremy Kirkland

This podcast explores fashion with the notable personalities who shape the industry, from actors and athletes, to editors and journalists. Each week, founder Jeremy Kirkland talks to a different guest about their personal journey through their career and their ideas about the future. In this episode, Jeremy talked to Rachel Tshjian, who is a fashion writer for GQ in New York City. She shares her journey on how she got into the industry by creating her own blog, “PizzaRulez” in the early 2010s and her experiences working at Vanity Fair. She talks about the plus sides of her career, such as being a guest at the VF Oscar Party four years in a row. As you can see on her Instagram, she has a very impressive wardrobe, which is inspired by Princess Diana. She only buys vintage clothes regularly, but will sometimes go to Ebay if she is searching for a specific piece. I enjoyed this podcast because both Jeremy and Rachel were authentic and had a passion for clothing in a refreshing way. You can find this podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

-Stella Richman

Podcast: The Dating Game Killer 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Have you listened yet? Episode 4 of #TheDatingGameKiller is out now (link in bio).

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Are you a true crime lover? Or maybe you’re into documentary series or simply pop culture? Then The Dating Game Killer podcast is for you. 

The podcast begins by setting up the scene of the popular 1978 TV show called The Dating Game. Well known celebrities today, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Farrah Fawcett, and Sally Field all made an appearance on the iconic dating show. In this episode of the show, bachelor Rodney Alcala won the date at the end of the show. No one would know at the time, that Alcala was a prolific serial killer who had been in the midst of a cross country killing spree. This six-part podcast series is co-hosted by Tracy Pattin (Hollywood & Crime) and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe). About 40 minutes each episode, the co-hosts take you on an unbelievable journey as they recount how Alcala hid his secret dark life under false normal covers for years. This is a perfect podcast to have in the background while cooking your meals during quarantine.  

*This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple podcasts and Wondery+

-Moumi Camara 

Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2, Image Credit: Nintendo.fr

Are you looking for a new game to play with those you’re quarantined with to release built-up tension, and quite possibly ruin your relationships with those you love and cherish most? Then add that Nintendo Switch to your cart and press purchase because, baby, is this the game for you. Overcooked 2 is a cooperative (co-op) game where you and your sous chefs work together to make sushi, tacos, pasta, pancakes, etc to get them out to customers on time. This is not like any other cooking game you’ve played before - blood, sweat, and tears go into passing these levels. You quickly learn that there is a certain strategy required for every level, because not only are you beating the clock, you’re also battling against rotating kitchen layouts, constantly falling overboard, and the space-time continuum. Similar to working in a real kitchen, playing Overcooked 2 brings an unprecedented amount of stress to the players, but the euphoria you feel when you finally beat a level you’ve killed hours (even days) on, gives you a natural high that is incomparable. So be careful who you pick to be part of your staff because tensions rise high in this game, words get thrown around in a fit of rage, and some things can’t be unsaid.

If you don't have a Nintendo Switch, the game is also available on Steam, to play on your computer, and also on PS4.

-Sophia Scalzo

Book: The Battle of Versailles by Robin Givhan

The Book Cover of The Battle of Versailles by Robin Givhan. Credits: My iBook Library.

"The tale unfolds in France, but the story is wholly American: a culmination of social shifts, racial conflicts, politics, ambition, idealism, and magic,” writes Robin Givhan, the Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer prize winner. Her book takes us back into a night that has changed fashion forever. She walks us through the social, cultural and political implications of The Battle of Versailles. The year is 1973. Over the course of the evening of November 28, “The Battle of Versailles,” a happening  conceptualized and created by  socialite Eleanor Lambert to raise funds for the restoration of the Palais de Versailles, took place. The event in the form of a fashion show, featured prominent French designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy and Emmanuel Ungaro “battling” American designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, and Halston. Against all odds, the American camp of designers came out victorious defying all speculations and expectations. As Givhan’s book points out, it was less about the outfits and the dresses but rather about the energy and spirit that came along with the American presence. Givhan’s "The Battle of Versailles " is more than a novel or a history book; it is a compound of detailed, exciting and contemporarily contextualized accounts of an event that has defined the fashion industry. The book is available on Google Books, Apple Books, and Fnac for about 10 Euros.

-Abdel Benakki

 

NBA Pre-Game Fashion

Thumbnail From YouTube Clip, Image Credit: ESPN

I’m a big fan of American sports. I tend to follow whichever sport is currently in season. Right now, that’s basketball. In recent years, National Basketball Association players have taken ownership of the short, yet iconic walk from outside the stadium to the locker room, upon arrival for pre-game preparations. This six-minute YouTube clip from ESPN (the worldwide leader in sports news) highlights the incident which caused the NBA Commissioner to establish a dress code, and how over time, players took it upon themselves to turn a requirement into a runway.

-Jason Treffry

 

Rupaul's Drag Race Season 12 

Rupaul's Drag Race is officially back with their 12th season! For all the queens that have been itching for another great season, this one will surely not disappoint. The season, which premiered on February 28, 2020, has been packed with stunning outfits as well as an amazing fun-filled cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Nicki Minaj, and Leslie Jones to name a few! While the season was hit early on with a sexual misconduct accusation against one of the drag queens, the cast and crew have been able to move on sans the alleged perpetrator in question. It has been all positive news since and for the first time ever France has a representative in their midst (Nicki Doll)! We are looking forward to seeing how this exciting season pans out! 

If you are interested in this promising season, you can catch up on the last few and upcoming episodes on VH1 or Amazon Prime

-Kayla Stokes

Ridgeline Newsletter by Craig Mod

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

From the Roden newsletter (link in bio) that went out yesterday. This was the last workshop we visited on the trip. I was a bit workshop’d out. I figured I had taken all the photos of pottery studios I was going to take. So I left my “serious” camera and pack behind (a Leica M10, 35mm Summilux) and brought only my iPhone 11 Pro. Dumb dumb. Of course, this ends up being the most photogenic, divine space of the entire trip (and the only time on the trip I wasn’t carrying my main photo tool!). Though I left my Leica behind, I think the iPhone 11 Pro performed well. I shot in .raw using the Halide app, and edited in Lightroom on a MacBook Pro. The images are a bit noisy for ISO 32, but the dynamic range is significantly higher than in shooting with the default .heic format. (The iPhone also tends to overly noise-reduce their .heic files.) That said: the .raw files are about 25mb each, compared to the 1-5mb for .heic, so it’s obvious why this isn’t turned on my default (everyone would fill up their storage 5x-25x more quickly).

A post shared by Craig Mod (@craigmod) on

Homebound people in Paris, or wherever stay-at-home orders may find you, will enjoy Ridgeline, a contemplative weekly email that is a welcome antidote to scrolling social media. Penned by the multi-potentate Craig Mod, an American self-published walker, writer, and photographer, Ridgeline is about "walking, Japan, literature and modern life." 

Three years ago, Mod raised more than $60,000 on Kickstarter to self-publish his first book, Koya Bound. Koya Bound won the American Institute of Graphic Arts 50 Books/50 Covers award in 2016. If you are looking for more literary content to keep you occupied, you may also enjoy the On Margins podcast as well as the monthly email newsletter, Roden.



Sign up for the Ridgeline newsletter here: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/ 



-Claudia Gunter

Book: Educated by Tara Westover 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

· 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎: ‘𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝’ ⠀ I’m possibly the last person on all of Bookstagram to read this book, so I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. I knew from all the (exclusively) raving reviews it would be a powerful read, but wow, I’m just blown away. Sometimes I found myself almost forgetting it was non-fiction, as it didn’t read like one and so many of the events described felt so unreal to me. I couldn’t help turning the pages. It’s hard to take in all that she endured, and overcame. The last time I felt this invested in a memoir was when I read ‘Becoming’, and that my friends, speaks for itself!! ⠀ If you’re currently sitting on the fence with this one, wait no further, I can almost certainly PROMISE you you will love this book. I just bullied my mom into buying a copy 🙋🏼‍♀️ ⠀ My Goodreads rating: ★★★★★ ⠀ #whatsofiereadreviews #educated #tarawestover

A post shared by What Sofie Read (@whatsofieread) on

Educated, by Tara Westover has found itself at the top of the New York Times Bestseller list for a little over two years now and by no mistake. The 7th child of Mormon Survivalists on a mountain in Idaho, Tara recounts her growing up and eventual separation from her extremist world in search of higher education. Her childhood spent preparing for the “End of Days”, was overtaken by paranoia and distrust of the government. Without a birth certificate, an education or reference to the outside world, Tara perseveres and with stunning clarity, remembers her life from a very young age. An unexpected American memoir that will have you immediately hooked. This piece is provocative, unnerving, and inspiring while delicately unpacking truths within Tara’s life.

The book is available on Amazon and Fnac.

-Coco Wagner

Learning French through 6play

Throughout lockdown I have been trying to find ways to entertain myself outside of my studies. During this time, I have been using an app called 6play which is a platform where you can stream French television (free of charge) after signing in with your email. The channels available include: M6, W9, 6ter and gulli. One of my goals for this spring was to spend an hour each day practicing French with the use of Duolingo, French children's books and television. Lately, I have been feeling nostalgic and decided to watch episodes of Totally Spies, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and La cuisine est un jeu d'enfants on their jeunesse channel. Since children shows are easy to follow, I have been able to increase my French vocabulary even without the use of subtitles. After I complete these series I look forward to watching shows such as Top Chef and Les Reines du Shopping. To access this platform, visit their website or download their app which is available on Apple and Android.

 

Lauren McDonald

 

 

Netflix Series: Fauda

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Welcome to Gaza! Fauda 3, April 16, 2020 @netflix #fauda3 #stayhome

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Fauda, created by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, is a fictional series based off an Israeli Defense Force’s unit and what their roles entail in protecting their country. The series follows a group of Israeli soldiers from a special unit in the army as they try to find and defeat a Hamas known terrorist. Even though the series is Israeli, there is not much bias when looking at the plot, each side gets an equal number of casualties and victories. The series original languages are Hebrew and Arabic, which helps set the scene and make the show more vivid and real. The series helps with truly understanding the scope of what is happening with the Israeli – Palestinian conflict by including politics. Even though it is not a documentary, it successfully paints a stunningly vivid picture of what people have to go through every day, and what people are willing to do to defend and protect their country.

This series can be found on Netflix. 

-Alicia Blum 

 

 

Documentary: The First Monday in May

The First Monday in May is an exquisitely produced documentary that shows just how much detail, effort, and thought goes into the annual MET Gala. The Met Gala is possibly the most anticipated fashion event within the fashion community; its star-studded guest list and incredible designer outfits created to fit the theme for that year is televised for the world to see. Though the film focuses on one year of the event, the 2015 China: Through the Looking Glass, it provides a well-fleshed example for the process behind scenes. The documentary follows the head curator for the costume institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrew Bolton as he collaborates with Anna Wintour and other major fashion names to curate the exhibition and the event. Though the Met Gala was established in the late ‘40s by American publicist Eleanor Lambert, the gala didn’t gain real traction and popularity until the ‘70s when Diana Vreeland was appointed curator of the costume exhibit. Though the film is no longer available on Netflix, it can be watched on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and rented with YouTube.

-Shi-Ann James