Fashion @ Warwick

Bright cold winter days and wet spring mornings necessitate a focus on the tender balance between utility and aesthetics. This is a balance often precarious, particularly in the student population where nine o’clock lectures tend to decide the day’s wardrobe (or lack of it) rather more than the quality of the cut of the, err, jeans. Alternatively, wearing the spindly heals of 2010 may look fabulous but at the same time, it may prove an impossibility for actually walking on all that slush. I ventured around the fashionable hot spots on campus (OK, the library and the terrace bar don’t count, but it seems this is all we have) to see how this season’s trends have filtered down to our student population and what has become of balancing beauty with practicality.

Although the snow and ice has meant we need to wrap on layers and layers, current trends have allowed us to do so with striking style. Fur and faux fur are particularly good for the balancing act, providing warmth as well as glamourous daring attitude. Coats on campus reflect this trend extensively; everywhere one looks there is a fur trim circling a hood, or peeking from the top of snow boots. Undoubtedly, the current ‘it coat’ on campus; the treasured charity shop faux fur find.

Among other exciting things this spring, dungarees (a shift from previously beloved jumpsuits), what Vogue deem ‘double denim’ (whole outfits in different shades of denim, yum!) and large feather headdresses have featured on the catwalk. However, sadly none of these seem to have become hits around campus, although I’m sure exceptions are to be found.

What does seem to have filtered into the buzz is a large collection of digital and florally printed garments, the former being a current world wide theme and the latter a throw back to the warmer months’ clamour for vintage hirly girdy floral prints. Florally patterned dresses and skirts prevail the union nights and seem to have become a basic much like the Little Black Dress, although less flexible, and less chic. Alice Taherzadeh wore the floral trend with laid back but impressive individualism and I thought she matched unmatching prints rather well.

Polemically, Rubab Dhanjis dress exemplifies the current world wide ‘Whitewash’ theme as lead by Calvin Klein, Chanel, Fendi et al. Line, form, fabric and shape are the features here. With garments stripped down to simple and beautifully architectured canvases, the all white look is in stark opposition to colourful prints and messy cuts, as seen at Warwick.

Such mirroring of world wide fashion trends was a rarity at the union events I attended – a lack that I don’t think is a problem. Trust in an individual style and personalities expressed through clothes are preferable to imitation. In the same way that one can’t force a pair of size 8 jeans on when one is most definitely a size 10, we should not contort ourselves into conforming with a trend in order both to feel good. In this respect, it seems Warwick succeeds to some extent – and although there are droves of Ugg-wearing-gillet-clad-hoody-swamped people, it seems at least they are liberated from feeling the need to follow Vogue by the book.

Although this is the case, we must refocus our minds and reconsider the balance. Warwick’s liberation from the catwalk and lack of conformity to world wide fashion trends could well imply that an individualism and quirkiness exists in its students, it could even imply that aesthetics were the preferred case in the balance between utility.

But alas, ultimately this seems not to be the case. Look around, and you will see the lack of value for aesthetics in the day wear of our student population; jumpers and hoodies, straight jeans and trainers. Instead, we could be deciding to make beauty part of the utility of clothes – to realise as ever, we can have our cake and eat it. Add a little excitement to that jumper – go Fair Isle. Hooray to the film students, to the literature students, who at least do lazy with a bit of colour. Redress the balance!

Oh, and if you did want the full denim look, see Chloe for real inspiration!