A whole new level of re-cycling?

J-Lo attended the premiere of her latest film release last night (The back up plan) in what appeared, at first glance to be a dress made of bin bags. Is this a fashion revolation in recyling? Not only are we being told to re-use our plastic bags we are now being told to wear them? No, in fact the dress was a black leather number by Lanvin but with the puff sleeves and sheen it could be mistaken for an entry in a 'rubbish' fashion show which im sure many of you entered as a child,dressed up in bin liners and old cd's, I know I did! But could this spell a new era in fabric manufacture? Will we now not only ride on busses made from recylcled cans but also be wearing t-shirts created from recyled plastic bag fibres? Only time will tell.

"New York to have men's fashion week?"

It seems, New York may be about to follow in the footsteps of Paris, Milan and New Dehli and create its own men's fashion week to compliment its female orientated show. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the male population aquiring a week of fashion dedicated to them, after all they are perfectly justified in being as interested in fashion as we females are...but why segregate them?

We go on about the down trodden woman, underpaid, overworked and under appreciated yet when it comes to fashion we make them feel just as ostracised. Surely shows combining the two disciplines would be more worthwhile, draw larger and more varied audiences and put the segragation to rest. After all who doesnt enjoy watching a well styled man parade infront of them?

Gym bunnies.

It seems we have become a nation obsessed with fittness, gyms are everywhere, we live in our sweatpants. Gone are the days where one had to take the time to pick out an outfit before popping to the shops, now we throw on the trackies and off we go. All well and good when its the comfort factor we crave rather than the style, but when it turns on its head and fashion enters the gym it seems we have gone mad.

Why pay more than the gym membership price for a pair of trackie bums? How is this logical? Surely the sole purpose for gym wear is for it to get sweaty, stretched and pushed as far as your body is, so how would one justify spending £70 on tracksuit bottoms. They may be made of higher quality fabrics and stitch quality but i doubt very much this is the reason for the choice, rather the designer name is chosen.

Even supermarkets produce good quality sports wear, long lasting, well structured and affordable. Where do designer trackie wears actually exercise, because surely they cannot be seen to get sweaty in public, that would ruin the image! Do they have home gyms to sculpt the body and use the gym as a catwalk? The gym is to create the body not flaunt it, feel the burn and get sweaty. Get fashion out of the gym and onto the catwalk.

Blogging.

Blogs seem to be getting serious, not only are they used as online journals, almost a space saving device, but they can build a career path and perhaps be viewed as 'a form of professional media' [www.businessoffashion.com] the entrance point perhaps for a freelance journalist or designer. This evolution makes it feel as though every inch of a blog will be scrutinised, yet it's out there, for everyone to read. Every word needs impact, it needs to startle, shock and intrigue. But how does one get to this level, is a skill that is learnt or merely one we are born with like the ability to decide which colours to place together?

There seems to be emerging a new trend for blogging with the fashion world too, groups of bloggers dedicating hours of their lives to a computer and a blog space, some even being rewarded with an invite to sit front row at high end designer's shows. The Internet is a powerful tool. We must use it wisely and with caution. Used wisely it can be a great asset, as blogging has proved, designer's work is being advertised with no fees and lots of attention thanks to the lowly blogger. Although in most cases this is an advantage, it could turn sour if any fallings our are to occur, as we tend to believe everything we read (if its in print it must be true right?) and as such small disagreements could soon turn into public spats across the world wide web possibly resulting in peaks and troughs in attention on designers and shows.

But there's no stopping it now, the blogger is here to stay firmly fixed in that illusive grey area, the Internet. What would happen I wonder if the Internet were to disappear one day, would the world cease to function? Hopefully we will never have to encounter this problem, and it will only continue to grow and prosper stretching to farther and farther corners of the globe, and now I'm part of it!