Saturday 7th June 2025

Culture

Common threads: Historical fashion and its lessons for our time

When we think of historical fashion, images of towering wigs, tight-laced corsets, heavy brocades and voluminous skirts often spring to mind – ornate, impractical, and rooted firmly in the unenlightened...

Food, fashion, and escapism in a cost of living crisis

Food costs have been front and centre in newsreels as of recent months, whether...

Oxford Fashion Gala’s ‘Metamorphosis’ reflects the beauty of change

The Oxford Fashion Gala was back and bigger than ever, with a larger venue,...

Tailoring expectations: Couture culture shocks

Academia has a historic relationship with fashion, both officially and unofficially. The former manifests...

The Souvenir Review

Joanna Hogg’s latest film, The Souvenir, executively produced by Martin Scorsese, depicts the semi-autobiographical coming of age of its heroin, Julie. The plot circulates the turbulent...

Top 10 Films of 2019

Cinema in 2019 has been surrounded by chaos. The medium is caught in a rocky and acrimonious transition, as some seek to hold onto...

Cherwell Fashion Arrives from the Future

Rania Kim, Wyn Shaw, Isabella Welch and Tucker Drew pose by the Zaha Hadid tunnel in St. Antonys for some retro-futurism in the world's...

The Rise of Scruffy Politics

On the night of the 2016 US Presidential election, a group of my friends gathered to watch the event. At our little party, the...

Review: Knives Out

British audiences know the whodunit genre well. The Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, wrote 66 murder mystery novels over the course of her prolific...

Crémant: a lesser-known, lesser-priced French sparkling wine

I might still be coming to terms with the fact that I don’t lead a life involving the regular and copious consumption of champagne...

In Defense of Escapist Art

In our current political climate escapism is a dirty word. Moreover, it is a risky form of mental engagement in a culture that calls...

Stubbly Saints: Hilda’s raises over £8000 for Movember

St. Hilda’s College, taking part in Movember for the first time, has reportedly raised more money than any other individual college in the charity month’s history.

Interview: Rosie Sourbut, Labour candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon

Rosie Sourbut is not only a candidate but also a third year English student at Somerville College. I ask her first what it’s...

For the Record: Cameron’s Memoir

The lack of response to Cameron’s long delayed autobiography is indicative of the longer demise of the style of politics Cameron epitomises. Outsold by...

The Irishman Review

Martin Scorsese’s latest film is nothing short of epic. With a nearly three and half hour run time, a 159 million dollar budget, and a cast...

Trashy Treasure – The power and politics of sexualised clothes for women throughout the ages

“We are not special. We are not crap or trash, either. We just are. We just are, and what happens just happens.” "Trash" in 1555...

H&M x Giambattista Valli is a fast fashion renaissance

On November 7, shoppers rushed to H&M flagships worldwide and feverishly refreshed their browsers in anticipation of the Giambattista Valli x H&M main...

Ancient statues reveal their true colours

Imagine for a moment that you’re standing in Ancient Greece. Theatres, temples, and statues, which survive to us only as ruins, stand intact all around you, white marble gleaming in the Mediterranean sun.

‘Oxford Against Schwarzman’ anticipates billionaire’s arrival with new call to action

The ‘Oxford Against Schwarzman’ group has called their followers to act to oppose the University’s announcement of the construction of the Stephen A Schwarzman...

Cai Quo-Qiang: Gunpowder Art

It’s hard not to get fomo when watching the videos of the viewers jumping back from the vivid bursts of fire, smoke and colour as Cai joyfully watches on like a child with a big box of fireworks. However, one piece in particular made me rethink how displaying Cai’s practice in an exhibition space offers what the explosive performance can’t.

A Political Pirouette

With the death of symbol the symbol of progressive, politically involved ballet, Alicia Alonso, does ballet lie in danger of becoming irrelevant?

The Early Roots of Film

The Parisians screamed. And it seemed a perfectly reasonable response. After all, packed into a musty early cinema, they had just witnessed the Lumière...

Novelty Music is Real Music

To call the summer of 2018 memorable would probably be an understatement: there was the heatwave, the subsequent hours spent in beer gardens, and, perhaps most...

Review: Kanye West – ‘Jesus is King’

It’s that time of the year again when Kanye West, armed with another batch of outrageous quotes (“God is using me to show off”) and the...

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