Image credit: courtesy of Natsai Audrey Chieza 

Clashing, two-tone, co-ord, block… wearing colour is fundamental to our self-expression. But with dyeing techniques contributing so heavily to the climate crisis, our love of colour is going to make the world a much duller place unless things change, fast. “We need to change the whole landscape of the industry,” says Michael Stanley-Jones, co-secretary of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion. He’s one of eight experts sharing their insight with on what’s being done to tackle fashion’s dyeing art. Here are the five key problems, and some potential solutions.

The problem: water waste

On a global scale, the textile industry uses between six to nine trillion litres of water each year, just for fabric dyeing. At a time when every continent is now facing water scarcity issues, that’s like filling more than two million Olympic swimming pools every year with fresh water, then not letting anyone swim in them. (Not that you’d want to swim in the toxic water of a dyeing mill.) 

Possible solution: biologically inspired materials

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“I think there’s a lack of diversity around how two knowledge systems can create something new,” says Natsai Audrey Chieza (above), designer and founder of creative biodesign agency Faber Futures. Chieza is one of the leading voices in the growing biodesign movement, which integrates living things like bacteria into new materials, products and even artworks. “Design and science working together is about combining two different ways of knowing and doing, to try and tackle a problem.” 

Chieza creates opportunities for collaboration between creatives and scientists on “planet-centred” products and systems. In 2011, her team discovered that a pigment-producing microbe could be used as clothing dye. The colour oscillates between pinks and blues, depending on the pH of the soil in which the microbe is found, and creates a beautiful array of effects on fabric including tie-dye. Crucially, it also uses 500 times less water then standard dyeing techniques, and totally cuts out harmful chemicals. “If you look more creatively at natural materials, or in this case designing with living systems, you can do something quite special,” says Chieza. “You can arrive at something fundamentally different.”

Waste dumped into Turag River in Bangladesh, 2018. Image credit: Getty Images 

The problem: chemicals

Almost three-quarters of all the water consumed by dyemills ends up as undrinkable waste – a toxic soup of dyes, salts, alkalis, heavy metals and chemicals that are used to fix colour to our clothes. “Some of the chemicals used in Indian dye houses are actually banned in Europe – a conundrum for those of us wearing imported clothes,” says Virginia Newton-Lewis, senior policy analyst at WaterAid. Filtering waste water is costly, too, and in the world’s dyeing hubs of Bangladesh (above), India and China, it is often illegally discharged into rivers, which turn into an acidic spew of colour. (In Mumbai the water once became so polluted that local dogs turned completely blue after swimming.) “These waste water chemicals can affect the local ecosystem, or the people who use the water for fishing, washing or even drinking,” explains Laila Petrie, WWF textiles and cotton global lead. “They can harm plants and animals, and potentially enter the food chain.”

Possible solution: dyes made from by-product

Biotech company Colorifix is seeking to roll out fabric dyes that are sustainable on three fronts: environmental, social and economical. Set up in 2015, the company converts molasses – the by-product of sugar – into colourants that can be used for textile dyeing. The method doesn’t demand extra arable land use (unlike some natural dyes), but can be applied to areas where sugar is already grown. Colorifix also replaces fixing chemicals – the most toxic aspect of the dyeing process – with the by-products of biofuels, which co-founder and CEO Dr Orr Yarkoni explains are a primary crop with a positive environmental function. Reusing waste materials “means that the whole process uses 10 times less water, and 20 per cent less energy”.

Image credit: Getty Images 

The problem: unemployment risk 

Dye houses offer a vital source of employment and income in emerging economies –  81 per cent of Bangladesh’s export economy, for example, is purely ready made garments (above). Women, who represent around 80 per cent of the global garment workforce, are most at risk of being affected by any systematic changes or products that aren’t carefully considered. So it’s crucial that biodesign envisions materials that are not going to cause mass unemployment. 

Possible solution: state intervention

“Any radical change can have a hugely negative impact if it is not planned correctly,” says Yarkoni, noting that Colorifix has only replaced the actual dye, and not any jobs or machines. In Stanley-Jones’ view, too much reliance is being placed on technologists, like Yarkoni, to solve the climate crisis. “The only way real change can happen is if we rapidly share innovations that work and roll these out more quickly – everyone needs to have access to the same information, and technologies,” Stanley-Jones says. In his role for the UN, Stanley-Jones helps to coordinate different climate projects and actions by member governments, agencies and allies. It’s only through this integrated approach, he says, that the right types of incentives, investments and legislations can be thrashed out globally; ultimately create systematic change. “It isn’t just science and technology that we need to save us,” Stanley-Jones explains, “we also need unified action from the societies and governments of the world.”

The problem: hardwired consumerism

The difficulty with sustainability is that it’s a term that encompasses so many different issues – so while it’s great to hear of a fashion brand championing low-impact dyeing, it’s futile if the product is then thrown away, or the supply chain turns out to be exploitative. The linear ‘take, consume, destroy’ approach has been around for centuries and it appears to be challenging for businesses to break with this tradition to influence change.

Image credit: courtesy of Javier Gutierrez

Possible solution: a circular economy

Championed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the idea of a circular economy envisions products that are designed and optimised for a continual circle of recycling and dissembling. If picked up globally, it would be the biggest shift in human consumption since the industrial revolution. BITE Studios is one example – a luxury womenswear brand with an aesthetic based entirely on a palette of natural dyes. “Using natural dyes is a way of communicating a deeper sense of mindfulness around products and consumerism,” explains creative director Elliot Atkinson. Crucially, the dyes are just one aspect of BITE Studio’s sustainable goal. “We plan to buy back the collection pieces from customers, give them 20 per cent off their next purchase, and then create new pieces from the old stock,” explains BITE Studio’s COO Veronika Kant. The idea is to create a circular system, redesigning, reusing and reselling the clothing. “We want to create a real connection between the client and the garment,” explains Kant.

The problem: scaling natural dyes

Natural dyes are more environmentally friendly than synthetic – but they’re no silver bullet for mass production. Tricky to source, they can still require heavy metals to fix the colour, and often need arable land for planting.

Possible solution: resurrecting artisan techniques

Ever since synthetic processes were introduced during the 1960s, knowledge about natural dyeing has dwindled to the point of extinction – but the climate crisis has spurred many artisans to reclaim age-old techniques. “The colours that come from plants go beyond just beauty – dyes are connected to a living being, a higher knowledge and wisdom,” says Mexican textile artist Porfirio Gutiérrez. Based in Oaxaca, his family is working on a book that commits thousand-year-old, word-of-mouth techniques – think cochineal insects for reds, tree moss for golds, pomegranate for blacks – to a wider audience. But though he’s a passionate educator, Guttiérez doesn’t see natural dyes as being sustainably scalable. “I don’t think multinationals should be switching to natural dyes,” he says. “Natural dyes were never meant for mass commercialism, they are for personal clothing and expression.” And while the most sustainable form of self-expression would be to dye and make our own clothes, it’s good to know that biodesign could have our back, too. “Right now, we are being forced to choose between style and sustainability, which has weakened what nature tended to present to us,” adds Chieza. “Working with nature, and not taking from it, is how we can innovate.”

A well-told film has the power to transport you from your living room to another space and time altogether. All of a sudden, your couch is Michael Hynson’s surfboard as you search for the perfect wave across South Africa and Hawaii (Endless Summer), or your reading light overhead is a lamppost on the streets of Vienna, witnessing a serendipitous love story between two strangers whose souls met years ago (Before Sunrise). Read through the gallery below for 40 of our favourite films that will take you from Nairobi to Paris, no passport required.

Out of Africa (1985)
Based on the autobiographical novel by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Danish author, Karen Blixen), Out of Africa is the tragic love story of Karen (played by Meryl Streep), a noble woman who falls in love with Denys (Robert Redford), a local big-game hunter, while en route to Nairobi.

2. True (2004)
A French short film in which protagonist, Thomas believes that his girlfriend, Francine (Natalie Portman) has broken up with him. The film is a dizzying flurry of images and intimate moments—such as the time they met and their first kiss—leaving Thomas to reflect on where it went wrong.  

3. Midnight in Paris (2011)
Part-fantasy, part-reality, Midnight In Paris sees Gil (Owen Wilson) touring Paris alone at midnight, only to be seemingly whisked back in time by a group of people dressed in 1920s attire. Here he meets and converses with iconic figures from this period such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, leaving Gil to reflect on his life in the present.

4. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
Featuring perhaps the most well-versed cast in Hollywood, Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith star as a group of pensioners who decide to move to a retirement hotel in exotic (and less expensive) India.

5. The Beach (2000)
Backpacking through South East Asia, Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), is desperately seeking something more meaningful when a fellow traveller suggests he venture to a secret island. Only a handful of travellers know about the secret utopia with white sandy beaches and crystal clear water – but as it turns out, paradise isn’t permanent.

6. Up in the Air (2009)
The ultimate frequent-flyer movie; dry and cynical Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) works for a human resources consultancy firm and lives out of a suitcase, flying around the USA to fire employees. Falling in love with a fellow frequent-flyer however, threatens to crack his hard exterior.

7. Away We Go (2009)
Looking for the perfect place to raise their soon-to-be-born baby, Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (John Krasinski) travel across America. The journey sees the couple venture to Arizona, Wisconsin and Miami before finding their happily-ever-after town.

8. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Newly divorced Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) impulsively purchases a rural Tuscan villa while touring Italy. Mayes attempts to build a new life, meeting various love interests and personalities along the way. 

9. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The first installment of the Indiana Jones franchise sees Jones (Harrison Ford) brave an ancient booby trapped temple in Peru before venturing to Nepal and Cairo to recover the Ark of the Covenant from the Nazis.

10. The Holiday  (2006)
A classic Nancy Meyers film featuring impeccably designed houses, The Holiday sees two women—troubled by past relationships with men—agree to exchange houses (in different continents) over the holiday season. Amanda (Cameron Diaz) leaves her LA lifestyle behind for the quaint town of Surrey in England and Iris (Kate Winslet) ventures to the City of Angels. Naturally, they both find love and happiness in their new worlds.

11. Coming to America (1988)
Escaping an arranged marriage in Africa, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), flees to America to find a wife (and queen) who will love him despite his title. Disguising himself as a foreign student who works at a local fast-food shop, Prince Akeem meets and romances Lisa (Shari Headley).

12. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Over the course of a summer, 17-year-old best friends, Julio and Tenoch, set-off on a cross-country adventure with the company of a stunning older woman. The coming of age Mexican drama sees the pair find a connection with the world around them, while unknowingly finding a sense of discovery within themselves. 

13. Easy Rider (1969)
After completing a drug deal in Southern California, Wyatt and Billy decide to seek an alternate lifestyle, travelling across the country on Chopper motorcycles in search of a more meaningful life.

14. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), an employee at Life magazine works monotonously developing photos for the publication. When the magazine is occupied by new owners, Mitty is sent on the adventure of a lifetime on a mission to find the perfect photo for the final print issue.

15. Into The Wild (2007)
An adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name, Into The Wild, starring Emile Hirsch, is a coming-of-age film based on the real-life travels of Christopher McCandless (or “Alexander Supertramp” as he prefers to be called) through North America, and eventually into the wilderness of Alaska.   

16. A Good Year (2006)
Russell Crowe stars as Max Skinner, an unethical London banker who inherits his uncle’s vineyard in Provence. Arriving in Provence, Skinner meets the unknown illegitimate daughter of his uncle and realises that according to French law, she becomes the rightful heir to the property.

17. Romancing the Stone (1996)
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a successful novelist from New York City, specialising in romantic adventures. Her fictional worlds become somewhat of a reality when her sister is kidnapped and Joan is sent to save her, meeting Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), an exotic bird smuggler, along the way.

18. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Set in Russia during the revolution, Doctor Zhivago dictates the life of a married Russian physician who falls in love with a political activist’s wife.

20. The English Patient (1996)

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An adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel of the same title, The English Patient is set in the Sahara desert during the second World War. Laszlo de Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), a badly injured plane-crash victim is tended to by Hana (Juliette Binoche), a nurse on site. Both characters reflect on their lives during and before the war through a series of flashbacks.

21. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Starring Scarlett Johansson and Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the story of a girls’ summer vacation to Barcelona filled with food, art and sex.

22. Lost in Translation (2003)
Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) meet by chance in Tokyo, forming a meaningful bond and a much needed escape in the foreignness and bright lights of Tokyo.

23. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
A master in the art of forgery, Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) has ‘worked’ as a doctor, lawyer and co-pilot of a major airline, all before his 18th birthday. His skills allowed Abagnale to become the most successful bank robber in US history, making it FBI agent, Carl Hanratty’s (Tom Hanks) prime mission to capture him.

24. Amélie (2001)
Shot in over 80 Paris locations, Amélie captures the charm and mystery of modern-day Paris through the eyes of a fanciful young woman.

25. Before Sunrise (1995)
On July 16, 1994, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Céline (Julie Delpy) aboard a train in Europe. Jesse convinces Céline to disembark with him in Vienna, and the pair spend the entire night walking around the city, exchanging intimate details about their lives before hesitantly departing at sunrise.

26. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and his friend, Alberto Granado travel from Brazil to Peru by motorcycle while on semester break of medical school. The pair witness the economic disparity of South America where poor citizens are exploited by wealthy industrialists. The film is based on the real-life memoir of Ernesto Guevara who years later became internationally known as Marxist commander and revolutionary, Che Guevara.

27. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Aspiring beauty queen, Olive, learns she has qualified for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California, which sees her hilariously dysfunctional family pile into a Volkswagen van and travel 800 miles across America to support her.

28. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Directed by Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel is the comical story of Monsieur Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a devoted hotel concierge who goes above and beyond to provide service for his wealthy clientele, which include many elderly women. When one of these women (Madame D, played by Tilda Swinton) mysteriously dies, Gustave becomes a prime suspect in her murder.

28. Eat Pray Love (2010)
Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, Eat Pray Love follows newly divorced Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) on a quest of self-discovery as she travels to Italy, India and Bali.

30. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Having not spoken in over a year, estranged brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), reunite for a trip to India in an attempt to bond with each other.

31. Almost Famous (2001)
15-year-old William, an aspiring music journalist, finds himself touring with up-and-coming band Stillwater on assignment for Rolling Stone magazine. The tour takes William, the band, and a parade of groupies including Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) throughout North America, exposing relationship tensions within the band. The coming-of-age film also includes a singalong of one of the greatest road-tripping songs of all time – Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’.

32. Wild (2014)
Based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, the film follows Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) on a journey of self-discovery and healing, where she reflects on stories and memories of her childhood and past.

33. Endless Summer (1966)
Filmmaker and fellow competitive surfer Bruce Brown follows surfers Michael Hynson and Robert August around the world on a surfing adventure, leaving California in search of waves in Hawaii, South Africa and Australia. The film also features an instrumental soundtrack by The Sandals that plays over surfing footage.

34. Roman Holiday (1953)
A black-and-white classic, Roman Holiday sees European princess, Ann (Audrey Hepburn), take off for a day of adventures in Rome, trailed by American reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck).

35. Carol (2015)
Set in New York City in the early 1950s, Carol tells the story of a forbidden affair between Carol Aid (Cate Blanchett) and a young aspiring photographer, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara).

36. To Catch a Thief (1955)
John Robie (Cary Grant) is a retired cat burglar who is suspected for a series of robberies that have occurred in the French Riviera. Robie attempts to catch the imposter to prove his innocence, while also becoming romantically entangled with American socialite Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly).

37. Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Based on Agatha Christie’s crime-fiction novel, this is a 2017 remake of the 1974 film of the same title. A lavish trip through Europe aboard the Orient Express comes to a halt when Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is called aboard to solve a murder that has happened overnight.

38. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Drag queens Anthony (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) drive across Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs on board a bus named Priscilla, performing their show and encountering a host of colourful local characters along the way.

39. Call Me By Your Name (2017)
It’s summer 1983 and 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending it with his family at their villa in Lombardy, Italy. Here, a romance begins to blossom between Perlman and an older man hired as his father’s assistant.

40. Two for the Road (1967)
Husband and wife Mark Wallace (Albert Finney) and Joanna (Audrey Hepburn) travel to France to meet with one of Mark’s clients. The pair reflect on their first decade of marriage together, both seemingly bored with the banality of married life.

Thelma and Louise (1991)
The ultimate girl power movie; Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis star as meek housewives whose humble fishing trip turns into a flight from the law when Louise (Sarandon) shoots and kills a man who tries to assault Thelma (Davis) at a bar.

Image credit: Sandra Semburg

From April to June this year there were a select group of fashion labels everyone was searching for, buying and showing major online love to. 

According to global fashion search platform, Lyst, the brands we coveted and ultimately added to cart was dictated by what the leading names in fashion like Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and Off-White’s Virgil Abloh sent down the runway, dropped in store and had their favourite muses including Serena Williams and Harry Styles wear on various noteworthy occasions, including fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala.

Gucci’s Michele was the co-chair and the brand was the co-sponsor of the 2019 Met Gala and the theme, Camp: Notes on Fashion, translated to one of the most show-stopping red carpets in the history of the event, not only reminding fashion fans just how extraordinary this event is but that Gucci is the fashion name to know, love and covet. Harry Styles accompanied Michele to the event, making his entry into the fashion halls of red carpet fame in a sheer black pussybow Gucci jumpsuit. 

Cut to a few weeks later and Styles and Michele were back influencing our wallets and fashion purchasing decisions again. Gucci staged their resort 2020 show in Rome in May and it was memorable for more reasons than one. The show itself made a strong political statement and Styles’s lit appearance in a pared-back Gucci suit and tank top had the crowd outside the show hysterically shrieking and sobbing. With so many Gucci moments in the last few months, is it any wonder this brand dominated our purchasing decisions?

Along with Gucci, after crunching the data from over five million shoppers browsing and buying online, Lyst found that we also all wanted in to Virgil Abloh’s world. Off-White was, unsurprisingly, on the popularity leaderboard with the prolific designer dropping an IKEA x Off-White rug collaboration and dressing tennis champion, Serena Williams, in a custom look in collaboration with Nike for the French Open. 

As for Nike itself, the sportswear giant didn’t just have a triumph on the tennis court with Williams’s Abloh-designed collaboration, they went deep into the pop culture fashion realm, debuting an ‘80s-inspired collection of shoes in line with the third season of the Netflix show. And shoppers responded; the brand moved in from the number 11 slot in the first quarter of this year to a top 10 place in this quarter’s Lyst Index.

Read on as we reveal the 10 most popular fashion brands from April to June 2019 according to The Lyst Index.

10. Saint Laurent (previous quarter ranking, 10)

9. Nike (previous quarter, 11)

8. Stone Island (previous quarter, 7)

7. Fendi (previous quarter, 5)

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6. Versace (previous quarter, 8)

5. Prada (previous quarter, 6)

4. Valentino (previous quarter, 4)

3. Balenciaga (previous quarter, 3)

2. Off-White (previous quarter, 1)

Image credit: Getty Images

1. Gucci (previous quarter, 2)

Image credit: Getty Images

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31st Jul 2019

In a surprisingly candid moment, Prince Harry has revealed that he and his wife, Meghan Markle, have a “maximum” number of kids in mind for their family, and it appears to be related to the impact a large family has on the limited resources and sustainability of the planet.

Overnight, British Vogue has published an interview from their September 2019 issue (an issue which was guest-edited by Meghan Markle) between Prince Harry and world-renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall, in which Prince Harry divulged the “maximum” number of kids they’d like to Goodall during their conversation about conservation and the environment.

“We are the one species on the planet that seems to think that this place belongs to us, and only us,” Prince Harry said in the interview to which Goodall responded, “It’s crazy to think we can have unlimited economic development on a planet with finite natural resources… There will be more conflicts, people fighting over the last fertile land, the last fresh water.” 

Prince Harry agreed saying the whole situation is “terrifying” which led Goodall to bring up how especially “terrifying” it must be for Prince Harry given he is now a father to Archie.

Once on the topic of Archie, Prince Harry spoke about his love of nature and with that environmental consideration in mind he said he and Meghan Markle are planning to have a maximum of two children. “Two, maximum! But I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation,” the duke said.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted about Prince Harry’s interview with Goodall to their official Instagram account, @sussexroyal, but in the caption didn’t reference his comment on hoping to give Archie just one more sibling, at most.

Now that we know the couple are planning to become a family of four at some stage, we’ll be back on bump watch as soon as Markle officially returns from maternity leave, slated to be some time in October this year.

Diets are out, or so we keep hearing, but it seems that the wellness revolution has other ideas. In 2018, Euromonitor reported that ethically labelled “health” foods were valued at US$45.9 billion globally. But is this just a rebranding of foods that are actually all about weight loss?  

“The Atkins, the grapefruit diet, SlimFast – the 1980s and 1990s saw the first wave of diet culture, and really it goes back even further. Clean eating, gluten-free, alkaline – this is the second wave,” explains Laura Thomas PhD, registered nutritionist and wellness advocate. A brief rundown of this new wave includes: alkalising (eating foods with an alkaline pH to allegedly counter the effects acidic foods); low GI (foods with low fat and sugar); paleo (based on a “caveman” diet, essentially whole foods rather than processed); keto (low carbohydrate, high fat); and intermittent fasting (plans vary from the 5:2 diet to alternate-day fasting). While each promises a new dawn of better health, fundamentally they all seem to link back to calorie restriction – ergo, shifting weight.

Even environmental concerns can link to diet culture in disguise. “I think the sustainable vegan diet is pretty complicated,” says Thomas. “On the one hand there is this huge, and valid, surge in concern for the environment, but at the same time, [some people may be adopting this diet] to mask an eating disorder. There is no more effective way to limit your food than by saying ‘I don’t eat dairy or meat’ or ‘I only eat locally.’”

How healthy is “clean eating”?

There are a series of mixed messages to contend with when it comes to clean eating vs health. Obesity is on the rise: in 2017, the World Health Organization reported that global obesity has almost tripled since 1975; and this July, a Cancer Research UK report put obesity ahead of smoking as a cause of some cancers. In response, media and medical organisations are talking up the principles of healthy eating and a balanced diet; and this has inevitably gained traction in emerging food trends too.

“With new research and the demonisation of the word ‘diet’, the industry has moved away from that label. Diet companies have become about ‘lifestyle change’,” says Christy Harrison, anti-diet nutritionist and host of the Food Psych podcast. “This shift, dovetailed with the obesity epidemic – it’s become a moral panic. The rise of the rhetoric that obesity is killing you works nicely for the diet industry. Now we don’t need to worry about aesthetics, but about health,” Harrison continues. “Today’s trends conveniently belie aesthetic aspirations. However, it’s still diet culture pushing weight loss under a different term.” 

What’s the link between healthy eating and body image?

While body positivity is now a mainstream movement, society still places huge importance on personal image. “If you told someone who says they want to lose weight for their health that they could [improve it] without losing a pound, would they be interested? When you dig, losing weight more often than not comes down to looks,” argues Harrison. 

The focus on aesthetics, she continues, is so ingrained in our lifestyle that it’s now almost instinctive. “We care about looks because for so long that’s been the key to success, the key to love and acceptance, belonging – everything that’s part of the modern human experience,” says Harrison. “Wellness plans and resets, while marketed for health, are represented by thin, able-bodied models – maybe slightly more muscular, slightly less emaciated than decades past, but that’s the look. The images are still aspirational.”

Thomas argues that there’s also a link between this new wave of wellness and perceived health, and wealth. “This intersection between wellness culture and privilege has a lot to do with social signalling, inherent in not to eat. What you’re saying is: ‘I’m so wealthy that food is not a focus, I don’t need to think about it.’ Meanwhile, the obesity epidemic is considered to largely affect those who are less financially affluent; those with more privilege can afford to buy these powders and vials to emphasise their ‘healthier’ lifestyle,” Thomas says.

How can we best approach healthy eating?

Embracing intuitive eating is a good first step, advises Thomas. Start by listening to your body’s signals to identify when you’re hungry and when you’re full. And enjoy eating without attaching labels such as “clean”, “good”, “bad” or “cheating”. Take a good look at your social media following too – make your feed a positive place of inspiration, rather than a conflicted wellness/diet culture minefield. 

Laura Thomas debunks four “clean eating” trends

“Our livers are the central hub of detoxification, our kidneys too. We are detoxing when we go to the bathroom, when we breathe… even our skin is a system for detoxification. There’s no amount of green juice that will rid your body of toxins.”

“The main premise of this diet is to change the pH of our bodies. If we changed the pH of our bodies, it would deactivate our enzymes, which would lead to a potential coma and then we would eventually die. There is a fundamental misunderstanding in how an alkaline diet has been sold.”

“I’m not trivialising serious medical problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease. What concerns me is people suddenly cutting out (and later reintroducing) food groups. The bacteria in their gut gets excited about a new substance, which often leads to gas or bloating. This is then mistakenly labelled as an abnormal reaction to that particular food, when actually it’s simply about our bodies readjusting, which is completely natural.”

“There is very limited evidence to substantiate a connection between food and skin problems. It’s tenuous at this point and certainly can’t account for the vast majority of cases of acne, for example. Again, it’s one of those things that has been overhyped and prompted some to go down a restrictive food path. If you have skin issues, you need to talk to a dermatologist. Cutting out foods should really not be the first step in treatment.”

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31st Jul 2019

After dating for a total of three years, Avengers actress Elizabeth Olsen, 30, is reportedly engaged to her musician boyfriend, Robbie Arnett, 27.

While the notoriously private couple are yet to publicly address the reports, according to People, a source has confirmed the news. At this stage, there is no news of when and where the proposal took place, but we are hopeful all the engagement details will surface soon.

The actress, who was previously engaged to Narcos star Boyd Holbrook, before the pair decided to go their separate ways in 2014, was first romantically linked to Arnett, the lead singer of indie pop band Milo Greene, in March 2017.

Interestingly, this news comes just as her older sister, Ashley Olsen, was spotted wearing a dark band on her left ring finger. However, this isn’t the first time the fashion designer, who is currently dating artist Louis Eisner, has worn a ring on that finger.

Per People, just months after Olsen and Arnett were seen walking arm-in-arm in New York City, they were photographed together at the Gersh pre-Emmys party in September, 2017. The actress has since shared a small handful of rather candid images alongside her beau on Instagram.

While she rarely touches on her personal life, Olsen revealed in a 2017 interview with Modern Living, that she is open to the idea of having children. While speaking on the topic of renovating her home, the Avengers star shared: “I was also thinking, ‘There’s this small room upstairs, which would be good for a kid.’”

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Per People, Olsen then added, “I don’t know where things will lead, but I do think about it in that way: ‘I think I could raise kids here.’”

Congratulations to the happy couple!