Tuesday 5 November 2024

Paris’s Iconic Centre Pompidou: A Cultural Superstar Facing Economic and Environmental Challenges

The Centre Pomidou will have to close its doors work for renovation work between 2025 and 2030

By Marie Ballarini, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL

Whether known as the Centre Pompidou or simply Beaubourg, this Parisian landmark is set to close its doors from 2025 to 2030 for extensive renovations. Criticised and even mocked at its opening, the Centre Pompidou has since earned its place as an iconic fixture in the Parisian landscape and a major player on the international museum scene. We take a closer look at the institution’s fragile and unconventional business model as it approaches its 50th anniversary.


Inaugurated in 1977, France’s Centre Pompidou will soon celebrate its 50th birthday. This milestone will coincide with its full closure from 2025 to 2030 for much-needed renovations to upgrade and restructure the building.

During the closure, the museum will continue to expand in other ways. A new site will open in Massy (in Essonne department), designed to house its reserves and serve as an exhibition and cultural space. Additionally, the Centre Pompidou plans to strengthen its international presence through temporary exhibitions abroad.

Bruno S. Frey developed the concept of a “museum superstar”, an iconic cultural institution that attracts significant numbers of visitors and generates considerable revenue from commercialising their spaces and collections. These museums, including the Centre Pompidou, play a crucial role in their local economies.

An unsustainable business model

Unlike other superstar museums such as the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay, however, the Centre Pompidou lacks a blockbuster home attraction like the Mona Lisa. This absence of universally recognisable works makes its economic model more fragile, despite its dynamic programming and bold architecture.

In 2022, the Centre Pompidou’s total budget revenue was just under 132 million euros ($144 million currently), with 69% coming from public funding – a significantly higher proportion than at the Louvre (44%) or the Musée d’Orsay (45%). The centre’s self-generated revenue, though slightly improved since the post-pandemic period, accounted for just 31% of its total income, down from 34% in 2019. Ticketing revenue, crucial for the Centre’s financial independence, dropped by 18% compared to 2019, despite a 2022 overhaul of the fee structure. On a positive note, patronage income increased by 8%, to 6.1 million euros, and revenue from off-site exhibitions and international locations surged by 43%, partially compensating for losses in other areas, according to the centre’s annual reports.

Despite this, France’s national audit office has noted that the museum’s diversification strategy lacks a clear structure and falls short of transparency requirements regarding costs. The centre has frequently adopted a pragmatic approach to solicitations, undermining the long-term sustainability of its economic model.

France 24.

Balancing economic growth and environmental responsibility

The Centre Pompidou’s economic strategy faces two key challenges, particularly its ticketing: rising competition from private contemporary art institutions in Paris and the ecological consequences of higher visitor numbers.

New contemporary art institutions such as the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Pinault Collection have reshaped Paris’ cultural landscape. While these venues could be seen as rivals, they also boost Paris’s overall status as a hub for contemporary art, attracting a diverse and informed international audience. The Centre Pompidou benefits from this dynamic ecosystem, though it must compete with these institutions’ financial resources and collections.

Competing yet complementary

Despite the increasing competition in recent years, the Centre Pompidou continues to thrive as a leading venue for modern and contemporary art, thanks to its rich collection and innovative programming. Recent examples include “Évidence” and the immersive exhibition “Noire”.

Paris’s global prominence in the contemporary art world presents both opportunities and challenges for the Centre Pompidou. On one hand, it faces competition from institutions that have iconic collections and even greater financial resources. On the other, it benefits from this vibrant environment, allowing it to maintain its status as a premier cultural destination and strengthen its foothold in the global art market. To fully capitalise on this ecosystem, however, the centre must continue to innovate and adapt to evolving economic and cultural realities, while staying true to its mission of promoting contemporary art.

Environmental challenges

One of the museum’s most pressing challenges is balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. According to its “Responding to the Environmental Emergency: Action Plan 2023-2025,” the Centre Pompidou is working to reduce its carbon footprint. This is crucial, as 82% of a museum’s carbon impact comes from visitors, particularly international ones who travel by air – an especially polluting for of transport.

Interestingly, the museum’s somewhat lower appeal to foreign tourists, which the national audit office has criticised, may actually prove beneficial in terms of environmental impact. By attracting more domestic visitors, the centre can minimise the carbon emissions associated with international travel, making it a more sustainable institution in the long term.

A sustainable but less profitable approach?

This focus on a national audience could prove to be a sustainable long-term strategy, at a time when ecological concerns are a growing concern. It also strengthens the museum’s local roots, making it more resilient to fluctuations in international tourism and global crises. Nevertheless, this strategy comes at an economic cost, as local audiences are more likely to benefit from reduced or free rates.

While international exhibitions and expansion can provide additional revenue, they also present ecological challenges. Transporting works of art across the globe adds to the museum’s carbon footprint, even as it strives to bring exhibitions closer to international audiences. Additionally, major real estate projects, such as the renovation of the Centre’s historic building and the construction of a new site in Massy, are key to its modernisation but come with considerable environmental costs.

As it prepares for five years of renovations, the Centre must find a way to balance its financial needs with the growing urgency of environmental responsibility. To secure its future, the museum will need to strengthen its financial viability while continuing to pioneer in the world of contemporary art and adapt to the changing demands of the 21st century.The Conversation

Marie Ballarini, Professeur assistant, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL

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Monday 4 November 2024

Will it be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? Here’s What Each Needs to Win the US Election



By Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney

On election eve in the United States, the presidential race is deadlocked. The polls are exceptionally close across the country and in all the swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin in the industrial midwest; Nevada and Arizona in the west; and Georgia and North Carolina in the south.

The final New York Times/Siena poll shows Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris leading by a very small margin or tied with Republican former President Donald Trump in all the swing states. The exception is Arizona, where Trump leads by a few percentage points.

While there is no clear favourite to win, there are several critical factors that will driving voters’ decisions on Election Day. This is what to watch.

Republicans turning against Trump

Trump’s favourability is stuck around 43% in nationwide polling. In the past two presidential elections, he fell short of taking 50% of the national popular vote. As president, he never achieved over 50% favourability. And he has never topped 50% since leaving office.

This means he has hit a ceiling in his support and is highly unlikely to win the national popular vote on Tuesday.

This also reflects what happened to Trump in the Republican primaries to win the nomination. He dominated the field, defeating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and several others. But in most of those primaries, 15-20% of Republican voters did not vote for Trump.

Where will these Republican voters ultimately land on Tuesday? Probably half want to vote Republican and will go with Trump. Others will not being able to bring themselves to vote for Harris and will simply not vote for president.

Others will switch their support to Harris. Indeed, there has never been such a swelling of support from members of one party to support the other party’s presidential candidate.

Harris needs those “Republicans for Harris” votes. In addition, she’ll need to replicate the coalition of young voters, voters of colour and women who backed current President Joe Biden against Trump in 2020 in those same swing states and nationally.

Her favourability ratings are higher than Trump, at around 46%. The closer a presidential candidate is to 50% approval ratings, the better their chance of winning the election.

It’s the economy, stupid

At the same time, the country is in a bad mood. There is a classic polling question asked at elections: is the country on the right track, or moving in the wrong direction? Between 60–70% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track.

That is a signal this election is about change. Historically, that sentiment has not favoured the incumbent in the White House. As Biden’s vice president, Harris is directly facing this headwind.

There are four key issues in this election. The most important is the hip pocket issue: household budgets, cost of living pressures and voters’ concerns about their future economic security.

Since Biden and Harris took office nearly four years ago, the cost of groceries, household items, utilities and services such as insurance have risen between 10–40%. Petrol prices have gone up even more.

Though interest rates have fallen, American households are hurting. When asked who is best to manage the economy, voters in swing states say Trump by a 15-point margin.

The next-biggest issue is immigration. Since Trump first became a presidential candidate in 2015, he has relentlessly pushed the immigration button, declaring the border with Mexico is out of control, with crime and pillage rising in its wake.

The first three years of Biden’s term were also marked by big surges of immigrants crossing the border, though rates have fallen dramatically in 2024.

Voters view Trump as best placed to manage this issue, too, by nearly 15 points.

So, Trump is seen as a more effective leader on the two most important policy issues in this election.

A surge in support from women

Abortion rights and reproductive health services are the third major issue. Many women across America are repelled by the Supreme Court’s decision to take away their long-held constitutional right to an abortion. Now, this policy is decided at the state level. And several conservative Republican states – including Ohio and Kansas – have voted to restore abortion rights.

Harris is seen as the champion of these issues. Multiple polls show voters trust her more than Trump on reproductive rights, by wide margins.

As a result, polling shows Harris is leading Trump with women voters in the swing states, by 15 points or more.

Abortion rights are also on the ballot in two swing states, Nevada and Arizona, which should help Harris in both.

The future of American democracy is the fourth major issue facing voters. According to a new poll, half the country sees Trump as a profound threat to America’s democracy who will wield authoritarian power to enforce his policies and programs.

Harris has pledged to turn the page, heal divisions and get Republicans and Democrats working together again.

In these closing days, Trump continues to make provocative statements with violent imagery. At a rally in Arizona last week, for instance, he again attacked Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman who advocated for the prosecution of Trump over the January 6 insurrection:

She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.

This may have provided Harris with a final cut-through moment on Trump’s fitness for office in the final days of the campaign. She said in response:

Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president. […] Trump is increasingly, however, someone who considers his political opponents the enemy, is permanently out for revenge and is increasingly unstable and unhinged.

So, who is going to win?

Trump’s team sees victory in all the polls. His chief pollster wrote late last week:

President Trump’s position nationally and in every single battleground state is significantly better than it was four years ago.

The polls may also be undercounting the full measure of Trump’s support, as was the case in 2016 and 2020. And the polls may not be reflecting the extent of antipathy towards Harris as a Black and south Asian woman.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’ campaign director, and who headed the 2020 Biden campaign that defeated Trump, has told her troops, meanwhile, that undecided voters are “gettable”, adding:

We have multiple pathways to victory […] Our folks are voting at levels we need them to vote in order for us to win.

Harris has built a US$1 billion (A$1.5 billion) machine designed to reach voters in the swing states – through personal contact. This machine made three million phone calls and door knocks on homes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin alone on Saturday. If this machine delivers, it could be the boost Harris needs on election night.

Harris’ campaign also signalled over the weekend that late-deciding voters, and especially women, are breaking their way by double digits. There is a sense among Democrats that Harris is now peaking as the campaign concludes.

The final analysis

If Harris wins, it will be because she has successfully sealed the deal with those voters and made the election a referendum on Trump – that on balance the country has had enough of him after eight years. It also means her ground game delivered the votes.

If Trump wins, it will mean voters trusted him to manage inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze on households, as well as what they see as out-of-control immigration and crime. These messages would also have been further embellished by unease about Harris, a Black and south Asian woman, as president.The Conversation

Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney


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Sunday 3 November 2024

What’s in a Pantsuit? Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s Fashion Choices Say a Lot about their Personalities ~ and Vision for the Future

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have very different policy decisions and political approaches ~ and  fashion choices.



By Therèsa M. Winge, Michigan State University

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump could not be more different – and this split between them extends far beyond politics and into their fashion choices.

While Harris tends to wear form-fitting pantsuits and feminine tops, Trump opts for ill-fitting, boxy, navy suits and long red ties.

All American politicians often wear American flag pins on their lapels, as well as red, white and blue clothing. But my research shows how fashion plays an important, symbolic role in politics that goes far beyond patriotism. A person’s appearance reflects their identity and how they want others to perceive them.

It makes sense that political campaigns often work with professional stylists to dress and style their top candidates, as a way to define and reflect politicians’ different personalities, identities and policy positions.

A woman wears a dark blue pantsuit and waves her hand and smiles. She stands in between two American flags.
Kamala Harris arrives to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, wearing a dark blue pantsuit. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Harris’ professional, feminine look

Harris typically wears an updated version of Hillary Clinton’s famous power pantsuits.

While Clinton’s pantsuits during the 2016 presidential campaign had rigid silhouettes that did not show the shape of her body, Harris’ pantsuits are more relaxed and less formal.

As a senator, Harris, alongside other Democratic female politicians, wore a white pantsuit to commemorate and celebrate the suffragettes.

Harris now typically wears dark, bold hues, almost monochromatic ensembles, with either dark high heels or sneakers.

At the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Harris accepted the presidential nomination wearing a perhaps unsurprising navy blue pantsuit with the standard politician’s American flag pin on the lapel. She topped off the look with medium-heel dress shoes and a dark blue pussycat bow blouse, sometimes also called a lavallière. The pussycat bow blouse, which was popularized in the 1970s among professional women, is a feminine version of a traditional tie.

This type of tie has a soft, floppy bow at the neck that can be tied in numerous ways.

Harris’ decision to regularly wear pussycat bow blouses shows that she has a feminine flair, and it’s also a nod to past feminist icons who wore that type of bow.

When Harris wears sneakers – which are often Chuck Taylors – with a pantsuit, it reminds me of how the actress Helen Hunt’s character wore practical commuter sneakers with business clothing in the 1990s and 2000s “Mad About You” TV series.

The unlikely combination of a pantsuit with sneakers shows that Harris is a busy, professional woman – who is also youthful, energetic and relatable to other women.

Walz’s American dad style

A white man wears a black and red flannel shirt and a hat and speaks into a microphone.
Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally in Volant, Pa., on Oct. 15, 2024, wearing one of his signature flannel shirts. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, has also received public attention for his clothing choices.

At the Democratic National Convention in August, former President Barack Obama remarked about Walz regularly wearing plaid, flannel shirts. “You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don’t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet, and they have been through some stuff,” Obama said.

Walz’s typical outfits, including plaid shirts, jeans and a well-worn suit with the shirt collar unbuttoned and no tie, signals that he is authentic and relatable to the average American.

This unofficial uniform also helps cement the public perception of Walz as an archetypal American coach and dad.

The Harris-Walz campaign has capitalized on Walz’s image by selling merchandise that seems like something out of his closet.

The campaign’s camouflage hat, which spells out “HARRIS WALZ” in a bold, orange font, has become an extremely popular item – selling out and resulting in the manufacturer scrambling to find materials and sewing machines to make more hats.

Two white men wear dark navy suits, red ties and white dress shirts and they have serious faces on.
Donald Trump and JD Vance attend a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York City on Sept. 11, 2024. Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images

Vance’s and Trump’s aesthetics

Republican politicians also show who they are, or who they want to be, through their fashion choices. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, for example, has noticeably changed his appearance from when he first became involved in politics a few years ago to when he became a senator in 2023.

In 2017, Vance often wore jeans, a button-down, open-collar shirt and an unbuttoned blazer during his book tour. When he was elected as a senator in 2023, he began wearing suits and ties.

More recently, Vance began dressing in the unofficial Make America Great Again uniform, consisting of a tailored dark blue suit, red tie and white shirt with dark shoes. With this outfit choice, Vance is wrapping himself in red, white and blue, referencing the American flag and signaling his patriotism.

Trump wears a nearly identical political uniform that has become instantly recognizable and closely associated with conservative politicians.

When Trump selected Vance as his running mate in July 2024, Vance also dyed his gray hair to brown to possibly appear more youthful. Perhaps it became more important for Vance to appear younger after 81-year-old President Joe Biden stepped down from the Democratic ticket and 60-year-old Harris became the presidential candidate.

Beyond the campaign, in February 2024, Trump released 1,000 pairs of limited edition high-top sneakers called “Never Surrender.” These shoes, which quickly sold out, were covered in gaudy, gold lamé and had an American flag printed around the collar of the sneakers.

I recently found several examples of pairs of Trump sneakers for sale on eBay and other online shops for thousands of dollars.

Three men wear white and red shirts that say 'Trump' and hats that also say 'Trump.' A person wearing a cowboy hat faces them and they smile. One of the men holds a pair of gold high top sneakers.
People at a Trump rally in Las Vegas hold a pair of his gold sneakers on Sept. 13, 2024. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Fashion on both sides

Harris’ monochromatic blouses and pantsuit with sneakers combination, alongside Walz’s Midwestern dad outfits, will likely help the campaign’s effort for its candidates to appear as relatable to many working class voters and women.

Likewise, Trump’s classic MAGA red hat and tie, in addition to Vance’s similar uniform of navy blue suit, white button-down shirt and red tie, evoke their focus on masculine conservatism.

The candidates’ styles don’t tell voters any details about campaign promises or political policies, but they do give an idea of who the candidates think they are.The Conversation

Therèsa M. Winge, Fashion Professor, Michigan State University

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Monday 28 October 2024

‘Consciousness, Rationality and the Search for Meaning’: How René Magritte Led the Belgian Surrealist Movement

Rene Magritte, Golconda (Golconde), 1953, oil on canvas, 80 x 100.3 x cm. The Menil Collection, Houston, V 414. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Paul Hester  


By Victoria Souliman, University of Sydney

René Magritte is renowned for his humorous yet enigmatic art, foremost of which is the iconic bowler-hatted man. But despite his significant contribution to Surrealism – and the fame of his works – the evolution of his artistic practice isn’t widely known.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Magritte exhibit marks the first major exhibition of the artist’s work in Australia, opening almost exactly 100 years after André Breton published the first Surrealist Manifesto in 1924.

The exhibition unveils four decades of Magritte’s unique artistic vision, with more than 100 works from collections across Australia, Belgium, Japan and the United States.

The man beyond the bowler hat

Magritte was born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium. He developed a strong passion for painting early on. At just 16, he enrolled in the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he received traditional artistic training. He also worked as a graphic designer in his early career to support himself financially, creating various advertisements for magazine covers and posters.

Magritte was driven to explore and enhance his artistic practice beyond the Belgian art scene’s conservative aesthetics and limited opportunities for experimentation.

He found inspiration in magazines, journals and exhibition catalogues depicting avant-garde works. His earliest known self-portrait exemplifies his early influence by Cubism. It is a double-sided work, with one side featuring a painted portrait of Georgette Berger (who later became Magritte’s wife) playing the piano.

Rene Magritte, Self Portrait, 1923, Collection Sisters 'L'. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Ludion Image Bank


However, it was Magritte’s encounter with surrealist artworks (particularly Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico’s Le Chant d’amour, with its dreamlike atmosphere) which greatly impacted his practice.

From the mid-1920s, Magritte began to develop personal and poetic images featuring familiar objects rendered realistically yet set in unexpected combinations. He also introduced motifs that would appear throughout his career, such as curtains, toys, clouds and boulders. His first solo exhibition at the Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels signalled his allegiance to Surrealism.

Art as a process of reasoning

The Magritte exhibition foregrounds the artist’s work in the context of Belgian Surrealism, emphasising how he was influenced by fellow writers, philosophers and artists in Brussels.

Among these figures was the poet Paul Nougé, the founding figure of Belgian Surrealism in 1926. Nougé introduced a more scientific and rationalist perspective to the Belgian movement, differentiating it from its Parisian counterpart.

Parisian Surrealism was fascinated by psychoanalysis, focusing on the irrational and the unconscious. Belgian Surrealism, meanwhile, directed its attention towards consciousness, rationality and the search for meaning. This methodology clashed with the convictions of Parisian surrealists.

Although Magritte worked with the Parisian surrealists from 1927 to 1930 while living in Paris, he maintained a degree of independence. He considered his artistic practice as a process of reasoning.

While in Paris, Magritte developed his word-pictures, as seen in The Literal Meaning and the famous The Treachery of Images (more familiarly known as Ceci n'est pas une pipe, or This is not a pipe), which today is regarded as a landmark in the history of European modern art.

His approach relied on Nougé’s reflection on the nature and status of words and images, pointing to the arbitrary nature of language. In these works, Magritte invites us to take part in a linguistic game, making us question the relationship between an object, its name and its representative image.

Back in Brussels, Magritte explored what he considered philosophical “problems” through rigorously, almost mathematically, constructed paintings. He sought to reconcile the object represented and “the thing attached to it in the shadow of consciousness” through the mediation of the canvas.

In The Human Condition, he addresses the “problem of the window” as an object to look through and as a metaphor for traditional perspectival painting, revealing the way we perceive external realities through our own internal conceptualisation.

Rene Magritte, The Human Condition (La Condition Humaine), 1933, oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm, National Gallery, Washington DC, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 1987.55.1. Copryright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Phototheque, R Magritte/Adagp Paris, 2024. 


‘Sunlit Surrealism’ and lesser-known works

The Magritte exhibit also highlights some surprising and much lesser-known works. By the mid-1930s, the artist had gained significant recognition in Europe and beyond. However, the onset of World War II prompted him to question the relevance of Surrealism as a response to the war.

He sought new approaches to Surrealism. With “Sunlit Surrealism” he looked at images evocative of happiness, adopting an impressionist style characterised by feathery brushstrokes reminiscent of Auguste Renoir, as depicted in A stroke of luck.

Rene Magritte, A Stroke of Luck (Le Bonne Fortune) 1945, oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts Belgium, Brussels, 11689. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Phototheque, R Magritte/Adagp Images, Paris, 2024. 


In the 1950s and ‘60s, Magritte returned to the realistic style that defines his work. In his art series The Dominion of Light, he creates a paradoxical image. We view the qualities of light from opposite times of day, highlighting the ambiguity created by the coexistence of light and dark.

Rene Magritte, The Dominion of Light (L'Empire des Lumieres). 1954, oil on canvas, 129.9 x 94.6 cm. The Menil Collection, Huston, V 616. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Paul Hester


A continuing legacy

Magritte also influenced the next generation of artists associated with pop art and conceptual art, including those well beyond his time.

Today, his influence is evident in popular visual culture, from Pedro Almodóvar’s 2009 film Broken Embraces, to Beyoncé’s music video for Mine, which references The lovers.

Rene Magritte, The Lovers (Les Amants), oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1990, 90.1583. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. 


Magritte’s work continues to be relevant, with its exploration of perception and the porous relationship between images and reality. This theme is highly pertinent in the age of AI, where the line between the artificial and real seems increasingly blurred.

More than 50 years after his death, Magritte continues to encourage us to reflect on how we perceive, experience and describe the world around us.The Conversation

Victoria Souliman, Lecturer, French and Francophone Studies, University of Sydney

The Magritte exhibition runs from 26th of October 2024 until the 9th of February 2025, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 


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Thursday 24 October 2024

New Prada-Designed Spacesuit is a Small Step for Astronaut Style, But Could be a Giant Leap for Sustainable Fashion

Prada’s partnership with Axiom signifies a milestone in fashion’s ability to impact high-tech industries.

By Alyssa Choat, University of Technology Sydney

For its recent Spring/Summer 2025 show, fashion brand Diesel filled a runway with mounds of denim offcuts, making a spectacle of its efforts to reduce waste.

Haunting yet poetic, the “forgotten” byproducts of fashion production were reclaimed and repurposed into something artful. But the irony isn’t lost, given fashion shows like this one demand significant resources.

Diesel’s event is an example of a growing trend towards the “spectacle of sustainability”, wherein performative displays are prioritised over the deeper, structural changes needed to address environmental issues.

Can the fashion industry reconcile its tendency towards spectacle with its environmental responsibilities? The recent spacesuit collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space is one refreshing example of how it can, by leaning into innovation that seeks to advance fashion technology and rewrite fashion norms.

Performance art instead of substantive change

The fashion industry has always relied on some form of spectacle to continue the fashion cycle. Fashion shows mix art, performance and design to create powerful experiences that will grab people’s attention and set the tone for what’s “in”. Promotional material from these shows is shared widely, helping cement new trends.

However, the spectacle of fashion isn’t helpful for communicating the complexity of sustainability. Fashion events tend to focus on surface-level ideas, while ignoring deeper systemic problems such as the popularity of fast fashion, people’s buying habits, and working conditions in garment factories. These problems are connected, so addressing one requires addressing the others.

It’s much easier to host a flashy event that inevitably feeds the problem it purports to fix. International fashion events have a large carbon footprint. This is partly due to how many people they move around the world, as well as their promotion of consumption (whereas sustainability requires buying less).

The pandemic helped deliver some solutions to this problem by forcing fashion shows to go digital. Brands such as Balenciaga, the Congolese brand Hanifa and many more took part in virtual fashion shows with animated avatars – and many pointed to this as a possible solution to the industry’s sustainability issue.

But the industry has now largely returned to live fashion shows. Virtual presentations have been relegated to their own sectors within fashion communication, while live events take centre stage.

Many brands, including Prada, held fashion shows without guests during lockdowns in 2021.

Towards a sustainable fashion future

Technology and innovation clearly have a role to play in helping make fashion more sustainable. The recent Prada-Axiom spacesuit collaboration brings this into focus in a new way.

The AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suits will be worn by Artemis III crew members during NASA’s planned 2026 mission to the Moon. The suits have been made using long-lasting and high-performance materials that are designed to withstand the extreme conditions of space.

By joining this collaboration, Prada, known for its high fashion, is shifting into a highly symbolic arena of technological advancement. This will likely help position it at the forefront of sustainability and technology discussions – at least in the minds of consumers.

Prada itself has varying levels of compliance when it comes to meeting sustainability goals. The Standard Ethics Ratings has listed it as “sustainable”, while sustainability scoring site Good on You rated it as “not good enough” – citing a need for improved transparency and better hazardous chemical use.

Recently, the brand has been working on making recycled textiles such as nylon fabrics (nylon is a part of the brand DNA) from fishing nets and plastic bottles. It also launched a high-fashion jewellery line made of recycled gold.

Innovating for a changing world

Prada’s partnership with Axiom signifies a milestone in fashion’s ability to impact on high-tech industries. Beyond boosting Prada’s image, such innovations can also lead to more sustainable fashions.

For instance, advanced materials created for spacesuits could eventually be adapted into everyday heat-resistant clothing. This will become increasingly important in the context of climate change, especially in regions already struggling with drought and heatwaves. The IPCC warns that if global temperatures rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, twice as many mega-cities are likely to become heat-stressed.

New innovations are trying to help consumers stay cool despite rising temperatures. Nike’s Aerogami is a performance apparel technology that supposedly increases breathability. Researchers from MIT have also designed garment vents that open and close when they sense sweat to create airflow.

Similarly, researchers from Zhengzhou University and the University of South Australia have created a fabric that reflects sunlight and releases heat to help reduce body temperatures. These kinds of cooling textiles (which could also be used in architecture) could help reduce the need for air conditioning.

One future challenge lies in driving demand for these innovations by making them seem fashionable and “cool”. Collaborations like the one between Prada and Axiom are helpful on this front. A space suit – an item typically seen as a functional, long-lasting piece of engineering – becomes something more with Prada’s name on it.

The collaboration also points to a broader potential for brands to use large attention-grabbing projects to convey their sustainability credentials. In this way they can combine spectacle with sustainability. The key will be in making sure one doesn’t come at the expense of the other.The Conversation

Alyssa Choat, Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles Design, University of Technology Sydney

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Monday 21 October 2024

Six Ways to Holiday Like an Old-School Travel Journalist ~ Without Using the Internet

The Travelling Companions by Augustus Leopold Egg (1862). Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

By Masood Khodadadi, University of the West of Scotland

We all want to get the most out of our holidays, which is why we so often turn to online “top things to see” lists, or TikTok recommendations of a destination’s best sights and eateries.

But as useful as these strategies can be, using the internet to plan every detail of your travel omits the essence of discovery – the very thing that made pre-internet travel journalism so thrilling to read.

These six tips explain how you can explore a new place like an old-school travel journalist or an explorer from a bygone era. They’ll enable you to look up from your phone, and discover your destination with intuition and curiosity.


1. Discard the itinerary and trust your gut

Portrait of a woman sat at a writing desk.
Freya Madeline Stark by Herbert Arnould Olivier (1923). National Portrait Gallery

Before smartphones, travel journalists such as Freya Stark and Bruce Chatwin depended on serendipity. They didn’t have TripAdvisor or Google Maps to guide them. Rather, they listened to their instincts and locals’ advice about how to shape their journey.

A famous example is Chatwin walking through Patagonia after conversations with locals advised him of his next stop.

Try this on your next adventure: walk without a plan. Follow your instincts towards any of the local cafes, quiet parks, or bustling markets. And if all else fails and you are not quite sure where to start, just stop and ask someone near you what it is that they love about the area. Many times, people’s stories will take you to places you would never have found online.

2. Use analogue maps and guides

Before GPS, maps weren’t just functional – they were part of the adventure. Travel writers like Jan Morris and Paul Theroux (father of documentary presenter, Louis) wrote about how their unfolding maps forced them to interact with the landscape in a tactile way.

Pick up a local map in a bookshop or visitor centre and unfold it in a cafe. Mark where you have been and circle the areas you are curious about.

In their early editions, guidebooks like The Rough Guide and Lonely Planet didn’t give a thorough list, but instead pushed cultural immersion travel, which is concerned with authentic activities. Think local traditions, history, language and customs of the place you’re visiting. Cultural immersion travel involves mingling with the residents to get an in-depth feel of how they live.

Although carrying a printed guidebook seems vintage, this act plunges you back to the time when the discovery of hidden corners of a city was about turning pages, not scrolling.

painting of tourists reading from a book and talking to a local man who is pointing into the distance
Chatting with locals is a great way to discover gems in a new place. English Tourists in Campagna by Carl Spitzweg (1845). Alte Nationalgalerie

3. Speak to local people

Pre-smartphone travellers had one irreplaceable resource at their disposal – people. On his long walks across Europe, for example, travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor relied on the people he met for insight into local customs, history and hidden gems.

Do exactly the same thing. Go to a typical bar, a bazaar, a local event, or attend a course on the language or the cooking of the place. Engage a bartender, shop owner, or street vendor in a chat. These tips will steer you off the beaten path of algorithms.

4. Immerse yourself in slow travel

Travel journalists of the past were in no hurry. Rather than zipping from one attraction to the next, they stayed put for long enough to pull back the layers of a place. Writer Rebecca West’s trek through the Balkans (which she described in her 1941 book, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon) took months. Her long stays in villages allowed her to really get to know the place and its complexities.

You should slow down on your next trip, too. Stay on in a small town or neighbourhood a little longer than you planned to. Stroll its streets and soak in the rhythms of daily life.

5. Read travel literature

The writers of travel history books, be it Robert Byron’s travels among the architecture and culture of Persia, or Isabella Bird entering unknown 19th-century Japan, articulate how their predecessors perceived the lands they visited.

Read books written by local authors to get deeper into the cultural context of the place you’re visiting. You’ll find their reflections on their hometown or region often give you a more insightful, nuanced perspective than any modern day “top ten” list could.

6. Research the history of every place you visit

Writers like Colin Thubron included historical and cultural details to make their travel stories richer and more meaningful.

Whether you find yourself at a local museum, reading up on the past of a place, or simply walking its streets with an eye for historical markers, learning the background of where you are can infuse your visit with added meaning.

Masood Khodadadi, Reader (Associate Professor) in Tourism, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland

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Monday 14 October 2024

In Vogue: the 90s was a Boom Time for Australian Fashion and Faces. What Happened?

Collette Dinnigan was the first Australian designer to show at Paris Fashion Week in 1996 . Pictured above is a look from her last collection in the French capital at Le Meurice Hotel for Autumn/Winter 2013. Cover picture by Elli Ioannou for DAM



By Sasha Sarago, Charles Sturt University

The In Vogue: The 90s series transports audiences back to the glamour and grandeur of a transformative decade for fashion. Set against the backdrop of New York, London and Paris, the series explores the rise of supermodels, designer powerhouses and fashion’s global influence. But the fashion scene in Australia  ~ a country that was also enjoying a meteoric rise in international success at the time ~  does not crack a mention.

The 1990s marked a golden era for fashion. Supermodels like Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington became style icons. Designers like Tom Ford, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and John Galliano pushed the boundaries of fashion creating moments that defined the times and influenced everything from pop culture to politics.

Even though Australia may not have had the runway clout of Paris or New York, the nation was making significant strides in fashion during the same period. Australian designers’ and models’ distinct styles were impressive – giving fashion heavyweights a run for their money.

So, what went wrong?

The 90s turned the fashion industry upside down.

Australian designers, international success

In the 1990s, Australian designer houses such as Alannah Hill, Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa and Sass & Bide signified Australia’s “coming of age” in fashion, with each designer bringing a unique flair and Australian sensibility to the international market.

Alannah Hill created a whimsical aesthetic with an edgy twist. Her designs, worn by celebrities Nicole Kidman, Helena Christensen and Courtney Love, earned her a cult following. Business skyrocketed from her Chapel Street boutique in Melbourne to the department stores Selfridges and Browns in London and Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel in Fifth Avenue, New York City.

In 1996, Collette Dinnigan gained worldwide acclaim as the first Australian designer to showcase her collection at Paris Fashion Week. Dinnigan’s delicate lace dresses and couture craftsmanship found a spotlight at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum’s Fashion in Motion exhibition. Striking while the iron was hot, Dinnigan secured a lingerie collaboration with Marks & Spencer.

mannequins lit from within display black lace fashion designs
Collette Dinnigan’s designs were celebrated in a 2015 retrospective exhibition. 4Susie/Shutterstock

Akira Isogawa, known for his blend of Japanese and Western aesthetics shared his first collection in 1994. He has presented subsequent collections in Paris bi-annually, a legacy sustained since 1998. Innovative from the jump, he turned early constraints to strengths. When the budget for his first big show didn’t stretch to shoes, he sent models down the runway in little red socks. The fashion statement helped him eventually secure more than 50 retail partners.

Sass & Bide, founded in 1999 by friends Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton, brought a youthful, urban energy from London’s Portobello Road Markets back to Australian shores. Their signature brand quickly gained popularity and was acquired by Myer in a A$42.3 million two-part deal. Australia was no longer a disconnected island but a wild card in the global fashion ecosystem.

Australian faces and Elaine George’s Vogue cover

Australian designers weren’t the only superstars gaining fashion fame.

By the time the supermodel phenomenon etched itself into the fashion zeitgeist, Australian model and businesswoman Elle Macpherson (known then as The Body) was already well known. Australian models Sarah Murdoch, Kristy Hinze, Kate Fisher and Alyssa Sutherland would follow.

Sarah Murdoch (nee O'Hare, pictured with Anneliese Seubert and Emma Balfour in 1996) graced Australian catwalks in the 90s. Patrick Riviere/Getty

Magazine cover models throughout the 90s showed sun-kissed “girl next door” charm. The exception was Emma Balfour, often touted as Australia’s androgynous counterpart to Kate Moss’s grunge-bohemian look.

But 1993 produced a turning point in Australia’s beauty paradigm. It was the year Elaine George, Australia’s first Aboriginal fashion model, arrived on the cover of Vogue Australia magazine, making fashion history. Elaine’s presence highlighted the Australian fashion industry’s prioritisation of Eurocentric beauty ideals.

First Nations beauty and fashion talent urgently needed celebrating. But Vogue’s Australian readers had to wait until October 2000 until Torres Strait Islander singer-songwriter and actress Christine Anu was featured on the cover. The gap showed the stain of underrepresentation and inequity within Australian fashion’s reputation had remained.

The 2000s, when fashion got much faster

While the 1990s were a period of optimism and growth for Australian fashion, the momentum failed to continue into the 2000s. Several factors contributed to this decline.

One of the most significant changes was the rise of fast fashion in the early 2000s. Brands like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 began dominating the global market with affordable, quickly produced garments.

This shift left many independent designers, including those from Australia, struggling to compete. The slow, meticulous craftsmanship that had defined Australian designers in the 90s could not keep up with the fast-fashion cycle.

Another challenge was the lack of sustained support for the Australian fashion industry. Unlike New York, London or Paris, which had well-established fashion infrastructures, Australia’s fashion scene was still relatively young. There was no long-term strategy to nurture emerging talent or to promote Australian fashion on a global scale. Many designers either relocated abroad or found it difficult to maintain the same level of success they had achieved in the 90s.

A new Renaissance?

The story of Australian fashion in the 1990s is one of promise, yet ultimately missed opportunity. Today, Australia has a chance to enter a new renaissance fuelled by digital innovation and its unique cultures.

The rise of digital fashion enables Australian designers to break free from the constraints of traditional fashion markets. With virtual clothing (simulated for real wear or digital realms), AI-powered design tools and metaverse runways, Australian creatives can harness technology to showcase their work globally.

The championing of Indigenous models, designers and multicultural identity is essential. This inclusivity could position Australia as sustainable and ethical fashion innovator and present a compelling alternative to the fast-fashion giants.

In Vogue: The 90s is now streaming on Disney+.The Conversation

Sasha Sarago, First Nations Cultural Innovation Lead - Beauty and Technology, Charles Sturt University

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