Feature Story: Italian Fashion Icon Giorgio Armani’s Impact and Legacy Will be Felt for Decades to Come

Portrait of Giorgio Armani in one of his signature navy blue looks. Photograph: Stefano Guindani/SGP. Cover picture of Coperni Autumn/Winter 2025 by Karim Sadli.

By John Potvin, Professor of Art and Design History, Concordia University

Giorgio Armani pictured backstage before his 

Autumn/Winter 2006 menswear runway in Milan. 

Despite the hyperbolic and fleeting tendencies of the fashion industry, few designers have had the impact of Giorgio Armani.

The new look and attitude the designer offered 50 years ago is today largely taken for granted and, at first glance, seems rather unassuming. But from the outset, Armani’s focus and determination was to provide his customers with an easier way of dressing that was at once practical, sophisticated and thoughtful, yet unpretentious, powerful and subtle.

His suits required little effort on the part of the wearer, whose individuality and identity were meant to shine rather than being overwhelmed by his clothes. His approach to tailoring coincided with the growing awareness of health and fitness in the 1970s and 1980s.

Armani’s body-conscious approach soon garnered attention in Hollywood, and he was asked to provide the wardrobe for Richard Gere in the now cult-classic 1980 film American Gigolo.

Humble beginnings

The designer working on drawings

in his Milan studio in 1979. 

Born in 1934 in the small northern Italian town of Piacenza, Armani was originally destined to be a country family doctor. Before founding his own fashion house in 1975 relatively late in life, at the age of 41, Armani began in the fashion industry as a window dresser for the Milanese department store La Rinascente.

In 1961, he was hired by stylist and businessman Nino Cerruti to work in the Cerruti family’s textile factory. This new and fertile environment proved seminal to Armani’s future in textile development and would determine his own aesthetic formula.

While working at Cerruti, designing for the firm’s Hitman menswear collection, Armani proverbially and literally took the stuffing out of traditional Italian tailoring, offering men a modern attitude and a novel, less rigid way of moving and living in their jackets and suits.

Quickly, and throughout his 50-year career, the now iconic multi-purpose Armani jacket provided men and women alike armour as much as comfort and support for the body underneath.

Encouraged by his romantic and business partner Sergio Galeotti, an architect who remained Armani’s business partner until his untimely death in 1984, Armani officially founded his own fashion house in July 1975.

He quickly changed the vocabulary of both menswear and womenswear: he incorporated and adapted textiles traditionally reserved for men’s tailoring for his womenswear collections while at the same time softening the fabrics and silhouettes of his menswear. Women appeared stronger, independent, resilient and ready to take on the workplace of the 1980s, while the Armani man was less aggressive and instead attractive and glamourous.

Conquering Hollywood

Julia Roberts wearing Giorgio Armani 

Prive with the designer at the Met Gala.

 

For American Gigolo, Armani sidestepped vulgarity and provided the lead character with a fluid and unstructured swagger and sex appeal.

Hollywood was immediately hooked. Armani had been enamoured by the classic era of cinema as a child and the star quality of actors like Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Geta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, so he was keenly aware of the value and cultural potential of not only dressing actors in films, but also saw the red carpet as what was, until then, an untapped resource.

Armani soon had a major impact on red carpet dressing, so much so that industry bible Women’s Wear Daily dubbed the 1990 Oscars the “Armani Awards.”

This red carpet transformation was the result of Armani’s love of cinema and his business acumen as much it was his collaboration with Wanda McDaniel, an American whom he recruited in 1988, the same year he opened his first boutique in Beverly Hills.

As a social columnist and well connected to Hollywood’s elite, McDaniel was hired as a special liaison to Armani’s increasing film industry clientele. Their collaboration was a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Armani’s personal abode

Armani launched his own label at 41,

and presented his first menswear and 

womenswear collections in 1975.

Fuelled by a steadfast drive, the personal and professional was indistinguishable for Armani, so much so that the designer’s palazzo at 21 via Borgonuovo in the heart of Milan served as both his home as well as the theatre where he staged his men’s and women’s runway collections from 1984 until 2000.

The space provided a personal and intimate invitation to more than just fashion shows, but a lifestyle empire in the making.

In addition to co-curating a 25-year retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the year 2000 also saw the designer transform the brand’s DNA into a global lifestyle proposition that today encompasses hotels, spas, Michelin Star-awarded restaurants, makeup, jewellery, home furnishings and chocolates, among other items.

From the unstructured jacket that’s worn with ease to the social media frenzy garnered by red carpets, Armani’s imprint can be seen in every corner of the fashion industry and around the globe. His impact and legacy will be felt for decades to come.

John Potvin, Professor, Art and Design History, Concordia University

How Anna Wintour Changed Fashion Magazines Forever: Celebrities, Blue Jeans and Couture

American Vogue editor Anna Wintour at the Met Gala she oversees in New York. Photograph: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP. Cover picture of Coperni Autumn/Winter 2025 by Karim Sadli. 

By Jye Marshall and Rachel Lamarche-Beauchesne

Queen Elizabeth II and Anna Wintour 

at British designer Richard Quinn's

2018 runway show. 

AFTER 37 years at the helm, fashion industry heavyweight Anna Wintour stepped down from her position as editor-in-chief of American Vogue. 

It was not a retirement, though, as Wintour maintains a leadership position at global fashion and lifestyle publisher Condé Nast (the owner of Vogue and other publications, such as Vanity Fair and Glamour). 

Nonetheless, Wintour’s departure from the US edition of the magazine is a big moment for the fashion industry – one which she has single-handedly changed forever.

Fashion Magazine Fever

Fashion magazines as we know them today were first formalised in the 19th century. They helped establish the “trickle down theory” of fashion, wherein trends were traditionally dictated by certain industry elites, including major magazine editors.

In Australia, getting your hands on a monthly issue meant rare exposure to the latest European or American fashion trends.

Vogue itself was established in New York in 1892 by businessman Arthur Baldwin Turnure. The magazine targeted the city’s elite class, initially covering various aspects of high-society life. In 1909, Vogue was acquired by Condé Nast. From then, the magazine increasingly cemented itself as a cornerstone of the fashion publishing.

Cover of a 1921 edition of Vogue. 

Wikimedia, CC BY

The period following the second world war particularly opened the doors to mass fashion consumerism and an expanding fashion magazine culture.

Wintour came on as editor of Vogue in 1988, at which point the magazine became less conservative, and more culturally significant.

Not Afraid to Break the Mould

Fashion publishing changed as a result of Wintour’s bold editorial choices – especially when it came to the magazine’s covers. Her choices both reflected, and dictated, shifts in fashion culture.

Wintour’s first cover at Vogue, published in 1988, mixed couture garments (Christian Lacroix) with mainstream brands (stonewashed Guess jeans) – something which had never been done before. It was also the first time a Vogue cover had featured jeans at all – perfectly setting the scene for a long career spent pushing the magazine into new domains.

Anna Wintour's first Vogue cover in November 1988 featuring a revolutionary mix of what we call today hi/o: a Christian Lacroix heavily bejewelled top and a pair of Guess Jeans.  

Wintour also pioneered the centring of celebrities (rather than just models) within fashion discourse. And while she leveraged big names such as Beyonce, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Kate Moss, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, she also featured rising stars as cover models – often helping propel their careers in the process

Wintour’s legacy at Vogue involved elevating fashion from a frivolous runway to a powerful industry, which is not scared to make a statement. Nowhere is this truer than at the Met Gala, which is held each year to celebrate the opening of a new fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

The event started as a simple fundraiser for the Met in 1948, before being linked to a fashion exhibit for the first time in 1974.

Wintour took over its organisation in 1995. Her focus on securing exclusive celebrity guests helped propel it to the prestigious event it is today.

This year’s theme for the event was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. In a time where the US faces great political instability, Wintour was celebrated for her role in helping elevate Black history through the event.

Not Without Controversy

However, while her cultural influence can’t be doubted, Wintour’s legacy at American Vogue is not without fault.

Notably, her ongoing feud with animal rights organisation PETA – due to the her unwavering support for fur – has bubbled in the background since the heydays of the anti-fur movement.

Wintour has been targeted directly by anti-fur activists, both physically (she was hit with a tofu cream pie in 2005 while leaving a Chloe show) and through numerous protests.

This issue was never resolved. Vogue has continued to showcase and feature fur clothing, even as the social license for using animal materials starts to run out.

Fashion continues to grow increasingly political. How magazines such as Vogue will engage with this shift remains to be seen.

A Changing Media Landscape

The rise of fashion blogging in recent decades has led to a wave of fashion influencers, with throngs of followers, who are challenging the unidirectional “trickle-down” structure of the fashion industry.

Today, social media platforms have overtaken traditional media influence both within and outside of fashion. And with this, the power of fashion editors such as Wintour is diminishing significantly.

Many words will flow regarding Wintour’s departure as editor-in-chief, but nowhere near as many as what she oversaw at the helm of the world’s biggest fashion magazine.

Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology and Rachel Lamarche-Beauchesne, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Enterprise, Torrens University Australia

How Much Money Do You Need to be Happy? Here’s What the Research Says

Decades of international research have consistently shown materialistic goals - acquiring wealth and possessions for reasons associated with image and status - undermine wellbeing. 

By Brad Elphinstone, Swinburne University of Technology

Over the next decade, Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire. The Tesla board recently proposed a US$1 trillion (A$1.5 trillion) compensation plan, if Musk can meet a series of ambitious growth targets.

Australia’s corporate pay packets aren’t quite on that scale. Yet even here, it was reported departing Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka will collect nearly $50 million in shares and other cash benefits on her way out the door.

Research from the United States suggests people think the average CEO earns ten times more than the average worker – and would prefer it was closer to only five times more.

In fact, the real gap in the US over the past decade has been estimated to mean CEOs earn a staggering 265 to 300 times more than average US workers.

Australians think CEOs earn seven times more than the average worker and would prefer if it was only three times more.

But the real gap here is also much higher. A long-running study found CEOs of the top 100 Australian companies earned 55 times more last financial year than average workers.

So, how much money is enough?

People have asked this question for thousands of years. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle explained the idea of eudaimonia, or a roadmap of “living well”, saying it:

belongs more to those who have cultivated their character and mind to the uttermost, and kept acquisition of external goods within moderate limits, than it does to those who have managed to acquire more external goods than they can possibly use, and are lacking goods of the soul.

Aristotle’s philosophy doesn’t call on us to shun money or wealth entirely, but argues it shouldn’t become life’s sole focus.

Research over recent decades has come to different conclusions on how much money is needed to achieve peak wellbeing.

A US study in 2010 suggested wellbeing maxes out around US$75,000. This figure naturally needs to be increased today to account for inflation – which, if those research findings are still true today, would be closer to US$111,000 in today’s dollars. You’d also need to take into account the cost of living in your area.

Other findings suggest wellbeing may continually increase with growing wealth, but the increase in wellbeing from $1 million to $10 million is likely less than when someone moves from poverty to middle class.

A 2022 experiment studied 200 people from Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom who were randomly given US$10,000 (A$15,000 at today’s exchange rate).

It found people in lower income countries “exhibited happiness gains three times larger than those in higher-income countries”, including Australia. But that cash still provided detectable benefits for people with household incomes up to US$123,000 (roughly A$184,000 today).

Remarkably, the people in that experiment (explained from 4:42 minutes into the video below) gave away more than two-thirds of that money to family, friends, strangers and charities.

Valuing time and relationships

Decades of international research have consistently shown materialistic goals – acquiring wealth and possessions for reasons associated with image and status – undermine wellbeing.

This is because materialistic striving is often borne out of low self-esteem or tending to compare oneself negatively to others, and there is always someone else to compare yourself against.

People can get stuck on the “hedonic treadmill”, where they get used to their new level of wealth and the luxuries it provides and then need more to feel happy.

It’s also because the work needed to acquire that wealth can mean less time focusing on hobbies and with loved ones.

Harvard research tracking two generations of men and their children over their lives, going back to 1938, shows deep, meaningful relationships with others are key to mental and physical wellbeing.

American psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a “hierarchy” of people’s “needs” in 1943. This suggested “self-actualisation” – reaching your pinnacle of personal growth – starts by having enough money to cover the basics of food, shelter, and access to the opportunities needed to grow as a person.

In line with this, research has shown “time affluence” (maximising free time by paying people to do things you don’t want to) and “experiential buying” (for example, meals out with loved ones, going on holidays) can support wellbeing by helping people develop new skills, build relationships, and create lifelong memories.

It’s in most of our interests to close the wealth gap

Recent data shows economic inequality in Australia is increasing. This is particularly affecting young Australians, as housing becomes less affordable.

At a broader social level, research from the UK indicates that as inequality increases, social outcomes get worse. These include increased crime, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity as people struggle to afford nutritious food, and reductions in social trust.

What percentage of wealth do you think is owned by the richest 20% of Australians? And in your ideal Australia, how much wealth should the richest 20% own?

The most recent Bureau of Statistics data we have, from 2019-20, showed the richest 20% of Australians owned around 62% of our wealth.

As inequality gets worse, evidence suggests it will lead to social problems that threaten to undermine the wellbeing of the whole community.

The irony is those who pursue extreme wealth and benefit most from this inequality will not necessarily be happier or more fulfilled because of it.

Brad Elphinstone, Lecturer in psychology, Swinburne University of Technology

KPop Demon Hunters Gives a Glimpse into K-pop Culture in South Korea

Rumi, Mira and Zoey in "KPop Demon Hunters." Currently it is the most streamed film on Netflix globally. 

By Cholong Sung, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 

Thanks to the runaway global popularity of Netflix’s new animated film, KPop Demon Hunters, cinemas around the world have picked it up and are now screening a sing-along edition.

Huntr/x, the musical girl group featured in the story, has topped charts worldwide with their track Golden.

As the film smashes records and captures audiences everywhere, one question lingers: what makes this animation stand out from the rest? An answer lies in how relatable the main characters are.

The film follows three K-pop girl group members who use their music and voices to protect the world from demonic forces. While the storyline centres on the fantastical notion of “demon hunters”, grounding the protagonists in the guise of K-pop idols adds on-trend authenticity. As co-director Chris Appelhans explained, the aim was “making girls act like real girls, and not just pristine superheroes”.

Rather than dwelling solely on their heroics, the film portrays the characters’ everyday moments and ordinary behaviour. Food, clothes and familiar locations in South Korea are rendered with surprising precision, to the extent that even Korean audiences are astonished at their accuracy, despite the production being based overseas.

But how closely does the film’s version of K-pop reflect the real thing?

In real life, aspiring K-pop singers are sometimes forced to lose weight by entertainment companies or agencies representing them.

Take the first appearance of Huntr/x members Rumi, Mira and Zoey: with only minutes to go before a performance, they are shown devouring kimbap, ramen, fish cakes and snacks – fuel for the stage. In reality, idols may often end up grabbing a quick bite of kimbap or ramen in the car between packed schedules. More commonly, however, strict diets are the norm. There are reports that sometimes trainees – aspiring K-pop idols who are part of an entertainment company’s training programme – are even forced to shed weight by agencies: one of the industry’s darker aspects.

Yet, as idols mature, many develop their own healthier routines, not simply for looks but to ensure longevity in their careers.

Meanwhile, in the case of boy group Saja Boys, the film highlights the fans’ fascination with their sculpted abs. In reality, male idols often put themselves through intense workouts to build impressive physiques, showing off toned bodies and six-packs on stage for their fans.

Then there is the question of accommodation. In the film, Huntr/x members share a luxurious penthouse overlooking Seoul’s skyline. In reality, agencies often provide dorm accommodation to facilitate scheduling and teamwork, usually near the company, and often managers live with artists. The quality varies greatly, with newcomers typically placed in modest housing.

After debut, successful idols may upgrade their accommodation as the money starts to roll in, but a penthouse, as shown in the film, is more fantasy than fact. BTS being a notable exception, progressing from sharing a converted office (not even a proper house) to one of Seoul’s most prestigious apartments. Most idols tend to strike out on their own some years after debut, balancing solo activities with personal life. By then, their choice of home usually reflects their individual earnings.

The film mirrors K-pop reality in other respects. One Huntr/x member, Zoey, is Korean-American – reflecting the industry’s trend since the 2000s towards multinational line-ups designed to create a global audience. Blackpink, for instance, includes two Korean members with overseas backgrounds and one foreign national, which has bolstered their international reach.

The right music

The film also shows Zoey writing and composing songs: many idols are now singer-songwriters. With the industry demanding constant renewal, the shelf life of an “idol” is very short. Writing and producing music has become both a way to extend careers and secure additional income streams. BTS are all credited songwriters, while figures such as BigBang’s G-Dragon, Block B’s Zico, and i-dle’s Soyeon have all built reputations – and royalties – through their creative work.

Increasingly, even K-pop trainees now learn songwriting and production before their debut. Beyond these points, the film captures a wide slice of K-pop culture as it really exists – from fan sign events to the sea of light sticks waving at concerts.

More than any other element, it’s the music that gives the film its sharpest sense of realism.

Executive music producer Ian Eisendrath teamed up with record label THEBLACKLABEL to produce K-pop tracks that sound right at home in the current charts. Blending trendy and catchy hooks with the story itself has drawn in not only animation fans but also audiences lured by the music alone.

Co-director Maggie Kang put it plainly in an interview: “We really wanted to immerse the world in K-pop.” At the same time, she noted that the film deliberately heightens certain aspects of the genre. That kind of exaggeration is only natural in animation, where drama is part of the appeal. What matters is that every flourish is still grounded in reality.

For viewers familiar with Korean culture and K-pop, that means spotting a wealth of details that might otherwise go unnoticed – and it’s this layer of discovery that may well be among the key factors driving the popularity of KPop Demon Hunters.

Cholong Sung, Lecturer in Korean, SOAS, University of London

To Understand the History of European Culture Start with the Minoans, Not the Ancient Greeks

Ruins of the ancient Minoan settlement in Gournia, Crete.  Photograph: Georgios Tschilis/Shutterstock

By Ellen Adams, King's College London

The Minoan culture was the first highly complex society on modern European soil, with palaces, writing, stunning art – and even flushing toilets. The Minoans lived in the bronze age (circa 3000-1200BC) on the Mediterranean island of Crete, which served as a stepping stone between Europe, Africa and Asia.

My new book, The Minoans, presents key features of their archaeology, including architecture, art, religion, writing, bureaucracy and the economy. It explores how this pioneering European civilisation has influenced western culture – and how Minoan culture has been reconstructed, re-imagined and represented in museum displays.

Traditionally, the ancient Greeks have been viewed as the fountainhead of European civilisation, but Minoan culture was flourishing many hundreds of years earlier. Despite this expanse of time, there was a loose dialogue between them: the Minoans influenced the Mycenaeans, who themselves were early Greeks, and the later classical Greeks indicate some “memory” of the Minoans, as filtered down through their myths.

For example, in the later Greek stories (from the first millennium BC), Crete is closely associated with bulls. Zeus took the form of a bull when he seized the Phoenician princess Europa and forced her to the island to initiate the Minoan bloodline. She bore Minos whose wife, Pasiphae, submitted to her passion for Poseidon’s bull, producing the minotaur.

In Minoan art, bulls are everywhere. Archaeologists have found bronze age ritual libation vessels – used for pouring liquid sacrifices to the gods – crafted into the shape of a bull’s head, and large gold rings depicting people leaping over bulls. The echoes of history, myth and ritual seem to have rippled through the generations, to later be reproduced and re-imagined by the ancient Greeks.

A bull fresco from Knossos Palace in Crete. Pecold/Shutterstock

It is therefore essential for people who want to understand the history of Europe to study the influence the Minoans have had on the ancient Greeks and modern Europeans – in particular, the evidence coming from the great digs conducted on the island in the early 20th century. These include the excavations by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans at Knossos, Crete, a vast site with complexity that may lend itself to the Greek labyrinth myth.

While the image of the bull is particularly widespread here, there is little association between this creature and women, as later appears in the myths. Women are linked with other animals, though, such as serpents, as shown by the snake goddess figurines that Evans found in the Palace of Knossos in 1903.

Snakes in Minoan art

These snake goddesses were found hidden in large stone-lined pits, in a very fragmentary state. Numerous riches were in this deposit: hundreds of shells, clay and stone vessels, clay seal impressions (used for documentation), Linear A inscriptions (a writing script) and animal bones.

The remains of five or six female figurines were found, but only two have been reconstructed. They have become icons of Minoan culture and poster girls for Crete, standing out due to their eye-catching costumes. These are tight, corseted jackets that leave the breasts bare, with floor-length full skirts – their heaviness serving to emphasise the exposed breasts even more.

The remains of the figurines found in the Palace of Knossos in 1903. Wiki Commons

The slightly larger one is a matronly figure with a tall, conical hat. Her snake-entwined arms are held at around 45 degrees, palms up and set approximately in line with her navel. Snakes drape over her as she stares straight ahead.

The second figure raises her bright white arms, bent at the elbow, up and out to her sides, flexed slightly forward. She clutches snakes, and a feline creature balances on her hat.

These figurines offer food for thought about the reconstruction processes that archaeologists undertake. First, Evans gave the title “goddess” to the larger figurine, and “votary” (meaning a worshipper who has taken vows) to the smaller one. This is arbitrary: we cannot know who these figurines represented, whether they were human, as a dignitary or priestess, or divine – we just sense they were VIPs.

Furthermore, when viewing these extraordinary objects in the Heraklion Museum in Crete today, the visitor may be unaware of the extent to which they have been reconstructed, and how much is an early 20th-century creation.

For example, the votary’s head, with its distinctive, wide-eyed stare, is entirely modern, as is her left arm, added soon after she was excavated. The object held in her right hand was broken off – only a very small piece of the original remained in her clenched fist. The reconstruction of snakes as the objects she holds is not so absurd – her sister has them running all over her as a comparison – but recent research has cast some doubt on what she originally held.

In addition to reconstructing the originals, people have also re-imagined these striking figurines in numerous ways – in replicas as souvenirs, as Barbie dolls, in graffiti (particularly in Heraklion) and in advertisements. They have appeared as book covers and inspired modern literature as well as visual and performative art.

Adaptations of them have come to life in poetry, opera, dance and music. A performer led the historical procession as the snake goddess in the opening ceremony for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The Many Lives of a Snake Goddess project, which I am part of, seeks to understand the cultural biographies of these objects. It shows their legacy has been great partly because we have recreated them in such varied ways.

Minoan Crete is important not only because of any claims made for its place as the fountainhead of European civilisation, but also because its art and archaeology have done so much to shape modern culture.

Ellen Adams, Professor in Classical Archaeology and Museum Access, King's College London

New Finds Shed Light on Ancient Canopus: the Egyptian Port City Lost to the Sea

Discovered after thousands of years submerged in the Mediterranean, this statue from the ancient city of Canopus, was craned out of Abu Qir Bay in Alexandria. Once an important trading place, it sank due to earthquakes and rising sea levels. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images

By Claire Isabella Gilmour

This year has seen a number of artefacts recovered from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt. The area has attracted interest for some time due to ongoing searches for the tomb of Cleopatra VII and Alexander the Great. But the new finds add to our knowledge of the ancient city of Canopus, one of several settlements that have largely been lost to the sea.

The discovery of buildings and an ancient dock is particularly crucial for our understanding of this principal port – one of the most important for the economy of Egypt before the foundation of Alexandria in the 4th century BC.

The Nile Delta is where the river flows into the Mediterranean Sea, and the twin cities of Canopus and Thonis-Heracleion were situated on opposite banks. Canopus was on the western side, at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the Nile. Recovering artefacts from the mouth of the Nile is difficult because much of the material not only lies on the seabed, but is submerged under clay and silt.

The preservation of archaeological material underwater is variable. Metal objects do not fare well, but stone is more durable. Organic materials such as wood can last surprisingly well due to the lack of oxygen in waterlogged places, although they become very vulnerable when removed, so rapid protection is essential.

The recent discoveries include the remnants of an ancient harbour and a merchant ship, shedding light on shipbuilding techniques and economic activity.

Sherif Fathi, Egypt's tourism and antiquities minister.

inspects the recovered statue in Alexandria. 

Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

Statues continue to emerge, building on what we already know of sculptural practices, religion and politics. They offer clues as to the physical appearance of the ancient city. 

One of these statues is a huge quartz sphinx holding the cartouches of Pharaoh Ramesses II (carved oval tablets bearing his name). While it is not yet determined how or when that sphinx was brought to Canopus, it emphasises the antiquity of the site. A white marble statue of a Roman nobleman further confirms the city’s status as multicultural and extremely wealthy.

Where Greece and Egypt meet

The foundation date of Canopus is unknown, but the site had been settled for centuries before the Greeks. It was first mentioned in writing in the 6th century BC, in a poem by Solon.

Expanded over time, in a location perfect for trade and military activity in the Mediterranean, Canopus became a key part of the success of the Greek rulers of Egypt. It served the Ptolemaic dynasty well for several centuries before eventually becoming part of the Roman empire around 30BC. However, the coastal position meant that settlements in that area were vulnerable to environmental stresses and earthquakes and rising sea levels eventually submerged them by the 8th century AD.

Excavators discuss their finds.

A large proportion of the western suburbs of Canopus are today underneath the modern Egyptian coastal town of Abu Qir, while the eastern suburbs are underwater.

For ancient people, Canopus was a place of pilgrimage. Countless people travelled to the sanctuaries of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Serapis there to take part in the Mysteries of Osiris. The annual religious festival reenacting the god’s murder, dismemberment and resurrection dated back to the earliest days of ancient Egypt.

The modern site of Abu Qir was also a place of importance to early Christianity, as religious changes took hold across the world.

A sunken city and its treasures

Underwater excavation in the Alexandria area has continued for decades, most notably by French archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team. They work under the auspices of the European Institute for Underwater in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Many initial finds were made during the team’s work in the 1990s-2010s. The British Museum showcased some 200 of its artefacts in their Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds exhibition in 2016. Highlights included a 5.4 metre tall granite statue of Hapy, the personification of the Nile (on loan from the Maritime Museum, Alexandria) and a massive statue of the Apis bull (from the Graeco-Roman Museum, Alexandria). It showed that Greek rule did not mean the end of Egypt; rather, it was refashioned with a new image.

A sculpted figure of the posthumously deified Arsinoë II, daughter of Ptolemy I, as the Egyptian goddess Isis was also found. It is an intriguing combination of the timelessness of ancient Egyptian statuary, overlaid with the Greek aesthetic, wearing garments rendered in stone so fine they seem transparent.

There is much more to be found beneath the waves, but the strict criteria applied to these underwater excavations mean that most objects will remain there, at least for now, with plans being developed for the world’s first underwater museum.

The targeted nature of the excavations is part of a quest to highlight and celebrate the work being done around underwater heritage. As climate change pushes sea levels ever higher, the need for protection for archaeological sites like Canopus only becomes more pressing.

Claire Isabella Gilmour, PhD Candidate, Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol

Ultrafast Fashion Brand Princess Polly has been Certified as ‘Sustainable.’ Is that an Oxymoron?

The question of whether fast fashion can ever be sustainable has become increasingly heated since the advent of ultrafast fashion, where brands produce on demand and sell directly online. 

By Harriette Richards, RMIT University and Jon Hewitt, RMIT University

Recently the ultrafast fashion brand, Princess Polly, received B Corp certification. This certification is designed to accredit for-profit businesses that provide social impact and environmental benefit.

Established on the Gold Coast in 2010, a 50% stake in Princess Polly was acquired by United States-based A.K.A. Brands in 2018.Since then, it has grown its global reach as a low-cost, high-turnover online retailer.

So can ultrafast fashion ever be sustainable?

Who is Princess Polly?

Princess Polly distinguishes itself from other fast fashion retailers through a mission to “make on-trend, sustainable fashion accessible to everyone”.

As part of this mission, Princess Polly is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, which commits them to sustainable procurement. The 2024 Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report placed them in the top 20% of 460 global brands assessed.

Yet, on the sustainability rating website Good On You, Princess Polly receives a “Not Good Enough” grade, due to their lack of action on reducing plastic and textile waste or protecting biodiversity in their supply chains, and the absence of evidence that they pay their workers a living wage.

Regardless of how they make their clothes, Princess Polly produces a lot. At the time of writing, the brand has 3,920 different styles available on their website (excluding shoes and accessories).

Of those, 34% (1,355 styles) are listed as “lower impact,” which means items are made using materials such as organic cotton and linen, recycled polyester and cellulose fabrics. There are also 720 items on the website currently listed as “new”: their daily new arrivals means they are constantly adding fresh items for sale.

Overproduction, no matter what the garments are made from, is inherently wasteful. Even when clothes are purchased (and 10–40% of the clothing produced each year is not sold), the poor quality of fast fashion items means that they end up in landfill faster and stay there for longer, contributing to the ongoing environmental disaster.

Sustainability communication

In Australia, 1,096 companies are accredited with B Corp status, including 152 fashion businesses.

B Corp assesses the practices of a company as a whole, rather than focusing on one single social or environmental issue. Businesses must score at least 80 out of a possible 250+ points in the B Impact Assessment to achieve accreditation.

Organisations are assessed in five key areas – community, customers, environment, governance and workers – and must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

Third-party accreditations such as B Corp, Fairtrade and Global Organic Textile Standard are often used by brands as a marketing tool.

These certifications can enhance consumer trust without the need for detailed explanations. For fashion brands, accreditation can help them stand out in a crowded market. They can provide legitimacy, attract ethical fashion consumers and reduce consumer scepticism.

While B Corp aims to provide assurance to consumers, activists have accused it of greenwashing. In 2022, the organisation came under fire for accrediting Nespresso, a brand owned by Nestlé, which has a reputation for poor worker rights and sourcing policies.

B Corp is now facing renewed condemnation for issuing certification to Princess Polly.

Who needs certification?

Other B Corp certified Australian fashion brands such as Clothing the Gaps and Outland Denim have built their reputations on their ethical credentials. For values-driven fashion-based social enterprises such as these, accreditations can provide valuable guarantees regarding ethical processes.

According to our research, however, there are several barriers fashion-based social enterprises face when pursuing ethical accreditation.

The cost of accreditation, both financial and in terms of time, skills and resourcing, is a significant challenge. And there is no certification that covers all aspects of environmental sustainability and ethical production. As a result, fashion-based social enterprises often require multiple accreditations to fully communicate the breadth of their ethical commitments.

Despite the costs involved, if fashion-based social enterprises don’t acquire certain certifications they risk being ineligible for government grants and tenders, such as social procurement contracts.

Differences between fashion-based social enterprises and fast fashion brands are stark. While Clothing the Gaps, Outland Denim and Princess Polly now all hold B Corp certification, the former score much more highly on the B Impact Assessment. The value and credibility of the certification is diminished when it extends to unsustainable ultrafast fashion.

Is it possible for fast fashion to ever be sustainable?

The question of whether fast fashion can ever be sustainable has become increasingly heated since the advent of ultrafast fashion, where brands produce on demand and sell directly online.

Fast fashion took seasonal trends from high fashion runways and made them available to consumers at low costs within weeks. Ultrafast fashion takes trends from social media and reproduces them extremely cheaply for mass consumption within days.

Both fast and ultrafast fashion’s low-cost, high-volume models encourage consumers to value quantity over quality. Using permanent sales and discounts, these brands incentivise multiple purchases of items that may never actually be worn. Online “micro trends” and “haul” videos further spur this overconsumption.

The overconsumption of fast fashion means lots of it ends up in landfill. Dipanjan Pal/Unsplash

Princess Polly may be using more sustainable textiles and engaging in more ethical forms of production than some of its ultrafast fashion counterparts. But this is not enough when the business model itself is unsustainable. Accreditations such as B Corp are unable to account for this nuance.

Princess Polly claims to make sustainable fashion, yet it is also proudly trend driven. As an ultrafast fashion brand, it relies on overproduction and overconsumption. The idea that this can ever be “sustainable” is simply an oxymoron.

Harriette Richards, Senior Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University and Jon Hewitt, Lecturer, Fashion and Textile Design, RMIT University