The history and hang-ups of Harry Styles’ Vogue cover shoot
Harry Styles’s photoshoot for the December issue of US Vogue is noteworthy for two reasons. It is the first time the magazine has featured a solo male on its cover, and Styles
Musing
Masks, MTV, Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande
The following is an extended version of an article that was commissioned for The Conversation. Before a bruise-coloured backdrop, Lady Gaga and Arianna Grande performed a medley of Chromatica II
Face Facts
Parallels, problems and the possibilities of mask-wearing in pandemics An edited version of this post originally appeared on 24 July 2020 as an op-ed for Manchester Metropolitan University, here. On
Medieval Matters
A book review published originally in The Journal of Dress History, 4:2 (summer 2020), pp.218-220. Monica L. Wright, Robin Netherton, and Gale R. Owen–Crocker, Editors, Medieval Clothing and Textiles 15,
Back Catalogue
‘Unprecedented’ is a word much in use at the moment. As the realities and worries of the Coronavirus spread, people the world over are being encouraged, even forced, to make
The Magnificence of Marginality
The more I thought about the tragedy, even cynicism, of Alan Turing’s posthumous appreciation, the more I became aware of just how many marginalised people have ended up making a social impact that is positively disproportionate to their status among their contemporaries.
Of Gods and Men: Jeff Koons and Antinous at the Ashmolean
Jeff Koons’ Balloon Venus seems at once dominant and diminutive in the space it occupies within the Ashmolean Museum. This is a large, attention-seeking bulbous structure, fashioned from polished magenta-coloured
Dress: Fancy – a new podcast
Dress: Fancy – a new podcast that explores the popularity, prevalence and power of fancy dress.
English Lavender & the KGB
Journalists from around the world stood in a semi-circle before her, their arms and voices raised as they jostled to ask questions. Among the impatient crowd, all of whom were
Would the Real Queen Elizabeth Please Stand Up
My thoughts on a newly discovered portrait of Tudor monarch Elizabeth I, and whether her clothing really fits.
Dr Benjamin Wild 