It seems that people still don’t understand the meaning of fashion – that it is still thought of as a frivolity; something belonging exclusively to the elite, with nothing to do with ordinary, daily life. This could not be wrong. Fashion is everywhere, and it has the power to radically transform your life. Fashion has replaced the space previously occupied by organised religion, and television – institutions which these days yield little power or influence over every day life. Fashion is inside all means of communication.

What are the revolutionary elements of fashion in this day and age? Perhaps not many, but like all contemporary cultural artefacts, it is nothing more than the result of hundreds of recyclings, repeated visions and visionaries. Arthur Rimbaud believed in the distortion of the senses to reach higher levels of perception – and fashion does exactly this when you think about it.

In the Western sense, fashion is the result of an organisation which is for the survival of an aesthetic which is placed in front of the rest in a competition of originality and daring. This is how the big designers of the world are the ones who mould the body of the men and women of today. And if you think about it, clothes are not something which is just added on top of the body, but the body is conditioned, and defined according to an immaterial concept – material which covers the body to give shape and meaning to the dress; in such a way, that one is displaced by that clothing. So when you find yourself buying discount H&M clothing at the end of the month, you are simply a cog in the wheels of this controlling system. You are part of this clothes machine – the clothes don’t belong to you, you just give it volume, and movement; you are replaceable, not indispensable.

And with all this in mind, the fashion industry continues to be unstoppable. Each year the number of designers grows, along with the resources for the manufacturing and creation of clothing. Even if New York, London, Paris and Milan continue to be the centres of worldwide fashion, there are still possibilities for the creation and production of alternative clothing, which is accessible to all. Just browse the web a bit, and you’ll find fashion made locally, of not only good quality but much more affordable, and produced using more natural and environmentally friendly methods.

Milan Fashion Week runs between the 21st and 27th of September, For more information on the shows, designers and events, you visit the website http://www.cameramoda.it/.

Alexa Ray

There’s nothing quite like finding one of the apartments in Milan and enjoying a week of glamour and beauty.

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Translated by: Poppy
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Wabi Sabi is more than just  a way of looking at beauty. The first thing we learn is that the word Wabi refers to a spiritual lifestyle connected with the private, internal realm, and subjectivity.  Sabi relates to the external realm, to aesthetic ideals and objectives, which while posited as goals are, like all things that make up the universe, always imperfect.

Thus, from a metaphysical point of view, Wabi Sabi suggests that art, as life, exists is in constant movement to and from its own potential and coming into being. While this would be “nothing” for the West, in Japanese culture this “nothing” is power, and the generating point of all things, as all states and stages of life are beautiful and are part of nature.

Here we encounter another principle of Wabi Sabi: “the truth lies in the observation of nature,” is, in all those things that keep their original state. Just think of how solid things like rocks or metals change over time, or similarly, the more marked dynamism of plants and animals. The idea of “permanent youth and beauty,” is the polar opposite of this wide conception of beauty, wherein beauty may be found even in old age and death. Wabi Sabi upholds the temporary, ephemeral, intuitive, and especially the rituals which make us more aware, like taking tea or caring for a garden.

Other basic tenants of a Wabi Sabi lifestyle include a constant mental exercise is: Accept the inevitable (death for example), look for harmony, get rid of all unnecessary distractions and ignore the material hierarchy.

If you are interested in this lifestyle, there are several authors who are dedicated to adapting these principles to various social fields, such as art, philosophy or who specialize in the daily practice of exercises related to the observation and meditation, one of the authors is Leonard Koren.

Learn to live your life with more freedom and simplicity as you delve into the unique tradition of Wabi Sabi.

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Luz Obscura

Begin to enjoy the simple things in life when you rent apartments in Milan You will surely find understated elegance, history and imperfection.  Go beyond the trends and find beauty.

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Translated by: salome antigone
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As we know, it’s no secret that beauty brings advantages in every situation of life – whether as a college student, a patient in a hospital, or a worker.  It’s that being physically attractive doesn’t just turn heads; it also ensures greater attention and social success. Gordon Fratzer, who studies the role of attractiveness in our society, explains that this injustice has rather simple causes. Attractive people are considered more talented, kind, honest and intelligent than their ugly counterparts. And as if that were not enough, he confirms that we also tend to throw ourselves at their feet with favours, because we want to be accepted and respected by our good-looking peers.

This research paints a rather bleak picture. Really, are we all so shallow and empty? And above all, what happens if we are not equipped with the perfect proportions of the privileged few?  Is there no hope?  Fortunately, reality is not so crude and vile as it sounds. Many experts say that is not so much these proportions and perfect symmetry that make us look more attractive.  A lot of being perceived as attractive also depends on our attitude, and above all, our body language and confidence.  This means that everyone, regardless of the angle between their eyes and nose, has a chance to shine as the beautiful being they are.

And if physical beauty often brings advantages, like everything in life, it can also bring disadvantages. While being attractive can help you move up in the world, one must admit that it can only take you so far. Women in high positions which are usually occupied by men are likely to be perceived as less serious and competent if they are too feminine and pretty.

The best solution? Stop thinking about work and beauty, and enjoy.  Rent apartments in Milan, where you can see some of the most elegant and handsome specimens in Europe, who will show you that beauty is about so much more than genetics: artistry, confidence, and elegance play a big part.

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Attractiveness and beauty have become another form of  capital, a currency we exchange for many advantages, not only with respect to the opposite sex, but, as many studies confirm, in almost all spheres of our social life. Even, and especially in the workplace, appearances seems to bring us as much success as our skills and studies.

Economist Daniel Hamermesh put this crude theory to the test when he figured that a physically attractive man would earn more or less 250,000 dollars more than an unattractive one over the course of his working life. His theory is supported by human resource professionals around the world who agree that it is better to be attractive and relatively mediocre in their work than to be an ugly genius.

The only way to escape, it seems, is to continue believing that beauty is something very subjective, and thus we all end up having the same opportunities to be seen as beautiful by someone. But while the parameters of beauty change over time, unfortunately, many scientists and psychologists say, certain standards are immovable and indifferent to fads: symmetrical faces have always been and probably always are considered more “beautiful.” And if you don’t belong to this privileged group? Well, tough luck.

Therefore it’s not surprising that we live in a culture in which the beauty industry grows exponentially every year, young people are increasingly affected by insecurity and anxiety about their physical appearance, and people take increasingly drastic measures to feel attractive.

In the second half of this article we will investigate more about the importance of beauty in the workplace and the consequences it entails. For now we encourage you to rent apartments in Milan, where people still know how to appreciate natural beauty.

When we think about a model on the catwalk, immediately we think about a tall and extremely thin woman. And it is no coincidence that this should be the first image that comes to mind when talking about models, because since the fashion world stopped being an elitist sphere in order to become a vehicle for the beauty industry, models began to embody these new beauty standards. Since the “supermodel” era of the 90s these figures of the fashion world became something more than just models, they became role models for all the young girls striving to be as thin and desired as them.

With the turn of the century the beauty standards on the catwalk changed, since in the 90s these girls became even more famous than the designers and their collections. And this is when the famous phrase “Models should be a clothing rack” came about. A phrase that would later cost these designers the worst campaigns against anorexia on the catwalks, because these “racks” turned into “skeletons where you could hang the clothes and the lifestyles of these women”. Anorexia became ubiquitous and ended in a few model deaths.

In 2007 the organizers of the London fashion week raised attention to this problem promoting the event with the slogan “London, catwalks without drugs and anorexia”. And after that, naturally, the most important catwalks joined them. Nowadays world famous designers demand models with a healthy BMI and size 36. The last designer was Lorenzo Riva, one of Balenciaga’s former students, who supported the concept that thinness couldn’t be the only beauty standard around.

Thus, he joined Nadia Accetti, president of the association “Donna Donna onlus”, which promotes campaigns against anorexia: “Together against eating disorders”. Thanks to institutions like this the big fashion houses and catwalks couldn’t keep their eyes closed, especially since a model is not only a clothing rack, but indeed a role model for women all around the globe.

Nowadays the fashion world tries to engage with the real world and make small steps into making their models into representatives of more realistic beauty standards.

If you are interested in fashion and want to see these changes happening on the catwalks then you should go to Milan. Rent apartments in Milan, and enjoy your stay in the world’s biggest fashion capital.

The twentieth century has given us one of the most useful, but also most controversial treasures of our time: the photoshop. Retouching images seems to be normal in today’s society. Whereas before you got ready a lot and you had to stand long for the perfect picture, now everything is much faster and is very easy thanks to the photoshop. You just need a digital camera, a photo editing program: put something else here, take off a little there, now I want thicker lips and removes some skin impurities…. Everything is possible! The celebrities are it main victims. And with so many retouches, sometimes the disasters are too evident.

No wonder that the world really go crazy with the unattainable ideal of beauty. You just have to pick up any magazine and take a glance to any page, where countless perfect bodies, smooth legs, and unwrinkled faces are shown etc. But what the hell is the secret recipe of the celebrities? Is there any cure for the ugliness? No! Behind all this false hidden beauty, there are the so-called gods of the retouches. But unfortunately also the most creative editors commit dramatic mistakes, especially when working under time pressure. Even the most inattentive readers discover these errors at the first sight. These are only some possible examples: one of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins with two heads, the famous surfer Veronica Kay’s with only one leg, many model without her navel or nipples, Amy Winehouse with seven fingers in a hand, Beyoncé with three arms… These are just some examples of the countless rare photos that you can see every day in the daily press.

Despite these disasters, editing photo programs can turn imagens into true art works. But the most important thing is to find the perfect mixture in order that the photos do not seem to be ugly and unnatural. After all, who has not ever wish tho have a perfect aspect? But do not worry, because the little flaws make you even more beautiful, because natural beauty is, after all, the best in the world.

If you like taking pictures, you should travel to one of the most beautiful cities of Italy. Milan is not only the birthplace of the Interancional fashion, but it also offers spectacular landscapes and places to take breathtaking pictures without the help of photoshop. Rent apartments in Milan and enjoy a comofortable and economic stay.