Sunday 24 June 2012

Brutal treatment of woman, 24, as she is subjected to 'animal tests' in front of horrified shoppers.



  • - Jacqueline Traide force-fed and given injections at Lush's Regent St store.
  • - Eyes stream from irritant and arm bleeds when she tries to resist needle.
  • - Humiliated and restrained for ten hours in protest against animal testing.
  • - Shocked onlookers stop to take pictures and video on their mobile phones.

  • They dragged her along with a rope around her neck and pushed her down on a bench. It was feeding time for Jacqueline Traide and you could tell from the look on her face she was terrified.

    First, they stretched her mouth open with two metal hooks attached to a strap around her head. The man in the white coat grabbed hold of her ponytail and tugged it until she tilted backwards.






  • Horrific treatment: The 24-year-old re-enacts a procedure where cosmetics are dropped into an animal's eyes


    By the time he had finished spooning food down her throat, she was choking, gagging and trying to break free.

    For the next ten hours, this attractive, 24-year-old artist was given injections, had her skin abraded and smothered in lotions and potions – then endured having a strip of her hair shaved off in front of stunned onlookers in one of Britain’s busiest streets

    Aghast: Horrified shoppers stop, stare and take photos of Miss Traide as she sits on a plinth wired up to 'electrodes' in the shop window

    By the time he had finished spooning food down her throat, she was choking, gagging and trying to break free.
    For the next ten hours, this attractive, 24-year-old artist was given injections, had her skin abraded and smothered in lotions and potions – then endured having a strip of her hair shaved off in front of stunned onlookers in one of Britain’s busiest streets.
      And somewhere else in the world, perhaps in a laboratory carrying out tests for an expensive new mascara, a helpless animal was being subjected to precisely the same treatment.

      The difference was that Jacqueline – publicly humiliated, shivering with cold and nursing the red-raw skin on her cheek – was free to go home when the experiment ended. 

      The animal would have suffered a miserable death.

      Making a point: Oliver Cronk force-feeds Miss Traide while attached to a mesh of wires to represent electrodes in a stunt designed in protest against animal testing



      Strong-headed: Miss Traide has her hair shaved as is often the case with laboratory animals. Humane Society International and Lush Cosmetics have joined forces to launch the largest-ever global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics



      Stunned: Shoppers text and ring friends in shock and disbelief at what they are seeing as Jacqueline lies on a plinth with her eyes bandaged


      Jacqueline volunteered for her starring role in the deliberately shocking performance to underline a campaign aimed at drawing attention to the pain and cruelty inflicted on animals during laboratory tests on cosmetics.

      Dressed in nothing but a flesh-coloured body stocking, she was put on display in the shop window of Lush cosmetic store’s branch in Regent Street, London, to re-enact widely used tests.

      The ‘cruelty-free’ chain is helping to spearhead a Humane Society International campaign to end cosmetic testing on animals.

      Thousands of shoppers, tourists and office workers witnessed Jacqueline, a social sculpture student at Oxford Brookes university, being roughly manhandled and administered by performance artist Oliver Cronk, dressed as a clipboard-toting lab technician. 

      Her eyes streamed from an irritant he sprayed into them at intervals and her arm began to bleed when she struggled to resist an injection.


      Stunt: The Oxford Brookes university student was 'experimented' on by performance artist Oliver Cronk, dressed as a clipboard-toting lab technician



      Public stage: Passengers craned from open-top buses as passersby took mobile phone footage of the spectacle before signing a petition or simply turning and walking away



      Perhaps the most startling moment was when he gripped her head and used electronic clippers to shave a large strip from her hairline – common practice in laboratories when monitors or electrodes need to be attached to an animal’s skin.
      Passengers craned from open-top buses as passersby took mobile phone footage of the spectacle – before signing a petition or simply turning and walking away.

      Jacqueline, who appeared nervous when I spoke to her before she took up position, remained mute throughout her ordeal – but gave the clear impression that not all her pain was an act. 

      She told me: 'I hope it will plant the seed of a new awareness in people to really start thinking about what they go out and buy and what goes into producing it.'

      Moments later, someone fastened the rope around her neck.


      A bit too real: Jacqueline remained mute throughout her ordeal ¿ but gave the clear impression that not all her pain was an act



      Terrifying: Some of the paraphernalia used on Jacqueline as the protesters attempted to closely mimic the conditions which face animals in labs around the world



      Lush campaign manager Tamsin Omond said: 'The ironic thing is that if it was a beagle in the window and we were doing all these things to it, we’d have the police and RSPCA here in minutes. 

      But somewhere in the world, this kind of thing is happening to an animal every few seconds on average. 
      The difference is, it’s normally hidden. We need to remind people it is still going on.'

      Scientists have long used laboratory animals for medical and drug testing and continue to do so. 

      'But although animal testing for cosmetics was banned in the EU three years ago, it is still legal in Britain to sell products animal-tested in other parts of the world, including the USA and Canada. In China, such testing is a legal requirement.

      Humane Society spokeswoman Wendy Higgins said it was ‘morally unthinkable’ that cosmetic companies should continue to profit from animal suffering, adding there could be ‘no justification for subjecting animals to pain for the sake of producing lipstick and eye shadow’.

      Dr Chris Flower, director general of the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumeries Association (CTPA), said: 'People may have been understandably shocked by the publicity stunt arranged by Lush in their Regent Street shop window recently.

      'It may give the misleading impression that cosmetic products are tested on animals for sale in Europe whereas the testing of cosmetic products on animals was banned in Britain in 1998 and throughout Europe in September 2004.

      'It has been established by the European Commission's scientific expert committee that the safety of a finished product can be determined by knowledge of its ingredients. Testing the product on animals is not necessary.

      'The cosmetics industry has been at the forefront of the search for alternatives and has led to the development of many non-animal safety tests that are now routinely used for its ingredients.

      'It is the cosmetics industry that is now promoting the use of these alternatives in countries that currently require animal testing. 

      'It is a pity that Lush chose to run this campaign in a country where the testing of cosmetic products on animals is banned and which has the strictest animal welfare provisions regarding the use of animals for scientific purposes anywhere in the EU.

      'It is a pity the campaign is directed at an industry that has done more than any other to develop and promote the use of alternatives.'


      Reblogged from dailymail.co.uk

      Thursday 21 June 2012

      Festival fashion inspiration with Alexa Chung.

      Ever wanted how to look effortlessly chic while knee high in mud at your favourite festival?

      Take some style advice from Alexa Chung who really does show us how it's done properly. Straighteners in one hand...a PET recycled cup filled with red wine in the other.















      Tuesday 19 June 2012

      New styles added to our UniQue range

      Collar style necklaces are all the rage this year, so we've brought you our sin on this awesome design.

      This stainless steel.

      Think lazer cut.

      Think one piece.

      And you get our UniQue collar necklaces.





      Thursday 14 June 2012

      H&M to collaborate with avant-garde Belgian label Maison Martin Margiela



      Maison Martin Margiela has confirmed that it will be the next designer brand to collaborate with H&M, launching a collection worldwide on November 15.

      The Paris-based label, whose elusive Belgian founder left the company in 2009, is much revered in the fashion industry for its avant-garde aesthetic.

      And though it does not share the same megabrand status as past H&M collaborators Versace and Jimmy Choo, a cut-price range is likely to enjoy the same kind of success if the excitement surrounding the announcement is any indication.

      Maison Martin Margiela will launch a high street collection at H&M in November


      Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M, said: 'Maison  Martin Margiela is one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades.
       
      'I am so excited by this radical collaboration which will give fashion lovers around the world the chance to wear special pieces. This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment.'
      The industry is already abuzz with the prospect of the chance to buy Margiela at H&M prices.

      First reported in WWD, it was quickly picked up a number of other fashion news outlets. Grazia Daily wrote: 'We're impressed to see the Swedish high-street chain mixing it up by going down the avant-garde route.'

      And Racked commented that the collaborators could be a good fit, because 'the disposable nature of H&M clothing actually kind of lends itself to quirky pieces that are fun to dress up in once or twice but aren't going to make up the bulk of your wardrobe.'

      But some fashion insiders argue that a mass-produced line is the antithesis of everything Margiela stands for, and that his style signature may not translate well on a budget.

      'Teaming with H&M shows they want to raise public awareness to the house, and that’s a big step for the label'
      NYMag.com wrote: 'Deconstructed designs can look amazing when they're well-made from high-quality fabrics, but when they're not, they can just look, well, shoddy.'

      Gabriele Hackworthy, fashion director at Harper's Bazaar UK, believes that a large-scale collaboration would be a major departure for the Margiela label.

      'It is a surprising collaboration,' she said. 'Historically, Margiela has cultivated a mythic quality to their brand. They’ve never advertised or aspired to communicate in a mass-market way.

      'Mr Margiela had always remained elusive. Teaming with H&M shows they want to raise public awareness to the house, and that’s a big step for the label.

      REBLOGGED FROM: www.thedailymail.com

      Friday 8 June 2012

      Fashion revolutions - The Mini Skirt




      Why was the mini skirt seen to be one of the most enduring and controversial icons of the era despite its ancient existence? Stylised by Welsh fashion designer Mary Quant during the mid 60’s the skirt provoked political and cultural discussion. It brought women empowerment, independence and a desire to please, along with the attention to what had been hidden years before—a woman’s legs.

      Previous to the 1960’s no specific clothes were produced for young adults, rather one was expected to dress like their mother. However, youth protests and demands for individual expression revealed that young adults were gaining a self-conscious awareness of themselves as a distinct and unified group (Cawthorne 1999). During the growth of feminism young girls were seen to be more independent; their views on politics differed from that of their parents and a dramatic increase in women attending universities and entering the workforce appeared. This demonstrating the youths attempts for independence through their rebellious attitudes.
         
      Although initially being designed by Quant, the miniskirt was further developed by André Courrèges, a French designer who saw the skirt go international. He altered hemlines to make the skirt look sophisticated and mature allowing them to be accepted into French haute couture. Debates between Quant and Courrèges were common yet Mary believed “It wasn’t me or Courrèges who invented the miniskirt anyway—it was the girls in the street who did it.” Both accepted the social changes and saw the skirt to be a turning point in fashion for youths.



      Reblogged from: 
      http://diornoir.blogspot.co.uk/


      Love Emi. xXx

      Thursday 7 June 2012

      Anna Della Russo jewellery collection at H&M!


      Anna Dello Russo to design an over-the-top accessories collection for H&M

      H&M is proud to announce a special collaboration with fashion icon and legendary Fashion Director Anna Dello Russo. An idol of the blogosphere whose flamboyant outfits are endlessly documented by style photographers and broadcasted globally through the web, Anna Dello Russo proved her unique sense of style creating a special collection of accessories for H&M. Unabashedly glamorous, precious and playful, the range is an expression of Dello Russo’s taste for ornamentation. Available from October 4, 2012, at the peak of the global fashion weeks tour, in around 140 stores worldwide and online. The collection features jewelry, sunglasses, shoes, bags and a trolley allowing H&M customers uniqueness at an affordable price.


      “I am excited by this collaboration: this is the first time H&M involves a Fashion Director in a special project. This is the sign of an important evolution in fashion, and I am both thrilled and humbled to be the one chosen to lead it. I wanted to create precious accessories that are impossible to find.  As a stylist I know accessorization is essential: it is the personal touch to any outfit. With these pieces everybody can have fun, turning an ordinary day into a fantastic fashion day”, says Anna Dello Russo.

      “It’s been extremely exciting to involve Anna Dello Russo in this project, something completely different from what we have done before. Anna has a fantastic eye and a strong taste, apart from being a veritable fashion icon. She produced an extravagant range of accessories that will get H&M customers and everyone in love with fashion excited. The collection is a celebration of excess, fantasy and decoration” says Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M.

      Famously described by photographer Helmut Newton as a “fashion maniac”, Anna Dello Russo is one of contemporary fashion’s driving forces. An unparalleled eye, she has shaped the way we see fashion today through her groundbreaking work at Vogue Italia, where she served as a Fashion Editor for over twelve years working with photographers such as Helmut Newton, Michel Comte, Walter Chin, and later as the Editor in Chief of L’Uomo Vogue. Currently holding the role of Fashion Director at Large and creative consultant at Vogue Japan, Dello Russo is a darling of the fashion bloggers, whom she likes to please with extravagant get-ups, and countless changes of outfits, during the world’s fashion weeks.


      Information about Anna Dello Russo: www.annadellorusso.com

      Sunday 3 June 2012

      New jewellery at Amoreee Boutique!

      With the new season comes a brand new collection!

      Head on over to Amoreee Boutique where our new styles have landed! Can't wait to see, check out some below.