WITH LOVE & SQUALOR | Zac Posen Shutters His Business: What Does This Mean For The Fashion And Retail Industry?

We all remember the moment at the 2016 Met Gala when the lights dimmed, red carpet chatter silenced into hushed gasps, and heads turned to see Claire Danes step out in a ball gown that shined brighter than the explosion of camera flashes that quickly ensued. The whimsical piece constructed out of sheer organza and fiber optics was the fashion moment of the year — the LED gown fused other-wordly glamour with contemporary polish, a timeless silhouette with cutting-edge technology, and could only have been a creation of the legendary Zac Posen. I was immediately infatuated with his ceaseless passion for experimentation and

innovation — each custom gown jaw-dropping in a new way — paired with his unwavering vision as an artist, each piece unmistakably his. Zac Posen became my idol that night. I saw everything I aspired to be in him — not only his early entrepreneurial spirit or his comedic persona as a Project Runway judge, but also, above all else, his devotion to cultivating his own artistic vision in an industry saturated with redundancy. So, last Friday, November 1st, Zac Posen shook the fashion industry when he announced that he was closing the shutters of his eponymous label.

BOO! How to Survive⁠—and Thrive⁠—During Scorpio Season

Happy Halloween and Happy Spooky SZN! It’s no coincidence that Halloween (and every U.S. presidential election) falls when the sun is in Scorpio, the most mysterious, scary, and downright frightening of all 12 Zodiac signs. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, God of the darkest elements of the underworld and all things supernatural. This sign is also ruled by Mars, the planet of action, aggression, and desire — as well as, of course, the seductive and secretive Scorpion. 

Indeed, many Scorpios have a protective layer at the surface and it may take a lot of time and trust for them to show any vulnerability at all. However, when they do open their hearts, expect an emotional intensity deeper than anything you’ve ever felt before.

Livia Caligor | Silver Gelatin Prints

WITH LOVE & SQUALOR | The 6 Train

Last spring, I took the 6 train from the periphery of Spanish Harlem to my office in Soho every day. I remember the way I’d limp up the hill at the cross section of 110th Street, peering into the backlit shadow of the subway stop at the end of the street, blasting Bowie classics to cancel out the whisper of catcalls around me. My blouse clung to the small of my back as I entered the station, which was already cramped and humid before dawn. I embarked the vehicle each morning with a leather knapsack, a ziploc bag of grapes for the road, and a pair of kitten heels I’d change into at my second to last stop. 

Passengers would come and go as the subway raced and paused between stops. Ninety-sixth. Seventy-seventh.

XYLYLS | The Privilege of Loss

I try to catalogue everything that happens, maybe to the brink of obsession. To that point, I have three pillars on which I rely to retell what is effectively my story: my Google calendar, a five-year Hobonichi, and my bullet journal. I’m obnoxiously type A with my calendar—I record any deviation from schedule, MCAT studying, impromptu kickbacks with friends, working out, journaling, etc. To supplement that, I start every morning by journaling in my Hobonichi. This particular 2019 – 2023 design reserves one spread for each calendar date, five divided rows for each year.

EDITORS ANECDOTE | Oops, I Exposed My Feelings

So recently I found myself in a tragic, embarrassing situation that may as well be straight from a viral college tweet. I mean, take the infamous “I am worried” email sent to a professor and multiply the awkwardness by twenty to get something near the level of cringe of my situation. Let me explain: Picture a neurotic student at the onset of mid-semester depression with enough angst and loathing to fill every non-ergonomic slidey chair of MVR G71. This was me. It was quiz day in Biochem, which is otherwise known as that day every week when we study 80 slides worth of stupidly specific knowledge only to be tested on five of those things in a timed, true/false format.

ROVINE | Libra Season: Time to Find Balance, Beauty, and Love

 

Every September 23rd, we say farewell to Virgo season. We express our gratitude to the ever-so orderly and rule-abiding Virgin for getting us back on track after that wild Leo end of the summer 🙂 Alas, Virgo brought us back down to Earth- and back to the library. If you’re already feeling burnt out from the stress of September, you are not alone! Rest assured, a calming and pleasant air sign has swept in with its cool breeze and abundance of balance and beauty to soothe the scaries. Read on to make the most of the exquisite energy in the air, regardless of your own star sign…

SKATCH | A Love Letter To My Parents

Dear Mom & Dad,

How are you? Is the sun shining? Are you doing well? It’s two days into the school year and the stack of papers on my desk is already more than I can carry. Instead of tackling that parchment pile of pain, I watched a movie (don’t get mad at me) called “Beautiful Boy” about a father and his meth-addicted son, whom he loved very much.

RUMINATIONS | Thanks CU, Next?

For a period of time in my childhood, I thought Cornell was the only college. I didn’t understand the concept of a University, but I had also been conditioned well. I was shaking an upside-down newspaper at a hockey game when I was in elementary school. Most of my role models, family, family friends, and others I met along the way, had gone to Cornell. I had heard fascinating stories, met inspiring alumni, and knew I wanted to be a part of the tradition.

EAT SLEEP REPEAT | The Best Places On Campus to Fuel Your Ice Addiction

Confession time: I am that annoying girl in your math lecture that obnoxiously munches on ice the entire time. But honestly, how could I not? I have math in Klarman G01, and right outside the door is the ice machine at Zeus cafe. Not only can I fill my bottle with unlimited ice, but it’s also objectively the BEST kind of ice — those little pellets with the grooves in them so that when you eat them it feels like you’re eating popcorn. Ok so, yes, I kind-of sort-of maybe have a problem with ice munching.

DESTROYING JOTENHEIM | “Left” Behind

 

Have you ever had to sit segregated from your group of friends in lecture? Have you ever had to walk into a classroom and step over countless feet on your way to the most inaccessible corner of the room? Or have you had to take notes glancing at the board over your shoulder? Congratulations. You experience what is known as “right-hand privilege.”

As a northern-based and higher institution, Cornell’s self-proclaimed dedication to being at the “forefront” of inclusive diversity seems to be a foregone conclusion—so typical of what one would naturally assume for a university like this, that it’s easy to forget to check whether the college is actually following through.