FF:  It’d be lovely if you could tell us a little bit about yourself. What has been your educational background thus far? Which things spark your interest the most in your daily life? If you couldn’t have been a fashion designer, what other path would you have taken?

FF: Is there something that you are particularly proud of having achieved, say a milestone in your career?

Maria Lola Roche : Winning UCD Young Designer of the Year 2012 was an amazing moment in my career as it was a national competition and I faced tough competition. It was voted on by a panel of industry experts, including Stellar and Kiss Magazine Editor Corina Gaffney, Lisa Fitzpatrick and Courtney Smith.

Last year top Italian international designer Marco Vincenzo [Fendi] chose my design ‘Ribbon’ out of 100 entrants, as one of the pieces shortlisted for the Irish Peroni Awards. This was another big moment for myself, as I was only in second year in college and up against designers who had already worked in big fashion houses, attended St. Martins, and who had many years experience.

This year I secured a place among the ten finalists in the 2013 DIT Vodafone Awards, out of 40 entrants. The Irish Independent fashion editor, Barbara Power, was on the judging panel.

If you’re in it for excessive violence, then The Purge most likely isn’t for you. Not to say that it isn’t violent, but you will probably have seen more violent, and it won’t live up to your expectation. But, first things first. The Purge is open for anyone over 15 – which is I assume due to the “acceptable” level of violence it portrays. It shouldn’t be; the troubling backdrop idea, that for 12 hours each year people are free to use all and any violence against each other, and the fact that this violence is glorified as doing good, and contains an almost cultish aspect of purging oneself from “sin”, is nothing fifteen year olds should be seeing.

The Purge allows people to return into an assumed state of nature, within which, little rules apply. Through purging others, through killing, they are supposedly ridding themselves of the evil inside and outside, of what is part of the nature of a human being. This catharsis once every year grants people to live in peace for the remaining days. This appears to have a strong occult and religious background. Especially as in one of the last scene we can see a group of people holding hands and chanting the 28th Amendment, their right to purge before attacking their prey.

Another running image seems to be the social inequality in light of The Purge. Throughout the first scenes of the movie the audience can hear tv stations playing in the background, where experts speak against the purge, claiming it is purely to rid society of the poor, sick and homeless. Ultimately, the ones that cannot afford to protect themselves and which are the easiest targets.
This theme reappears throughout the movie, especially when a group of self proclaimed “educated and rich” youngsters demand to kill a homeless person which has sought refugee. As said homeless “pig” does not deserve to live.

Finally, greed and jealousy. Dead sins. The 1% living in gated communities are, as the movie shows not any better than the people they are protecting themselves from. If neighbours attack one another “merely because” one family has made more money than they have, then I take the moral of the story that everyone can become a savage and that is what’s troubling.

Your daughter’s boyfriend might want to kill you, your friend might shoot you and your neighbours hunt you.

Points for excellent acting go towards Rhys Wakefield. Probably one of the most insane mimics I have seen from a young actors.
Obviously, the movie had shortcomings, such as the question why the family didn’t have a panic room in their home, or why they wouldn’t stick together throughout the night..

“The Purge is a necessary release that cleanses the soul and America at once. We continue to defend your right to purge as enshrined by the 28th Amendment, and the observance of an annual purge remains a cornerstone of America, a nation reborn.”

Have you seen it? What were your thoughts?

Baz Luhrman has seemingly done it again. With his unique directing style, a pitch-perfect cast, incredibly colourful and vivid shots, and a rather original soundtrack, he was able to recount a story, which admittedly is not that easy to portray – given its deep meaning and symbolism.

Just as with Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, Baz Luhrman immediately throws us into the sophisticated, glamorous, aggressive chaos of 1920s Long Island and Manhattan. Respectfully, attentively and effectively following the book’s plot, Luhrman carries us with Carraway’s voice through the latter’s experience of Gatsby’s parties and lifestyle. But most importantly, through Gatsby’s relentless efforts at achieving his dreams, at “repeating the past”, with his unique and genuine optimism and hope.

This is what appears on the surface. But shot after shot, scene after scene, and certainly by the end of the film, the audience cannot but assertively agree that really, the character who leads the story in the film is indeed the Great Gatsby himself, … or, to give him full and deserved credit; that is acknowledging Leonardo DiCaprio himself.

The Great Gatsby must surely be the pinnacle of his long acting career. I admittedly have been in complete awe of the skills he so wonderfully showcased – his facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language through which he portrayed the multifaceted personality of Gatsby. The dreams, hopes, doubts and fears.

But he’s not the only one who gave life to this movie. Having always been a great advocate of Carey Mulligan’s ability to say so much with so little words – only by using her facial expressions and body language – she certainly did not let me down this time either.

On top of the at times mesmerizing directing and acting, I must comment (that is jump on the bandwagon) on the vivid, colourful and somehow effectively aggressive screenplay (how incredibly shocking and destabilising are the scenes of the party at Catherine’s place, and of course, at Gatsby’s mansion!?). Especially highlighting the recurrent themes such as the green light and Dr. Eckleburg’s looming eyes, constantly reminding us of Fitzgerald’s symbolism and giving credibility to a movie beyond Hollywood Boxoffices.

Given that the cast and the screenplay so wonderfully exceeded what I imagined Fitzgerald’s novel to be portrayed on a 2013 screen – to be fair, we all know how terrible movies made from books can be – the soundtrack became the cherry on top. Furthermore it fits perfectly into Luhrman’s style of combining classic and modern/contemporary elements (as he for example did in his Romeo + Juliet). I admire this brave choice of music of his because it effectively conveyed the fight between present and past, reality and dreams, pragmatism and ambitious hopes, ultimately transporting us into a far-away, timeless and utopian place, yet so close to everyone’s hearts.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning– So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Ch. 9

Giulia Bruni Roccia

If you wish to relax and take time off, does it make sense that others are free to play instruments, munch pizza and unleash their cheesy feet into the world?

Forms in Nature is a artwork with a light source surrounded by a dense and unruly tree and root system created in minature sculpture. The forest is mirrored around it’s horizontal central axis and forms a circle 360 degrees around the light source and thereby leads one onto the notion of a real world versus an underworld.”
“Interestingly, the roots are those elements of the forest that are the most visible. Thereby the sculpture is not only mirrored, but also turned upside down in Hilden & Diaz’ artwork. As the intensity of the light source increases, the room changes and the space slowly becomes more and more fascinating and unheimlich.

The shadows engulfs the room and transforms the walls into unruly shadows of branches, bushes and gnarled trees. Mirrorings are thrown out upon the walls and ceilings and provide weak Rorschach-like hints of faces, life and flow of
consciousness. Diming the lights transforms the installation and one senses a weak fire burning deep in the center of the forest.”
Taken from http://www.hildendiaz.dk/

Their project is under production!!

What I found comforting though was that generally the more eclectic the hats got, the more mute the colours were, which is an excellent solution should these be worn out ( out of the fashion crowd that is).

If you search inspiration from previous years please be my well hatted guest : Inspo

So, will you go to Ascot to stare at horses? If so, which hat will you sport for Ascot?

Designs by : Aurora Ozma, Emma Yeo, Moody and Farrell, Piers Atkinson, William Chambers in no particular order.

Personally, I’m terribly intrigued by the leather turban. Or maybe this option? :
(Please don’t mind the quality – my camera was dosed up with free champagne by the time it decided to snap..)