Sunday 4 September 2011

100 Years of Fashion? Or doom for the East End?

A couple of my friends have shared this video with me:


It is pretty damn clever and fun, and I envy whoever got to do the styling for it.  But I have to say that the fact that it's advertising a shopping mall leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  And I find it entirely depressing that, after all the lovely urban backdrops, the dancers finish up in a shiny, soulless Westfield.  It's less a celebration of style through the ages, more a portent of doom.  Okay, okay, that's a little melodramatic.  But, if you have a look at the shops which are opening up at Westfield Stratford, they're all generic chains that could be anywhere in England.  Imagine the East End turning into a sanitised shopping mall - what an awful thought!

But, you know, still a fun video!  The 1940s is definitely the best bit.  And I think it's sweet and strangely poignant when the boy disappears for a few beats as he goes off to war...

2 comments:

  1. That video is amazing. But i agree with you when you say it's annoying how it is advertising a shopping centre.
    I really like your blog name.
    Carla
    redpunzel-Carla.blogspot.com

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  2. Hmmm ... that almost doesn't even make sense if they're trying to make a positive advertisement, because all the beauty and emotion has been washed out, cleaned up! Lovely, clever run through clothes and dance fashion though. The 30s,40,50s & 60s definitely the best. Some dodgy fashions later!

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