Established 1961 22 T Thursday, March 14, 2019 L i f e s t y l e Fe a t u r e s ‘Style muse’: Meghan’s rise to a royal fashionista er jackets and jeans, bangles and bags can instantly those cost,” Ross said. She estimates her wardrobe at send tongues wagging and designers’ sales soaring. about 500,000 pounds ($657,750) a year. HSince being catapulted into the global spotlight as Prince Harry’s girlfriend in 2016, Meghan’s outfits have been scrutinized and copied, often crashing websites sell- While becoming a ‘Styletrendsetter, muse’ Meghan, named 2018’s ing her apparel. Fashion blogs and social media accounts best dressed woman by People magazine, has stayed loyal dedicated to the American’s style have mushroomed, just to smaller brands she wore before her global fame. The as they sprang up for her sister-in-law Kate, Prince 37-year-old, who used to film drama “Suits” in Toronto, William’s wife, allowing followers to comment on her latest has worn Canadian labels Mackage, Aritzia and Line the sleek looks usually in a monochrome palette. “The Meghan Label. For casualwear, she has worn J.Crew and brands effect is this economic phenomenon similar to the Kate known for their environmental and social credentials: a effect...where if she wears it, it turns to gold,” said Reformation dress, Veja sneakers, Outland Denim jeans Christine Ross, co-editorial director of Meghan’s Mirror and jewelry made from recycled metal. “Meghan carved fashion blog, describing Meghan’s style as “very on trend this niche for supporting these sustainable fashion and modern”. Almost everything she wears up to and brands,” Holly Rains, digital editor at magazine Marie around the $300 or 300 pound-mark, a pretty high price Claire UK, said. “People are now going to Meghan as a point, sells out, she added. style muse...She crashes sites.” It is particularly her more Designer dresses, luxury handbags and stylish stilettos affordable accessories that are snapped up by consumers. are the fashion dream of many women, but for a young “The jewelry, the bags, the belts is where we can dip in royal they are the staple of an everyday wardrobe. For her and get that kind of Meghan touch to our outfits,” Rains busy royal diary, the now Duchess of Sussex usually wears said. Ross said Meghan’s casual jean looks proved popular expensive labels, namely French couture house Givenchy with readers. Her maternity wear as she awaits her first Meghan Markle whose British artistic director Clare Waight Keller child is also eagerly followed. “She’s done a lot of bespoke designed Meghan’s wedding dress. Dior, Ralph Lauren, pieces, a lot of customization pieces that aren’t maternity Spencer and her second wedding gown was a halterneck London, student Savanah Edwards said Meghan’s “classic” Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta are among other at all and it’s really been a difference,” Ross said. dress by Stella McCartney. “She should, as an English style was having an impact. “I personally cannot afford formal and eveningwear go to brands. “Meghan’s Royal fashion expert Michael Talboys said he hoped to duchess, really be patronizing English designers and pro- anything that she wears but it does influence me to try wardrobe is really unique because there are so many see Meghan wear more British labels. She has worn items moting them in the eyes of the world,” he said. Kate fre- new pieces,” she said. — Reuters bespoke pieces in it and we’ll really never know how much from UK brands Victoria Beckham, Strathberry, Marks & quently wears British high street dresses. On the streets of Clean-cut K-pop Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) embroiled in S Korean sex scandal ith wholesome looks after the scandal broke,” Lee and increasingly global said. “Both have engaged in illicit fanbases, K-pop has and corrupt activities to gain Wsold its stars as the ultimate fame and wealth.” squeaky clean pin-ups. But a burgeoning sex scandal in the industry shows how pervasive discrimination and abuse are in South Korean society, activists say. In the space of just two days, singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young and BIGBANG boy- band member Seungri have announced their retirements from showbusiness. Jung, 30, admitted filming himself having sex and sharing the footage without his partners’ consent, while Seungri-real name Lee Seung-hyun-is embroiled in a sex-for-investment criminal investigation. Both were mem- bers of the same chatroom where Jung and others shared illicit content of at least 10 women, according to broadcast- er SBS. The South has been bat- This picture shows Seungri, a tling a growing epidemic of so- member of popular K-pop boy called “molka”, or spycam group Big Bang, arriving for ques- videos-mostly of women, secret- tioning over criminal allegations ly filmed by men. But K-pop at the Seoul Metropolitan Police stars generally cultivate clean- Agency in Seoul. — AFP cut images-and are actively pro- moted by the South Korean gov- ernment as a key cultural export. Revenge porn Models present cre- Many face tremendous pressure Reaction among BIGBANG ations by Pakistani to look and behave perfectly in fans has been divided, some designer Sana an industry powered by so- expressing anger and disap- called “fandoms”-groups of pointment, others disbelief and Safinaz on the first well-organized admirers at home support. Some overseas admir- day of the Fashion and abroad who spend enor- ers posted online photographs Pakistan Week (FPW) mous amounts of time and mon- of flowers and a hand-written in Karachi on March ey to help their favored stars note saying “I’ll wait for you on 12, 2019. —AFP climb up the charts and attack this flower road”-a BIGBANG their perceived rivals. lyric. Another tweeted that they With fortunes at stake they did not want to believe the accu- would have more to lose than sation, adding: “I’m tired of all most by being embroiled in a this and in pain. I admired scandal, even after a wave of Seungri for a long time and he #MeToo accusations in the still made me smile in my worst socially conservative South over days.” But a group of South the past year. Lee Moon-won, a Korean fans urged his expulsion popular culture critic in Seoul, from the band, saying he had said the multilingual Seungri- “significantly damaged the who has multiple business inter- team’s reputation”. For South ests-was popularly seen as “ide- Korean women’s activists, the al cultural export”. “Most of his scandal is unsurprising. As well fans would agree that Seungri is as secretly filming women in an exceptionally hard working schools, toilets and offices, star,” Lee told AFP. “On top of “revenge porn”-videos men take his singing career, he somehow of themselves having sex with mastered Japanese and Chinese, their exes or partners filmed which made him a very useful without the women’s consent-is member whenever BIGBANG believed to be equally wide- visited those countries. spread. In a society where “Learning two foreign languages patriarchal values are still deeply while being a K-pop star is defi- ingrained, circulation of such nitely not an easy thing.” Seungri content can significantly damage was interviewed by police at the a woman’s reputation. According weekend over accusations he to Han Sol, an activist at Flaming lobbied potential investors by Feminist Action, spycam videos offering them the services of have long been watched and prostitutes at nightclubs in shared by South Korean men as Seoul’s posh Gangnam district. a form of entertainment and a The 29-year-old is also linked to way to strengthen their “broth- a police investigation into erly ties”. Last year, Seoul sever- Burning Sun, a nightclub where al times witnessed thousands of he was a public relations direc- women protesting against spy- tor, where staff are alleged to cam vidoes as part of the coun- have filmed women with hidden try’s ongoing #MeToo move- cameras and used alcohol and ment. “This case just shows drugs to sexually assault them. that male K-pop stars are no Before the scandal, Seungri had exception when it comes to been nicknamed the “Great being part of this very disturb- Seungsby” after the protagonist ing reality that exploits of the Scott Fitzgerald novel the women,” women’s rights activist Great Gatsby, for his good looks, Bae Bok-ju told AFP. — AFP his seemingly successful busi- ness and the lavish parties he had thrown. “It’s ironic how Seungri and Gatsby turned out to have more things in common.