Lure of the Label

Lately, the call of the high-end fashion label hasn’t just been a little Chinese whisper circling my head. In fact, there’s nothing Chinese about it at all. Think more along the lines of: made in Milan.

Whether it’s the impending due dates of assessments which make me dream more, my newfound interest in horoscopes or my burning desire to be SBS’s Lee Lin Chin’s stylist; I have suddenly taken a liking to high-end labels.

In the past I though Chanel was a neologism of the more correctly spelt ‘channel’. I thought LV was a popular pattern my family in Vietnam liked to use for their manchester. And I thought Targét was a rather reputable brand.

Clearly it doesn’t take anymore than daylight savings and the colour of Michael Jackson’s face to tell me times have changed.

There is some justification of my new love however.

If we all bought one Prada bag, instead of five or Proda bags- the world would be a better place.

Buying good quality items not only makes you consume less as the item’s versatility and longevity will outlast the item of inferior quality, it is also more likely that the better quality bag supports workers and companies who work under ethical conditions and wages.

High-end shopping can be seen as a boycott to all third world, child and sweatshop labour. I guess you could say we’re doing little three-year-old Chakrabandhu from Thailand a favour.

It does make me wonder though… How else will he and his family find a source of income?

Anyway, back to Louis Vuitton. I believe cravings and guilt are what makes us live. It’s probably the only way to live.

Our craving for the weekend gets us through work. Our craving for sex with remotely attractive people pushes us out the door and into a nightclub. And the guilt we feel when we bite into that Sparkle cupcake makes the chocolate icing and strawberry pieces taste that much sweeter.

There’s a lesson to be learnt in the economic crisis- desperate times call for desperate measures.

For example, Kevin Rudd swears on national live television and is almost heroically portrayed as just a normal human being. Right, because his apologies for yelling at a flight attendant for serving an incorrect meal and using taxpayer money to fund a striptease American holiday didn’t quite tell me that he’s a bit dodgy.

Even president Obama attempted to tick all the popularity boxes when he became the first American president to appear on a late night talk show. He then of course decided to insult people with special needs. O ma ma, Obama (couldn’t help, had to include that one!).

Next thing you know, Amanda Vanstone will try to regain popularity too by joining Dancing With the Stars. Yeah- not pretty. There’s a fine line between being obese, and being an insurance liability.

My point is: spending is good. As the government hands out $900 to most of us, we deserve to spend it on luxuries which will make us feel better. We’ve worked damn hard for it. Nothing cures exam stress like a brand new leather jacket. Right?

Now, back to facebook…

When Travel no Longer Requires Movement

Ukraine has officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), becoming the 152nd member.

WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy, has welcomed Ukraine as a new member, saying that it is “a significant step for the WTO as this new membership will strengthen the multilateral trading system”.

“We will continue facilitating fuller integration into the world economy of other developing countries,” Mr Lamy said.

Ukrainian economic service and commercial head, Volodymyr Baluta, said Ukraine will reassure the WTO that it is ready to participate in the Doha round trade (liberalisation) negotiations and to the process of accession of other countries.

So thanks to global forces we have this compression of a time/space nexus, where the one body who rules over us can be made of many bodies, 152 of them.

This rests on the idea that there are no physical boundaries, making us global citizens who want more, faster, and expect more, more conveniently.

It’s affecting all of us.

Whether it’s the internet connection or people who stand on the right hand side of the elevator, we have an obsession for things to happen quickly. We want to advance to greater degrees in less time.

Our obsession with the Corby family is an example of our craving to want to know everything ‘on-demand’, as well as our love affair with laughing at bimbos getting punished.

During Schappelle Corby’s hearing in 2005 all television networks and many websites had live footage of the decision which saw Schapelle cry as her sentenced as handed down, much like if you took Kate Moss’ cocaine away and gave her a steak.

Schapelle, later in denial, proceeded to prove she is a beauty student after all, touching wood, by hitting herself several times on the head. We all remember that scene.

Schapelle’s case also shows how we can be selective though, as no one really cares about her sister Mercedes’ case against Channel Seven. Testifying you haven’t taken drugs but have only posed with a bong in your mouth is like Paris Hilton saying there was no sex tape but she was just recording her audition for Big Brother.

It’s clear that by expecting to know such copious amounts of information, mainly that which is overseas, we develop a demanding mentality.

This ranges from sms updates of the footy, Foxtel IQ or how Australia’s red-light district has grow from urban streets to entire states- Tasmania. On that note it’s probably fair to say we come to conclusions quicker too (pun intended).

Female rapper, Lil Kim, illustrates this concept of getting what you want from anywhere.

The Lady Marmalade singer who had her Bentley towed away because she forgot to make her loan repayments, helps the global economy buy purchasing her breasts from Denmark, hair from England and lips from the US.

These growing expectations in lifestyle also relate to concepts of space, as migration; holidays; dual citizenship and multinational corporations together with technology shows how one’s sense of belonging is not geographically restricted.

Because travel allows us to cross cultural borders, we are able to undertake exotic experiences. For example, Joss Stone sleeping with both White-Anglo and European men, and indeed any men, promotes multiculturalism and illustrates the concept of being a global citizen. Or a global whore.

Also showing how you can work at one place and have fun at another, is Kevin Rudd.

Rudd’s election campaign last year came to a halt on second base when reports surfaced claiming Rudd had been to a ‘gentlemen’s club’ in Manhattan, Scores. Rudd then scored himself a home run.

He won the election too.