Slice Of Life Community

Editor in Chief: Cynthia Medina

APRÈS-SKI, BUT MAKE IT SEXY: Dsquared2 at Milan Fashion Week

In Milan, Dsquared2 staged its Fall/Winter 2026–27 Winter Games show as a snow-swept arena. The show felt like a homecoming for founding twins Dean and Dan Caten, who pulled their Canadian roots into a sharp, sexy homage to winter sports.

The collection reimagined everyday cold-weather gear into high-fashion statements. The womenswear featured sculpted outerwear and corseted mini dresses built from stacked puffers, an exaggerated, feminized take on a Canadian closet staple. Cropped hockey jackets, piped denim, and nylon trousers added a sporty edge, while bustiers, leggings, and wedge ski boots pushed the looks into sleek, cyber territory. Notes of icy glamour came through in high-shine latex tailoring and glossy nylon bombers with furry collars.

Their menswear explored exaggerated winter gear and athletic references, viewed through the twins' lens of Canadian style. Oversized puffers were layered over suits, alongside hockey jerseys, oversized snapbacks, padded vests, and biker jackets, all pieces designed to “move effortlessly between sport and street.”

Adding to the buzz, the show’s runway debut featured Hudson Williams, star of the cultural phenomenon Heated Rivalry (yes, Shane Hollander). Distressed denim bomber, Winter Games-style badge, skin-tight jeans, huge ski boots. It was exactly the kind of casting that makes sense for this brand. Hockey fantasy meets fashion fantasy, Canadian heritage meets pure sex appeal. ​​

See the full collection and more about Heated Rivalry here.

NEW YEAR, NEW RESOLUTIONS 💫

While the New Year is slowly settling into place, we’ve got to keep in mind that January winters don’t just bring bags of Goodwill donations and 2026 vision boards. They also bring style resolutions–your own personal ins and outs to add to your New Year’s intentions.

Vogue put this idea in my mind: why do we spend so much energy on resolutions we know we won’t keep, instead of putting that same energy into ones that make us feel confident, energized, and hot?

For example, I want to invest in worthwhile pieces and use the thrift store as a better resource. Think about all the people whose closets feed into one thrift store–you can find anything there. And for items like a well-fitting pair of jeans or a basic white tank, you can look to sustainable stores made with 100% cotton.

The ever-famous Project Pan is another mindful way to view spending. Keep the products you love, and for the ones that don’t work as well, finish them off–then replace them with something you know you’ll actually use. Mindfulness is so in, and so is personal style and preference.

BLAIR, YOU ARE AN EVIL DICTATOR OF TASTE

Everyone seems to have a hive-like mentality when it comes to dressing “on trend”, obeying faux fashion cognoscente’s in a cult-like fashion. It's critical to understand that influencers’ jobs are to market products, and that they’re often influenced just as much as you are to blindly participate in this consumeristic practice. Declaring “ins” and “outs” for the year is simply opinions based; inspired solely by the digital landscape or as a means of pushing products– not necessarily something that is data-backed or as a hypothesis for the outlook of fashion culture.

It's intriguing how these “ins” and “outs” can hypnotize audiences that an item or style is “so over”. Pinterest Predicts and WGSN are largely instrumental in identifying these upcoming trends and assigning key words to it during the early adoption stages of the fashion trend cycle curve. The x-axis of the chart is time itself, which can contain an infinite range of timeframes unique to the fashion trend. Each fashion piece or style can progress through their stages at varying intervals, so while the graph can be used as a general marker to assess when a trend is reaching different stages in popularity, there’s no defined guideline on how long they’ll stay in that stage. 

I find these influencers’ influence so fascinating, because oftentimes they aren’t keeping up with fashion trends in a research-like manner, so it's likely reaching them as a “new” trend at the cusp of its peak. All of these “ins” and “outs” by a variety of influencers are all just the noise of a million opinions. Yet, I realized something– it's usually the parasocial relationships that drive this hypnotic phenomenon.

With fashion’s deep relationship to self concept, alongside its tenure paralleling our formative years, it's easy to see why fashion conformity exists. The tribal effect in psychology is a sociological practice that explains this obsequious mentality, where we find a sense of belonging as linked to our self esteem (a la Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). This humanly necessary psychological proximity drives shared beliefs and values, which is why you often listen to influencers who you associate yourself with, as if you’re a part of their tribe. However, it deters anyone who doesn’t reinforce the group mentality, which is why it feels so hard to dress, or be different. 

And this is where the element of taste comes in. As Dan Humphrey once told Blair Waldorf, “You’re an evil dictator of taste”-- and similarly to everyone scavenging to be the first to hop on a new trend, she was searching for her identity via the art of fashion. Taste is a highly nuanced term, but I think it signifies an alchemy of instantaneous decisions and spiritual intuition that takes years to curate. Brie Wolfson’s Notes on Taste posits, “Taste is a muscle we don’t get enough exercise out of”. We’ve been trained to only seek convenience and deter laborious practices for proclaimed “efficiency” – but it's to the point where we find ourselves doom scrolling with a view. 

As another byproduct of our hyper dependence on technology, the AI pandemic spotlights a larger issue: using other people’s outfits as a crutch to emulate personal style, which nearly erodes the general concept of original, authentic style. It is up to you to decide your “ins” and “outs”, because without knowing yourself and what you like, you aren’t truly you.

It’s terrifying to take a risk, but there’s no sense in waiting for comfort to take a chance— you have to embrace the duality of risk and uncomfortability to be rewarded with growth. From Notes on Taste: “I also believe taste is something we can and should try to cultivate. Not because taste itself is a virtue, per se, but because I’ve found a taste-filled life to be a richer one. To pursue it is to appreciate ourselves, each other, and the stuff we’re surrounded by a whole lot more.”

An It Girl by Nature.😌

Is a muse still a fountain of inspiration and a prototype of true beauty in an empty room? As I began reading It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer, I realized I knew close to nothing about the actress and singer who I’ve called my muse for years.

Enlightened by the force of nature embodied in Jane Birkin, I’m now convinced that we–daughters of a how-to culture–are doing it all wrong. There is no guide, no YouTube tutorial to achieve Birkin’s essence.

It strikes me how unaware Birkin seemed of the power she carried. There was no calculated formula to her captivating presence. No ten-step beauty routine, no pre-planned Instagram feed. Birkin simply existed as she pleased: partying, acting, posing for magazines, falling in love. The way she moved through life feels like it lived right on the line between idleness and presence–often swept up by the waves of other people’s wants for her, yet somehow always tethered to her inner being.

Birkin never stopped being unapologetically herself. In the midst of insecurities, failed loves, and the inevitable valleys of life, she remained faithful to her intuition. That’s what made her a muse–and what will keep her one.

Classism in clothing (pt 2)✧₊⁺🕯⋆.˚୨ৎ

Last week, we dove into the concept that fashion’s primary evolution in history has been as a means of cultural capital. However, clothes were originally created as a functional tool for human survival. So how did a tool designed to protect the body turn into a social and political statement?

There are many potential origin points for this, but let’s start by examining the concept of Sumptuary Laws. Dating as far back as ancient Rome, Sumptuary Laws were initially established to restrict spending in excess. Predictably, the laws primarily applied to women – men often had a standard uniform of togas, while women were seen as an extension of the men in their lives, and therefore were used to express status.

The first Roman Sumptuary Law, the Lex Appia, designated that “no woman could possess more than a half ounce of gold, wear a stola, or dress, of different colors, or ride in a carriage in any city unless for a public ceremony”. These laws evolved further into a means to visually classify people of different social classes – for example, those that were peasants could only wear one color from head to toe.

From a modern lens, we see how these policies affect personal expression, compartmentalize members of social classes, and even restrict class mobility. These laws were viewed as a way to maintain social order, and in turn, began the pathway of clothing representing social status and hierarchy.

Next week, we’ll explore another period in history that solidified fashion’s social impact as it stands today. Stay tuned!

I’m Not Ignoring You, It’s Rush Week!👯

It’s rush here at Virginia Tech, and I can tell you–it’s been wild. I’ve officially been back for two weeks, and we closed out preference rounds just a few hours ago. I’ll take this moment to nod to my fellow sorority women, we don’t get enough credit for how much goes into these weeks. Especially for girls doing winter rush, we’re facing frigid weather in tiny dresses and heels, all while managing to look as flawless at 7 p.m. as we did at 5 a.m. that morning.

Truly, the only time I actually feel like I’m in a sorority is during recruitment. Strict silence in the hallways, filtering myself relentlessly around friends from different chapters, and pretending like I don’t know the Rho Gam who is definitely plastered all over my Instagram. Some rules are truly crazy. I’m constantly filtering what I say, what social media I look at, and don’t even get me started on YikYak.

I can’t help but admit I love it, though. This past week, I’ve spent more time with my fam than ever before, and I love seeing PNMs glow with the same excitement I did when I found my house.

So, for anyone going through this insane process: good luck, and trust it.

The Reign of Nostalgia: Are We Out of Original Ideas?📺

Lately, every other movie or show is a reboot, remake, or sequel to a legacy series. From the endless superhero movies to the revival of classic sitcoms, Hollywood seems stuck in a loop of rehashing old ideas. While there's comfort in revisiting familiar stories and characters, it begs the question: Are we running out of original ideas?

Nostalgia is a powerful tool. It evokes warm feelings and instant recognition, making it a safe bet for studios looking to minimize risk. But relying too heavily on the past can stifle creativity and prevent new voices from emerging. How can fresh talent break through when the spotlight is constantly on established franchises?

Ultimately, the balance lies in honoring the classics while embracing originality. Let's celebrate the reboots that work, but also demand stories that push boundaries and offer unique perspectives. The future of TV and film depends on it.

See you next week!