Kristen Bingle

Life Lessons: Mothers & Daughters
As a child and teenager, I had one perception of my mum; she knew everything. I thought she always got things right, never made mistakes and always knew what to do. I think this dangerous perception has as much to do with childlike naivety and the trust we have in our parents as it has to do with the expectations the world places on mothers.
When it comes to motherhood, everyone seems to have an opinion. What we believe mothers should be like, what they shoul...

Podcasts are the new creators of culture in 2020.
Feeding off communication – one of our most basic needs as humans – podcasts are actually revolutionising the way we relate to each other in this digital age. Leading conversations, impacting opinions, telling the most sought after stories and influencing the world around us – creating culture.

Fashion has always been synonymous with Britishness. High-end, couture brands like Burbery, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney exude luxury and tradition and are big names on the world’s stage. Worlds apart from couture and tradition, but still British in their own right, there exists a whole collective of independent brands making a name for themselves both at home and abroad.

The UK’s fashion scene is a movement all of its own and has been growing and developing at a crazy pace.

Seven weeks into lockdown, and life has slowed down for most of us. The panic and stress – remember when panic buying toilet paper was all the rage – of the first few weeks has subsided and we’re settling into a new normal.

Lockdown has meant adapting all parts of our lives, including our creativity. The normal ways in which we create have been cut off; but we haven’t stopped being creative. We’re finding new, innovative ways of expressing ourselves and pushing our artistic boundaries.

When will black lives matter enough for things to change?

The past few days have been heavy. People all over the world, but especially Black people have felt a wide spectrum of emotions; anger, helplessness, sadness, depression, fear, frustration, exhaustion.

The blatant murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin, the shooting of Ahmaud Abery on his run and the violent interuption of peaceful protests have all made the headlines...

Yesterday evening I sat chilling in the living room, with Sky News playing in the background. As anticipated the focus was on the protests. It was about 6pm and the live video showed a row of police standing in front of a few protestors. I rolled my eyes as I read a part of the caption below: ‘protestors clash with police.’ Of course! Once again, the thug/agitator narrative was being pushed.

Up until beginning my International Baccalaureate (IB) course at 18, I hardly read any black literature — I use the term black literature here to encompass writing by people of black heritage in the diaspora, as well as in Africa. Whether this was conscious or subconscious choice, I couldn’t tell you.

Interview with London rapper Double S.

Sonia Vero is a 26 year old fashion stylist based in London. She started out in the industry pursuing a career in fashion design, but after spending some time interning as a backstage dresser at fashion shows she soon realised that it was putting beautiful outfits together that truly sparked her interest. From that point onwards, Sonia began to carve out her space in the industry as a stylist. “Making women feel confident and good about themselves has always been important to me and one of th...

With aesthetically pleasing book flatlays and honest, unfiltered reviews, these avid readers are making reading a more stylish affair – one perfectly posed book at a time.

Bookstagram is a flourishing corner of Instagram where bookworms can connect and share their thoughts and opinions on their favourite reads. Think ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ with a modern, digital facelift and a much wider reach – there are 55.6 millions books currently tagged #bookstagram – as well as the space for readers to con...

It’s impossible to imagine our favourite tracks without their visual counterparts – in other words, there is no music without music videos. Ranging from cinematic masterpieces, epic narratives and some classic rapper flexes, music videos tell a story and add a layer to the music they accompany.

When we consider poetry, it’s easy to only think of the classic poets we learnt about at school. However, poetry is as much a part of British culture today as it was during the era of Keats, Coleridge, Blake and even Shakespeare.