Month: November 2017

Leiden Podcast – Episode 5: Life Struggles and running Leiden

Emma Batchelor Leave a Comment

  Welcome to Leiden Podcast a fortnightly podcast discussing all our favourite things: fashion, beauty, health and fitness. But we don’t stop there, we also interview amazing people, talk about relationships, books, pop culture, money and sex. In our fifth episode Leiden editor Emma Batchelor chats about how Leiden Magazine got started and opens up about all the difficulties of living your dream while working multiple jobs and attempting to have a life. Leiden Podcast and it’s catchy jingle are produced by the greatest guy around Roshan Fernandez. Our artwork features an illustration of the ‘Leiden girl’ by Johanna Dziadkiewicz.… Continue Reading →

A Power Plant is Burning Discarded H&M Clothes Instead of Coal

Emma Batchelor Leave a Comment

  Sweden is not just the home of Scandi-cool, street fashion stars and of the moment clothing labels, it is also a country that has proudly embraced a renewable energy market. Thanks to its hydro, wind and nuclear plants, Sweden has an almost entirely emission free power system. The remaining few coal – and oil – fired power plants are being converted to instead burn biofuels and garbage. One plant in Vasteras, northwest of Stockholm, aims to become a fossil fuel-free facility by 2020. Instead of coal, the plant will be burning recycled wood, garbage and discarded clothes from fast… Continue Reading →

Leiden Book Club Book Book 8 – Swing Time

Genevieve Chan Leave a Comment

  Swing Time, a novel by Zadie Smith, is an onion. There is layer upon layer upon layer; the more you dig, the more you will find to ponder and discuss. It’s likely you may shed a tear or two while reading, or at the very least, feel the odd tug on your heart strings. It’s not an easy book to review because, frankly, a lengthy essay would be more fitting (and for the hardcore literature nerds, much more satisfying). Swing Time is a best friend bildungsroman within which lies an acute social commentary about race, class and gender; an… Continue Reading →

Beware the Black Friday Sale Frenzy

Emma Batchelor Leave a Comment

  It seems traces of American culture are slowly creeping into our Australian way of life. First it was Halloween filling our social media feeds with over the top costumes and elaborate beauty looks. Now it’s the Black Friday sales. Lately every time I open my email or scroll through Facebook someone is telling me to get ready for Black Friday because a bargain is coming. In America, Black Friday and its sister, Cyber Monday, mean big business. This four-day weekend retail bonanza kicks off the holiday season, with 30% of the entire seasons sales taking place on Black Friday.… Continue Reading →

Clothes Swap and Style Event

Emma Batchelor Leave a Comment

It’s clothes swap time! Fast fashion can make us feel like clothing is disposable. Is this scenario familiar? Heidi bought a dress to wear out to a party last week and is now sick of it, but hey, it only cost $40 so it’s no big deal to her so she chucks it out. Just imagine if everyone in Australia did that to just one item? In Australia, we generate 6000 kilograms of clothing waste every 10 minutes (ABC TV). Only a comparatively small percentage of what we donate to charity shops gets sold with the rest ending up in… Continue Reading →

A Chat with Sarah Morrison – Musicals, ABBA and Mamma Mia

Emma Batchelor Leave a Comment

  I have said it before and I’ll say it again, I am not a fan of musicals. All that sing-talking makes me want to puke into my favourite Miu Miu cat clutch. And yet, despite my propensity to vomit at the mere hint of a sentence that screams to be spoken rather than sung, I actively go and see a lot of musicals. And if they are more of a play interspersed with the occasional song, I confess to rather enjoying myself. The latest musical to come my way is the West End and Broadway smash Mamma Mia, a… Continue Reading →