Lifestyle Barometer: your guide to what’s hot and what’s not this week from Christmas adverts to the Spice Girls
From Victoria’s Secret to Kim Kardashian and brussels sprouts, this is our guide to what’s hot and what’s not
Going up:
H&M x Moschino
The highly-anticipated collaboration between H&M and Moschino hit stores on Thursday.
The arrival of the Italian fashion house’s designs on the high street saw fans queue for hours outside stores nationwide in the hopes of getting their hands on the one-off collection.
The items, which varied in price from £25 to £300, were a steal compared with the brand’s original line, which sees jackets cost upwards of £1,000.
However, many fans were disappointed to find that, by the time they entered the store, items on their wish list had already sold out.
The collection was the 14th designer partnership that H&M has launched since its first in 2004, following in the footsteps of Erdem, Balmain, Kenzo and Karl Lagerfeld.
The battle of the Christmas adverts is underway with a number of retailers launching their festive campaigns this week.
Supermarkets Asda and Lidl were among the first to unveil their offerings, with the former focusing on the idea of coming home and the latter poking fun at the festive season.
Tesco, Debenhams, Boots and Heathrow Airport also chose to celebrate the spirit of the season with their heartwarming clips, which featured everything from family’s bonding to teddy bear couples.
However, two adverts received mixed reactions on social media for being too gloomy. Aldi brought back Kevin the Carrot for a series of videos that will follow the character in the run up to the big day. In the first clip, Kevin is left dangling precariously over a cliff edge in a truck as the hashtag #SaveKevin appears on the screen.
Meanwhile, Argos’ Christmas advert features a festive fool – a frightening impish creature with bells on its long ears – which causes chaos about the house while families desperately try to put the finishing touches to their Christmas preparations.
Brussels sprouts
One of the most divisive foods of the festive season, brussels sprouts, it turns out, are one of the most nutritious side dishes going.
According to a recent study, sprouts could protect cells against carcinogens and from oxidative DNA damage. What’s more, they’re also high in fibre and packed full of important vitamins including vitamin K (which helps blood to clot), vitamin C (necessary for growth and repair) and vitamin A (good for vision and eye health).
They’ve also been proven to be good for bone health and are a brilliant source of omega-3 fatty acids.
The Spice Girls finally announced their first tour in a decade, as Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Geri Horner and Melanie Chisholm prepare to take to the stage once more.
Sadly, Victoria Beckham has opted to not rejoin the group, as the foursome are set to kick off their tour in Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on 1 June 2019.
The long awaited reunion is due to host six performances in London, Manchester, Coventry, Sunderland, Edinburgh and Bristol.
“We hope everyone can join us for one big Spice Girls party,” a statement from the group said.
Jess Glynne will be another famous face to grace the stadiums, as it has been announced that the singer will be joining the Spice Girls as a “very special guest”.
Tickets went on sale on Saturday – buy here.
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson was made a dame at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, and she surprised everyone with her outfit choice for the special occasion.
The Oscar-winning actress collected the honour from Prince William and was joined by her husband Greg Wise, as well as their daughter, Gaia, and their son, Tindy Agaba Wise.
Thompson tested the Buckingham Palace dress code by pairing her Stella McCartney suit with a pair of trainers that looked as though they could be from McCartney’s partnership with Adidas.
She also wore a badge on her blazer from The Fawcett Society, which campaigns to end the gender pay gap, alongside a red poppy ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
Going down:
Diesel
Fashion brand Diesel came under fire this week for selling a £350 jacket that features a homophobic slur.
The bomber jacket is embellished with the word “f****t” on the front pocket and features an all-over print on the back with the same comment.
The piece is part of the company’s “Hate Couture” range, which includes clothes covered in offensive and provocative terms in a bid to encourage people to embrace the hateful comments they receive.
Celebrities including Nicki Minaj, Tommy Dorfman and Bella Thorne have helped to promote Diesel’s range, with each one choosing a word that had been used to describe them in an abusive online comment to adorn everything from T-shirts to hoodies.
However, Twitter users pointed out that the word chosen by Dorfman, best known for his role as Ryan Shaver in 13 Reasons Why, is not something that should be commercialised, describing it as “disgusting”.
Smartphones
Spending hours on smartphones could cause mental health problems in children as young as two, a new study has found.
The research, conducted by the San Diego State University and the University of Georgia, found that after just one hour of screen time, children and adolescents may have less curiosity, lower self-control and lower emotional stability, which can lead to an increased risk of anxiety and depression.
It also claimed nursery school children who used screens frequently were twice as likely to lose their temper.
As a result, the study authors are urging parents and teachers to reduce the time children spend online, playing video games or watching television in a bid to combat this.
Victoria’s Secret fashion show
The highly-anticipated Victoria’s Secret fashion show took place on Thursday but the annual parade of lithe supermodels didn’t pass without its fair share of controversy.
Ahead of the show, Sports Illustrated model, Robyn Lawley, called for a complete boycott of the event in light of the news that this year’s soiree will once again feature exclusively slim women.
Lawley started an online petition calling for Victoria’s Secret to be more inclusive and it was signed by nearly 9,000 people.
She also staged a lingerie show called “We’re All Angels”, with well-known names such as Hayley Hasselhoff, Felicity Hayward and Ashley James, to highlight the lack of diversity.
“I started the petition with the help of a few women who have the same sentiments,” Lawley said.
“Inclusivity and positivity at this level is so refreshing and important”.
Animal cruelty
Kim Kardashian-West has been accused of “animal cruelty” after she was pictured riding an elephant in Sumatra, Indonesia.
The 38-year-old was visiting an elephant sanctuary with her two young children, North and Saint, when she was photographed sitting astride one of the animals.
The images prompted a wave of criticism on social media, with wildlife campaigners calling her actions “disgusting” and “irresponsible”.
In response, the reality star insisted that she “did full research” before arriving.
“We visited an elephant sanctuary that has rescued these elephants from Sumatra where they would have otherwise gone extinct,” she tweeted.
“It is an organisation that is working to save these beautiful animals. We did full research before going.”
Single-use plastic
Collins Dictionary has named “single-use” as the word of 2018, reflecting the increasing conversation surrounding environmental issues.
The term refers to products that are made of plastic and have been created to be used just once, only to be thrown away after, making them unsustainable and harmful to the planet.
Collins’s lexicographers said the word “single-use” has seen a four-fold increase since 2013 in light of universal efforts to combat the threats such plastics pose to the environment.
“Images of plastic adrift in the most distant oceans, such as straws, bottles and bags, have led to a global campaign to reduce their use,” said a spokesperson for the dictionary.
Other words included in the shortlist of notable words of the year include vegan, whitewash, gammon and floss.
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