The Spin column for Anothermag.com

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/13/The_Girl_with_the_Golden_Braid

The Spin | The Girl with the Golden Braid


David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his fortnightly column The Spin


It’s painstakingly true that most stylish ladies in politics are wives of either Presidents or Prime Ministers. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, doesn’t have much to offer compared to Michelle Obama or Carla Bruni, two bright and fashion conscious women who are in the public eye because of their highflying spouses. To firmly put an end to this I give you Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko – one-part politician, one-part fashion icon.


Politically and stylistically, Tymoshenko has been making waves since being appointed Ukraine’s second in command – trailing only President Viktor Yushchenko, leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution. But her influence and in particular her characteristic style reach beyond Ukraine to the fashion capitals: the Victorian touches in Prada’s A/W08 collection seemed to resonate perfectly with Tymoshenko’s lace dresses and hairdo.


Apparently, Ukrainian people judge good looks by the thickness and golden hue of braids. By these measurements Tymoshenko is surely a beauty queen. Her trademark blonde braids, which she wears like a tiara, would surely make anyone vote for her. And as an ambitious politician she’s counting on these votes to carry her to the Mariyinski Palace – the official Presidential residence in the capital Kyiv.


Originally, however, a brunette wearing dark clothes, Tymoshenko opted for blonde locks and predominately white frocks a few years ago to achieve an angelic, innocent look. Politically savvy? Her fashion and/or public relations interests certainly encouraged an appearance on the cover of Ukrainian Elle, wearing Louis Vuitton. Had she been able to pick her favourite designer, it would have been Azzedina Alaia.


Because of her looks, there are many nicknames floating around for Tymoshenko – Princess Leia of Ukraine, the Slavic Joan of Arc – but you can always rely on rude bloggers to come up with something even saucier. They call her the PMilf…


David Hellqvist is a freelance journalist for AnOther Man, Dazed & Confused, i-D,ZOO and a Contributing Editor to American website JC Report.

FASHION IN POLITICS analyses this year's XMAS cards...

Christmas is around the corner, people, and Yuletide cards are sent out in every possible direction. This bunch here is from the leaders of the three biggest parties, plus the Mayor London...

This is Gordon Brown's contribution. Apparently the photograph was taken by some 19 year old kid who'd won the CIWEM Young Environmental Photographer of the Year, but I couldn't care less. Can they not see what it shows? Sometimes I wish Malcolm from The Thick Of It was for real - he wouldn't have let this pass through....No. 10  dangling on a VERY thin thread! So except for wishing us a Merry Christmas, Gordon Brown is saying that he is smoked and that his premiership will be done with when the trees go out...which is in the beginning of January, if I'm not mistaken...

This is David Cameron: as boring and...well, just bloody boring...as you'd expect.

At least Nick Clegg has added some personality to his card. But he should really talk to his kids about their drawing skills; they're 22 and 25 years old after all...

What are you saying Boris? That you're our star? We should re-introduce camels to save carbon emission? That you're Christ? I don't get it, you bonkerous flip-flopper!

This could have been Nick Griffin's Xmas card. But it isn't. But it could have been.

The Ugly Face of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit

These are the kind of people who's in Copenhagen, trying to sort out our climate change problems! Personally I would even trust them with going to the toilet by themselves....

Safe and Sound in Afghanistan

Once in a while our dear leaders go on a hiking trip to Afghanistan. Proof of this are on the very pages of FiP. It's not just the government going over; Dave Cameron has been there several times, pretending to care. Now, it was Gordy's turn.


He probably felt that after all those letter 'scandals' that he better get involved. If you remember, he spelt someone's name wrong and another letter arrived a whooping two years too late. On my part, this photo more than enough makes up for that! The hands, the look in his eyes and the scrunched up shirt and jacket; what a FiP photo! Cheers Gordon... 

X-Political? No Fanks mate...

Unfuckingbelievable. Not satisfied with drawing in 19 million viewers for the last episode (though sadly, not last ever) of X-Factor, Simon Cowell has now decided to apply his disgusting concept on politics. He plans to tour the country, asking the country to debate issues that he thinks are 'for real'...

"If you actually asked most people in the country why are we there, I couldn't even tell you ... I knew why we were in the Falklands, I don't know why we're over there. So when I see all these people coming back dead, I think we have a right to have a say in something like that. Or knife crime, I don't think that the justice system is working properly at the moment."

Nothing wrong really with that, as long as he doesn't bring along Louis fucking Walsh, bloody Cheryl Cole and Danni bleeding Minogue...

Cowell: "It would be a good way for me to get involved in politics … it would be controversial, the public would eventually make the decision."

It does make you cringe though, doesn't it...

SILVIO - THE FILM

You've read about it and laughed, now have a look and smile at the actual thing. This is the Italian PM seconds after having been attacked with the cathedral souvenir that broke his nose!

News flash - Silvio Berlusconi Hit In The Face

Hurray Hurray - finally the Italians have used common sense and whacked their PM in the face. Silvio Berlusconi was today attacked at a Freedom party rally in Milan. He fell to the ground, but was quickly ushered to his cat by his aides. The 42 year-old assailant  Massimo Tartaglia apparently threw a miniature souvenir of Milan's Duomo (Cathedral) in Berlusconi's face. Silvio is spending the night in hospital, where x-rays showed he had injured two teeth....Priceless! 

The Tatler Tories

These images are admittedly over a year old (September 2008), but how can I resist such goodies when I just stumbled upon them, on the Telegraph website as it happens. This is the new generation Tories, apparently. All a bit grey, if you ask me. Black, white and grey - very monochrome. And, of course, a great cross cut of multi cultural Britain. But then, why shouldn't it be? The Conservative party is the party for and by the British people, right? Well, whatever you think of that, I still thinks this looks like a cross between a Zara and a Benetton commercial....

Twitter Twat? Yes please...

Fashion in Politics has gone viral. We're now on TWITTER as well. Check us out on this address: http://twitter.com/FASHIONPOLITICS

Boris and his Xmas Same Sex Marriage

No, it's not Armageddon, it's the London Assembly Christmas party. The thing on the left is, of course, London Mayor Boris Johnson having the first dance of the night with LA's chairman, the Green Party's Darren Johnson. So, we have two Johnsons, sharing the first dance of the night! Are you sure this is not their wedding party?

Obama in Norway - one gold dress and lots of blue colours! And oh yeah; one Nobel Peace Prize as well...

 
Barack and Michelle Obama arriving in Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize for his... (insert reason here, because I don't know one...). If anything this picture shows how difficult it is to look good in front of Air  
Force One...Love that light blue shade...

But I don't love Michelle's dress that much... 

Speaking of blue. Obama went all black and sombre, but the Norwegians kept on parading beautifully electric blue outfits... kämpe bra (which I thinks means 'very good' in Norwegian...)

Saddam Hussein AKA Big Brother at the BAC theatre...

The theatre version of George Orwell's 1984 - at Battersea Arts Centre - is well worth a visit. Nicely put together with imaginative - yet simple - means, it paints a picture of doom and gloom - just as Orwell intended. Winston Smith's last line, after he has betrayed Julia and is being rehabilitated back into 'society', is a chilling reminder of our own predicaments: "My soul is as white as milk" he cries out. Is it me or does Big Brother look a lot like Saddam Hussein....


www.bac.org.uk

News flash - Sarah Palin has, quite literally, gone Rogue!

Any last words, you gay commie abortionist vegetarian dinosaur sonofabitch?

Sarah Brown Hearts Naomi Campbell

While her husband is struggling with keeping Hollywood A-listers Renee and Reese apart, Sarah Brown has taken the celebrity No. 10 celebrity flirt a step further through making ex super model Naomi Campbell her "21st-century heroine". The nomination comes as part of the latest issue of Hapers Bazaar, edited by Lucy Yeoman. The choice was, apparently, in light of Naomi's frequent charity work, as opposed to all her convictions of GBH. Sarah Brown's reasoning goes as follow:

"The Naomi Campbell I had heard about was beautiful, successful, always late, a bit frightening, even a bit out of control," she writes in the magazine. "[The] Naomi Campbell I met [was] certainly beautiful, but also sincere, direct, and impatient in a good way."

Gordon Brown's Man of the Century must surely be either Chris Brown or Tiger Woods then...

Swedish department store PUB have decided to not sell NOKO jeans, which are made in North Korea. The Stockholm store gave quit the brand half an hour before the store opened and the launch of the black jeans. PUB's director, Rene Stephansen, said: "For us this is not a question of Noko Jeans – this is a question about a political issue that PUB doesn't want to be associated with. He added that the store was "not the forum" for a conversation about about Kim Jong-il.

NOKO jeans' Jakob Olsson responded that "I sincerely hope (PUB) will remove everything labelled 'made in China' as well." His colleague Jacob Åström added: "This is not a support project [for Kim Jong Il], but is a way for us to get closer to the country and, in a controversial fashion, shake this isolation up a bit." 

Talk about PC Gone Mad...

Christmas at the White House

I know what you think; Christmas comes earlier for each year that goes by. And judging by these White House images, you're not far off. In my house we decorate the tree the night before Christmas Eve. But then again, I'm not the leader of the free world, and can't always do exactly what I want...

This is a White House ginger bread. Of course it is. what else could it have been...

The Green Room in the White House...

And again, the same joke (but slightly modified...)

The Red Room in the White House!

And The Gold Goes To...Robert Mugabe!

It's bad, but it's not as bad as you'd think by looking at this picture. Robert Mugabe hasn't won the gold medal in any competition, and especially not in football (maybe in a tournament for Most Stupid Facial Hair...)


The picture is from when the World Cup trophy passed through Zimbawe on it's way down to South Africa, where the tournament is held next year. Everyone protested of course, but Mugabe outwitted them : "Britain does not have any gold, neither does Germany!"


But after telling both UK and Germany the obvious, he also went on to speculate on where the original gold came from: "I am tempted to think that it came from Africa, and from Zimbabwe, and was taken away by adventurers who shaped it into this cup. When I hold the cup, I know all of you will have the urge that I should not let it go because this could be our gold."


Jog on, mate.