wtffashionshark

Hallo Readers,

On 17 June 2017, 70 people burned to death in Grenfell Tower, a block of flats owned by the local council in North Kensington in West London. Two more people later died in hospital. More than 70 people were injured; 223 escaped physical injury, but not the trauma and anguish that followed. The design of the block was supposed to ensure that a fire in one flat did not spread, but the combination of combustible foam insulation around windows, combustible rigid board insulation and composite cladding panels meant the place went up like a matchbox. The fire which started with a faulty fridge on the fourth floor spread not only upwards but sideways. Subsequently, it turned out that the cladding was completely unsuitable for tall buildings like Grenfell which was 24 storeys high. But it was the cheaper option. And so people died. Both private and public landlords carried out checks on the cladding of their buildings and many discovered that they were as dangerous as Grenfell’s so that people were literally living in death traps. And many of them still are. WTF has at least two friends living in expensive blocks of flats, owning their flats and finding themselves with their principal asset worthless and uninsurable and facing potentially enormous costs to put something right that was not their fault. In one case, the work was eventually carried out, plunging the tenants into darkness for over 18 months because of the scaffolding, forcing them to live like troglodyte mushrooms amid dust and an awful banging and thumping all day. But at least she now has a safe place to live and one that is insured. The other one is still waiting for her flat to be done. And millions of people are in the same position. Landlords and builders continue to collect rent and service charges while people live in fear, terrified they will burn to death, worried sick about the future cost of repair as the government will only pay for remedial works on buildings over a certain height. Their lives are on hold. And only last week another block of flats, in the Spectrum Building Dagenham, went up in flames because of the cladding. Seven years on. Seven years. Fortunately, this time no one died.

Ironically, had it not been for Grenfell, millions of these deadly faults would have remained undetected. Because of what happened, people finally got to look behind the brickwork and discovered it was not just cladding but also other building problems, some of which were not inadvertent or careless but a clear breach of the law. WTF’s beloved nephew lives in one property where, after they checked a building built 15 years ago, it turned out that the cladding was fine but the fire cavity walls were not. And every resident in a large block of flats is now stuck with the property they can neither rent nor sell, now deemed so dangerous that the government, which stepped in last year (finally) insisted upon a waking watch because of the risk of people burning to death while they slept. And the government will now ensure that the work will be done to make sure that the building is compliant with all the regulations. But in the meantime, as with the cladding victims, people are living in worthless properties, paying their mortgage, anxious, depressed, angry and in some cases, downright suicidal. Some have put off having children or more children. The developers at first assured the flat owners in my nephew’s building that they would see them right. They haven’t. They knew that most people could not afford to pay their mortgage and take them on in court or would be too overwhelmed by the thought of litigation against a big company. They knew that the previous government was deeply beholden to the construction industry because of the large contributions made to Tory coffers. And this same company continues to build and market properties without ever being called to account. And they are not the only ones……

How has it come to this,  that people who have done nothing wrong have been abandoned and allowed to continue to live in properties which are downright dangerous? What sort of society are we that this can continue to happen? The tenants in Dagenham were lucky. The next victims may not be. The people responsible must be made to put things right. And swiftly.

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We begin our review of the week’s woeful wear at the Venice Film Festival and actor Taylor Russell wearing Chanel Haute Couture .

The photo makes her appear to be sporting a turd topknot but this is an optical illusion – it is a photographer’s head behind her as she walks the Red Carpet. The bodice is made out of clingfilm, some of it torn, whether deliberately or otherwise WTF cannot say.  The skirt looks like an aerial view of an embroidered Hurricane Beryl. 

And here is proper movie star Glenn Close  in Los Angeles at the launch of the new Netflix series The Vengeance wearing Oscar de la Renta.

Seriously?  She looks like a tea light holder.

Now to the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York where we encounter player Naomi Osaka wearing the new tennis gear by Nike x Ambush designed by Loom Ahn.

If Just William‘s Violet Elizabeth Bott played tennis, this is what she would look like. WTF looked at the outfit and wanted to “thcream and thcream ’till I’m thick“. Although at least the bows at the back would create a bit of a breeze.

Next, we find Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez at the Tiah 6th anniversary soirée in LA wearing McQueen.

WTF has previously remarked on the fact that there has been some interference with the workings of nature, including a pair of deeply improbable tits which she insists on flashing at every opportunity. Why she is wearing leather at the height of an LA summer, WTF cannot say, but the flower head looks more like a primal scream that a rose. Proof positive that all the money in the word cannot buy you class.

Here is actor Maxim Baldry at the Madrid premiere of  series 2 of Lord of the Rings – the Rings of Power (kill me now) wearing a very lairy suit by Marni.

It is a picnic blanket. That is all.

Back to LA for the premiere of Disney+’s series 4 of Murders in the Building with actor Da’Vine Joy Randolph wearing Mugler.

She is wearing a whip. Were she to twist round too quickly she could flagellate people to death.

And finally here is actor Adjoa Andoh aka Lady Danbury in Bridgerton, at the first night of the play Shifters in London’s West End.

OMG. And then OMG some more. The dress is hideous. The boots are hideous. This is the love child of Popeye and a Victorian bathing belle.

This week’s It’s Got To Go comes from WTF aficionadoNadine from Berkhamsted whose work means that she regularly travels around the country by train. During these journeys, she often encounters fellow-passengers, or whatever they are called now, with their feet up on the seat in front of them, even when she is sitting on that seat and they are sitting opposite her. Which is just not on. Not even at all.

If they are young kids, Nadine will politely ask their parent to tell the kids to remove their feet, citing the fact that she does not want to get her clothes dirty. But on other occasions, looking at the glowering oik in front of her, she is (understandably) apprehensive at making this request in case she gets a punch in the face – or worse. Her point is that it should not be left to the individual to ensure that their seat is foot-free. There should be signs up making this clear and the train guards, whatever they are called now, should enforce the rule, with or without police backup. She is right. It’s Got To Go.

OK Readers, that’s your lot for this week. Keep your tip top comments coming through and your splendid suggestions for It’s Got To Go. Let us meet again next Friday, Be good x