Polyester Zine is a London based zine, first launched in 2014, exploring feminism and gender identity through fashion. Its described as a intersectional feminist fashion and culture publication aiming to bridge the gap of URL cyber feminism with the IRL world. Ione Gamble is the founding editor-in-chief and she started the zine in order to showcase creatives that were usually dismissed by mainstream media. The zine has now become an open space for creatives to discuss their feelings on issues, giving a voice to previously oppressed groups. In an interview with Refinery29 she says “I also wanted to present an alternative to the agenda pushed out by most fashion magazines, and show that the unrealistic expectations still championed by mainstream fashion industry were just that: unrealistic and ridiculous.”
At the time Polyester Zine came about in 2014 the mainstream media didn’t showcase a lot of different body types. The imagery in Polyester Zine promotes these realistic body images to encourage and give confidence to women. They strongly follow the ideas of the female gaze, showcasing women not as an object or sexualised but as an image of power.
Polyester draws major inspiration from the Riot Grrl zine from the 90’s. Zines have historically been linked to the style and politics of subcultures, the first punk fanzine being Sniffing Glue in 1976. Punk at the time was about rebelling against established systems, including the worlds of media and print. This is something Polyester zine is passionate about, rebelling against the mainstream media ideals of how women should look and behave according to the media. As well as the ideals of Riot Grrl Zines they also take major inspiration from the actual layout and creation. Zines from the punk eras had a very messy, cut and paste DIY aesthetic and this is exactly polyesters aesthetic too.
As well as print, Polyester also has a big media platform. Their instagram currently has 107k followers, their posts showcasing and promoting different female artists and creatives.
They also have a podcast which was launched January 31st 2019, in which they use to focus on important topics through the lens of a woman. The reason to why this podcast was created was because they saw a gap in the market for a podcast that appeals to young, tuned in people that covers a variety of subjects and is produced by women their age. The topics they talk about vary from important subjects like Black Lives Matter to general conversations in a series they call ‘The Sleepover Club’. This podcast again gives voices to women who are usually looked over or silenced, its a way for people to communicate their feelings and ideas. This podcast was a way for the Polyester team to interview different creatives and explore the ins and outs of the queer feminist community.
As well as podcasts they also put on events such as this one. This event i attended last year was a live recording and talk for one of their podcasts. The show featured the editor-in-cheif Ione Gamble and 3 other creatives, all discussing what feminism meant to them and what it was like for them growing up as a woman of colour.
For me i think what Polyester zine and many other feminist forwards zines are doing are very important, especially to young people. They are giving young creatives a voice and that is important, for other young creatives to see people their age involved in big companies like this to give them hope. I also think its important to promote realistic body images, reassuring young girls that their bodies are normal, instead of promoting unrealistic body images.
