The obvious reason for this change is that I — the creator of Articles of Clothing, a Substack where I write articles about clothing — love an efficient pun, but the more important reason was inspired by an unfortunate tweet that made it’s way onto my timeline a few weeks ago:

Clearly, as a fashion journalist, I took offense to this. Not only is this mentality rooted in decades of misogynistic rhetoric aimed to delegitimize the cultural significance of fashion since it historically caters to a female audience, but it is also incredibly misinformed.

Just in the short month that Articles of Clothing has existed, we’ve talked about fashion’s involvement in class performance, the climate crisis, and colonization. We’ve covered fashion that has been inspired by movies, music, literature, philosophy, and art. We’ve seen how fashion is interpreted in pop culture, how fashion is perceived in media, and how designers are leading anti-capitalist innovation out of loyalty to their audience.

Fashion is and always will be part of The Social Fabric.

The Business of Fashion Seeks Applicants for Black Journalist Fellowship:

The Business of Fashion is seeking applicants for their third annual Next Generation Black Journalists Fellowship. The goal of this paid program is to equip and publish young black writers in the field of fashion business journalism.

The fellowship will start on June 1, 2023 and last for six months. All Black writers from any country who work (or aspire to work) in fashion, beauty, or other adjacent industries are eligible for this opportunity. Part-time and full-time positions are both available. Higher-level education and formal résumés are not required to apply.

The application deadline is April 28, 2023, at 5 p.m EST. To apply and learn more, click HERE.

Lizzo x Fabletics brand Yitty Releases Gender-Affirming Shapewear and Receives Backlash from the Trans Community:

On March 30th, the day before Trans Day of Visibility, Lizzo announced the release of a gender affirming shapewear line for her and Fabletics co-created brand Yitty. This line, called Your Skin, is set to launch this summer and will feature different gender-affirming compression garments such as binders and tucking underwear in a size inclusive range of XS-6X.

Although this is a community that is severely underrepresented in commercial fashion (especially within a size-inclusive range) there are currently concerns that Lizzo’s brand stole designs from a trans-owned company and failed to consider trans people in the product-testing process.

Zackary Drucker & the trans and queer woman-owned business Urbody alleged on Twitter that they had previously been in contact with the Fabletics-owned brand, met their team which failed to consist of any trans people, and were only ever asked for consultation services after the product launch announcement on the 30th.

If these allegations are confirmed true, it contributes to a larger cultural problem known as Rainbow Capitalism. Rainbow Capitalism, sometimes known as Pink Capitalism, refers to the commercialization and exploitation of the LGBTQ+ movement, symbols, and identities. This is a way for corporations and organizations to appear as inclusive for monetary gain without truly supporting or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. Since many of these companies have more wealth and exposure than LGBTQ+ owned businesses, Rainbow Capitalism leads to the erasure of marginalized voices within the queer community.

While queer-inclusive undergarments are something that desperately need to become more accessible within the fashion industry, it is incredibly important to learn how to recognize the threat of Rainbow Capitalism and listen to trans voices, especially considering the rise in anti-trans legislation and hate speech in alt-right media.

I’ve included a few of these voices below:

• MX Apparel Design (@mxappareldesign on TikTok): gender neutral clothing brand based in Twin Cities, Minnesota. The brand’s owner Maxine also speaks about trans, size, and disability-inclusive fashion brands on their TikTok.

• Zackary Drucker: multimedia artist, cultural producer, LGBTQ+ activist, and trans woman who initially broke the news on this story

• Erin Reed: creator of the Substack Erin In The Morning which covers up-to-date trans and queer news and legislation

Vogue Philippines Cover Features World’s Oldest Tattoo Artist:

The April 2023 cover of Vogue Philippines featured Apo Whang-Od, a 106 year-old indigenous tattoo artist from Buscalan in the northern Philippines.

Whang-Od now holds the title for oldest person to ever star on the cover of Vogue, dethroning Judi Dench who was photographed for the British Vogue cover in June 2020 at the age of 85. Whang-Od specializes in a traditional hand-tapped tattoo method known as Batok. She started her career in 1933 under the mentorship of her father and has been a tattoo artist ever since.

Historically Batok has been used to signify bravery in men and beauty and fertility in women, but due to western imperialism, Eurocentric beauty standards eclipsed these cultural practices. In the past 15 years, however, Batok has grown in popularity due to the fascination and talent of the 106 year-old tattoo artist.

So this cover of Vogue Philippines challenges societal beauty standards in more ways than one!

Dior in Mumbai (Revisited):

Last week Dior hosted a landmark fashion show in Mumbai. I wrote in the last newsletter that this show was historic since it was the first official calendar show for a European brand to present in India. The show was also in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft, meaning that this show recognized India as a global powerhouse in both fashion production and consumerism.

The Chanakya School of Craft has an extensive client list that includes brands like Chloé, Balmain, Balenciaga, Versace, Celine, Saint Laurent, and Ralph Lauren. They are no stranger to the fashion scene, but since the fashion industry has a long history of exploiting Indian artisans, some people like to pretend that isn’t the case.

After the show ended, many fashion industry professionals ran to social media to praise Dior for being among the few fashion houses that have acknowledged the fact that their textiles are made in India. Although it is due time for this acknowledgement to be made, this self-congratulatory celebration feels inappropriate since the ones celebrating are the very ones who perpetuate it.

Fashion journalists like Suzy Menkes, who you’d assume would understand this commonly known fact since she worked for 25 different international editions of Vogue, rhetorically exclaimed on her Instagram, “Who could have imagined that humble Indian handwork could develop into Dior's haute couture?”

First of all, I could. Frankly I could imagine 3 toddlers with a Fisher-Price sewing machine, a Yoplait Go-Gurt, and a dream could develop into Dior’s haute couture. But more importantly, deviating from European craftsmanship is not charity work. The western fashion industry has an extensive history of “drawing inspiration from” (mostly appropriating) Desi culture, so, yes Suzy Menkes, I do think skilled artisans can develop their regional crafts into haute couture better than the people who have been failing to replicate it for years.

It felt necessary to return to this event for a second week in a row because we hold a large responsibility in the way we discuss fashion online. Yes, cultural acknowledgments are great, even necessary, but what progression is made when it comes from an industry righting their wrongs through a white-savior complex? None, Menkes, none.

[UPDATE] My friend Hiral wrote a great analysis on this show. You can read it on her Substack here:

Vogue Chaos

Vogue Chaos Issue 7: Dior's Offensive Voyage to India

There were several reasons as to why the Dior India show was just as offensive as I expected it to be. As one of the few Indians in the independent fashion commentary space, I feel it is my responsibility to start discussions and inform because I have noticed a lot of my friends have avoided speaking on this, afraid they might say something wrong. Lets …

Read more

3 years ago · Hiral Arora

Massive Fire Destroys 3,000 Shops in Dhaka’s Clothing Market:

On April 4, 2023, a mere 20 days before the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse — the deadliest garment factory event in history, Dhaka’s clothing district suffers another major tragedy.

The Bangabazar market, home to around 3,000 locally owned shops, is a popular destination for discounted western fashion brands that outsource labor from nearby factories. Most of which, like Rana Plaza, fail to provide safe labor conditions for their estimated 4.4 million Bangladeshi workers.

The Dhaka garment district is the second most prolific in the world and produces clothing for brands like H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Hugo Boss. But despite generating $34 billion annually for the fashion industry, local shop owners like Mohammed Yousuf are no longer capable of clothing their family for Eid.

Non-profit organizations such as Fashion Revolution have been created to raise money and awareness for the fashion industry’s involvement in the labor exploitation of the Global South. Starting on April 24, 2023, on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at Rana Plaza, Fashion Revolution will be hosting their annual Fashion Revolution Week. The goal of this seven-day event is to concentrate awareness for worker’s rights, teach consumers about garment traceability, and hold the fashion industry accountable for their colonialist practices in exploited countries.

To donate, learn more, and participate in Fashion Revolution Week 2023, click HERE.

Fashion Exhibits:

This was a major week for news related to fashion and art exhibits, so here is a comprehensive list of everything you need to know:

India in Fashion: The Impact of Indian Dress and Textiles on the Fashionable Imagination (OPEN)

Date: April 03, 2023 - June 04, 2023

Location: Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). Mumbai, India.

The India in Fashion exhibit open on April 3rd at the NMACC with a very star-studded gala that included celebrities such as Zendaya, Shraddha Kapoor, Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, and Penelope Cruz.

This costume exhibit, curated by Vogue’s Global Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles, explores the layered impact of traditional Indian dress, textiles, and craft in the global fashion industry. India in Fashion will feature western couture and ready-to-wear designs from the 20th and 21st century that are inspired by traditional and contemporary Indian fashion

@melifluaserenadeIndia in Fashion: A Costume exhibition organized by NMACC #MelifluaSerenade #IndiainFashion #nmacc #india #indianfashion #rahulmishra #fashion #chanel #dior #ysl #louboutin #sabyasachi #abujanisandeepkhosla #costumeexhibtion #fashionexhibition

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This exhibit will showcase pieces from Western designers such as Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, Jean-Philippe Worth, and Yves Saint Laurent. The exhibit will also feature the works of pioneering Indian designers such as Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Anamika Khanna, Anita Dongre, Anuradha Vakil, Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Sanjay Garg, and Tarun Tahiliani.

If you are lucky enough to be in the area, you can purchase tickets online HERE. But if you are not, an exhibit book is available online through the Rizzoli Bookstore.

Borsalino Foundation Opens New Museum (OPEN)

Date: April 04, 2023 -

Location: Corso Cento Cannoni, 21, 15121 Alessandria AL, Italy

On the 166th anniversary of Italy’s oldest hat manufacture, the Borsalino Foundation opened the doors to their brand new museum in the city of Alessandria, Italy.

This museum will cover the history of the luxury house from 1857 to the present day. The Borsalino Museum is divided up into three main sections: a multi-media installation called Antica Casa that displays the timeline of the Borsalino brand, a section called Manifattura which walks through the luxury hat design and production process, and a gallery section that will feature more than 2000 hats that are organized into eight different narrative paths such as Divine Hats, Travel with Borsalino, and Borsalino for Women.

Crown to Couture (OPEN)

Date: April 05, 2023 - October 29, 2023

Location: Kensington Palace. London, England.

To conclude the three day fashion exhibit streak was the opening of the Crown to Couture exhibit at Kensington Palace.

This exhibit, which is currently the largest to ever be staged at this historic venue, includes over 200 objects that are from or were inspired by the Georgian era. Crown to Couture will “draw surprising parallels between the intricate preparations for attending the historic royal court and the elaborate styling expected in red-carpet events.” Meaning this exhibit explores the politics of dress and upward mobility through fashion since “a ‘best-dressed’ accolade could get you a career, a knighthood, a marriage proposal, or even a lucrative government position,” as stated on the exhibit’s website.

Key pieces include the likes of Beyoncé’s Peter Dundas ensemble from the 2017 Grammy’s, Katy Perry’s 2019 Met Gala look designed by Jeremy Scott for Moschino, Lizzo’s 2022 Met Gala dress designed by Thom Browne, and Audrey Hepburn’s dress from Roman Holiday (1953) designed by the legendary costume designer Edith Head.

Tickets are available for purchase HERE.

Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the House of Chloé (ANNOUNCED)

Date: October 13, 2023 - February 18, 2024

Location: The Jewish Museum. New York City, New York.

The Jewish Museum in New York City announced that they will be hosting Mood of the Moment, the first museum exhibit to honor the life and legacy of Jewish entrepreneur Gaby Aghion and her French fashion house Chloé.

This exhibit will display nearly 150 garments spanning over the brand’s 70-year history. This collection will include designs from Chloé’s former creative directors such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Clare Waight Keller, and Natasha Ramsay-Levi, as well as pieces from the current creative director Gabriela Hearst.

Although tickets are not yet for sale, an exhibition book and corresponding lectures and performances have already been announced.

Fashion in Motion: Minju Kim (ANNOUNCED)

Date: April 21, 2023

Location: The Raphael Court at the Victoria & Albert Museum. London, England.

The first winner of Netflix’s competition show Next in Fashion will be hosting a series of fashion shows at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Korea-based designer and Royal Academy of Antwerp graduate Minju Kim launched her eponymous brand in 2015 after winning the H&M Design Award in 2013.

On April 21, 2023, Kim will be staging a fashion presentation called Fashion in Motion which will consist of her Spring/Summer 2022 and Fall/Winter 2022 collections inspired by the Korean folktale of Bari — a goddess known for grace and beauty. These collections display pieces inspired by both traditional and contemporary Korean dress.

Anne Hathaway Becomes Global Ambassador for Versace:

Anne Hathaway has been promoted from Miranda Priestly’s junior assistant to the newest global ambassador for Versace!

Nordstrom’s & Dillard’s Investigated by the US Department of Labor:

A new US Department of Labor investigation of more than 50 garment-sewing contractors and manufactures in Southern California found labor violations in 80% of all investigated cases. These garment factories include some of the nation’s top retailers such as Nordstrom’s, Dillard’s, and Neiman Marcus.

Southern California houses the most prolific garment factories in the American fashion industry. This garment district employs more than 45,000 people, mostly immigrant women from Central America.

The investigation reports that laborers are frequently paid off the books, with records either deliberately forged or completely nonexistent. The most extreme recorded hourly wage being a mere $1.58. This sub-minimum wage is in direct violation of the California’s Garment Worker Protection Act that took effect on January 1st of last year. This senate bill mandates a mandatory minimum hourly wage for all workers, holding brands accountable for labor exploitation.

Senate Bill 62 also banned the long-standing practice of paying factory workers for the number of pieces made instead of the legally required minimum wage. This investigation discovered that 1/3 of the contractors reviewed were also violating this law.

To Read the Full Report click HERE.

And again… to donate, learn more, and participate in Fashion Revolution Week 2023, please click HERE.

The CFDA Inducts 10 New Members:

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association and network of American designers that consists of over 450 members. In addition to owning and operating the fashion calendar, the Council of Fashion Designers of America also organizes the annual CFDA Fashion Awards.

The CFDA recently added 10 new members to their roster. The designers are as follows:

Former Vanity Fair Editor Michael Roberts Passed Away at 75:

Michael Roberts — who spent decades at the center of the fashion industry working as a writer, editor, photographer, and multi-talented creative — past away from a brain aneurysm in his home in Sicily on April 3rd.

Roberts was a collage artist who illustrated 23 witty and satirical covers for The New Yorker that poked fun at the fashion community. Last year, Queen Elizabeth II made Roberts a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to the fashion world

In 1966, he won J. Walter Thompson’s Travel Scholarship for Fashion Drawing. The award for this competition was a trip to New York City that led to Roberts meeting Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon and eventually publishing his drawings in Women’s Wear Daily. Over the course of his career, he had worked for publications such as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times, and seven different international editions of Vogue.

Bernard Arnault’s Net Worth Exceeds $200 Billion for the First Time:

The French business magnet behind the high fashion and luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH had a net worth spike of $2.4 billion on Tuesday. This put Arnault at a record high fortune of $201.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index. This also put Arnault in the company of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos as the only people to ever have personal net worths exceed $200 billion.

Since Musk is losing more and more money every day through his Twitter farce, Arnault currently holds the title of richest person in the world. His conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton oversees some of the biggest brand names in fashion such as Celine, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Loewe, Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Off-White, and Stella McCartney. As recently as last month there have been reports of LVMH looking to acquire Cartier’s parent company Richemont which would also include brands such as Alaïa, Chloé, Delvaux, and Van Cleef & Arpels. This means LVMH could soon see an asset spike of an additional $38.6 billion.

I try my best to articulate my thoughts on these issues, but sometimes I’m just at a loss for words. For now, I hope these numbers speak for themself:

On April 4, Bernard Arnault (one man) was appraised at $201.1 billion. On that same morning, the Bangabazar market in Dhaka, Bangladesh (3,000 businesses) lost a total of $121.7 million in damages. This means that Bernard Arnault is allegedly worth 1,652 Bangabazar markets: the wages, assets, and ultimately the destruction of nearly 5 million businesses.

Burberry Brings Trench Pop-up to Fifth Avenue

After a humiliating season premiere of Succession for Burberry’s ludicrously capacious bags, the British luxury fashion brand shows their face again in New York City. This pop-up, located at 693 Fifth Avenue, spotlights the brand's signature nova check pattern (awkward) and offers trenchcoat bespoke personalization services that will run until May 2nd.

The location of this pop-up space will soon become Burberry’s new Fifth Avenue store opening this June, while their 57th Street flagship undergoes renovations.

A24 Releases A Style Book For HBO’s Euphoria

A24 has released a 273-page book breaking down the sartorial glamor of HBO’s Euphoria. This book examines the looks from the show, curated and created by Heidi Bivens, and features conversations with Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Sam Levinson, and make-up artist Donni Davy, plus a forward by Jeremy Scott.

Euphoria Fashion is now available HERE on the A24 website.

Weekly Reads:

Can Yohji Yamamoto Save Fashion From Itself? by Noah Johnson, GQ.

Can Clothes Be “Extremely Offline”? by Mikaela Dery, Harper’s Bazaar.

Succession and the era of billionaire bore-core by Joe Bobowics, i-D.

Why Some Brands Are Thriving in a Tough Economy – and Others Aren’t by Yola Mzizi, The Business of Fashion.

I’m a Wheelchair User. What’s the Best Thing to Wear to a Formal Event? by Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times.

How to Sell Luxury Amid Economic Uncertainty? Ditch the Logos by Julie Zerbo, The Fashion Law.

Weekly Listens:

Fashion Criticism in Crisis Hetty Mahlich interviews Dal Chodha, SHOWstudio.

Being a Poser, Gatekeeping Fashion, and “Quiet Luxury” Mina Le with Rian Phin, the High Brow podcast.

NOTE: past weekly fashion overviews will be renamed The Social Fabric for clarity’s sake

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Beyonce x Balmain :

Olivier Rousting, creative director of Balmain, teamed up with his long-term muse and legendary artist Beyoncé to create a couture collection inspired by her seventh studio album Renaissance. Each collaborative design is directly inspired by one of the sixteen songs on the album; bringing to life a world of characters based on Beyoncé’s lyricism.

This collaboration comes at the perfect time seeing that it was just a few days ago that Beyoncé and Adidas terminated their 5-year long collaboration for her fashion line, Ivy Park. The Hollywood Reporter stated “the Grammy-winning entrepreneur and the German lifestyle brand have mutually agreed to part ways. There has apparently been major creative differences between Ivy Park and Adidas, and Beyoncé is excitedly looking to reclaim her brand, chart her own path and maintain creative freedom.”

The looks for this collection will not be for sale, instead they have been created solely for Beyoncé’s use, as already seen on the April 2023 cover of Vogue France, and as of now a certain Cuff It-inspired look appears to be missing at the moment… Met Gala debut, maybe?

LVMH Prize Finalists :

LVMH — the high fashion and luxury goods conglomerate that oversees brands like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Fendi — announced the finalists for their 10th annual LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. This award aims to platform young creatives through endowments and mentorships and is open to any emerging designer, ages 18-40, who has created at least two collections. During the final selections, at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the finalists will meet the LVMH Jury who will audition and select the prize winners.

The winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers will receive a €300,000 endowment for their brand as well as a tailored mentorship through LVMH, the winner of the Karl Lagerfeld Prize will receive a €150,000 endowment and one-year mentorship through LVMH teams, and 3 finalists will also be selected for a €10,000 endowment as well as an opportunity to join a design studio at one of the LVMH houses for one year.

Previous winners of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers have included the likes of Nensi Dojaka (2021), Peter Do & Chopova Lowena (20201), Thebe Magugu (2019), & Marine Serre (2017) and the LVMH prize has springboarded former nominees such as Christopher John Rogers (2021), Ludovic de Saint Sernin (2018), Glenn Martens of Y/Project (and now creative director of Diesel) (2016), Simone Porte Jacquemus (2015), and Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air (2014).

The 2023 LVMH Prize Finalists are as follows:

Aaron Esh:

Aaron Esh is a London-based contemporary menswear designer who started his namesake brand in 2022. Before pivoting to fashion, Esh studied graphic design, but quickly changed course after receiving the Alexander McQueen scholarship for Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion Programme, from which he graduated one year early

Esh’s designs aim to encourage the average working man to broaden their understanding of men’s clothing. His brand leans towards more androgynous silhouettes that subvert the traditional design codes of menswear, such as ruffled-neck button-ups or suit jackets that have been fashioned into halter tops.

Esh’s designs are born out of a lot of world-building. His Spring 2023 collection was inspired by idealistic romance, the French actor Alain Delon and his love letters to Romy Scheinder and the discography of Amy Winehouse, which he then modernized and put into an economically conscious post-Brexit world that equates for the challenges of being young and worn out. In other words, his collections are a bildungsroman coming-of-age story that longs for a life of glamour and love.

Bettter by Julie Pelipas:

Julie Pelipas is a Ukrainian designer who launched her London-based brand, Bettter, in 2019. Before her design career, Pelipas worked as a stylist and fashion producer of special projects for Harper’s Bazaar (Ukraine) and as the Fashion Director of Vogue Ukraine. Since 2019, she has worked as the ambassador for the No More Plastic Foundation which parallels her sustainable clothing brand.

Bettter promotes a circular textile economy and ethical labor practices by upcycling deadstock fabrics with likeminded artisans and design studios. The brand is committed to transparency and traceability, providing information about their materials and production processes while bringing awareness to enviromental injustice and labor exploitation on their website and Instagram.

Bettter caters to chic women's workwear and suits that are inspired by classic tailoring such as Phoebe Philo-era Céline and the wardrobe of Fran Leibowitz, but ultimately it extends much further than a fashion label; its a community-oriented upcycling system that aims to educate customers on sustainability and workers’ rights as well as provide practical solutions to the fashion industry’s contribution to the climate crisis.

Burç Akyol:

Burç Akyol is a Turkish-French designer based in Paris. He graduated from the l’Institut Français de la Mode in Paris in 2007 and went on to work for several brands such as Christian Dior under the direction of John Galliano and Balenciaga under Nicholas Ghusquière before working as head of collections at Esteban Cortazar’s brand in 2014.

In 2019, Akyol stared his own eponymous label for which he won the highly coveted Fashion Trust Arabia Prize for in 2022. His brand adheres to the language of Haute Couture and presents off of the traditional fashion week calendar, ensuring that his collections are not rushed and allot the appropriate time to showcase the extent of his creativity and craftsmanship.

In the past, Akyol has designed for celebrities such as Cardi B and Zendaya who perfectly fit his brand identity of dramatic glamour and feminine seduction.

Diotima by Rachel Scott:

Diotima is a New York City-based brand created by Jamaican designer Rachel Scott. Diotima, named after the female philosopher who taught Socrates “the art of love” in Plato’s Symposium, explores the same conversation of intellect and intimacy inspired by community and Caribbean identity.

Scott has a wide range of knowledge in the design process, working as an assistant designer at both Costume National and J. Mendel, as designer for Mary-Kate and Ashley’s first brand Elizabeth and James, and as the Vice President of Design at Rachel Comey before starting her own brand in May of 2020.

As a Jamaican designer, Scott is passionate about advocating for the autonomy of communities in the global south and protecting them from the front lines of the climate crisis, so for that reason Diotima only releases two collections a year that are all made-to-order.

Luar by Raul Lopez:

Raul Lopez is a Dominican-American designer based in Brooklyn, New York. Before launching his reverse namesake brand in 2016, he worked as co-founder and designer of Hood by Air with Shayne Oliver. In 2018, Lopez was a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and in 2022 he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund's American Accessory Designer of the Year award after the rise in popularity of the brand’s signature Ana Bag

Raul Lopez’s designs are highly inspired by his Dominican-American identity, hip-hop, ballroom culture, and queerness. His brand specializing in combining classic 80s tailoring with with the “glamour and flamboyance of the Dominican Republic.”

As a self-made designer who pioneered his own way, he is also a known advocate for platforming young talents. For his Spring/Summer 2023 show, he open-casted independent models through Instagram instead of going through the traditional route of agencies.

Magliano by Luca Magliano:

Luca Magliano is an Italian designer based in Bologna which he describes as the “perpetual home of the Italian underground.” He founded his eponymous brand in 2017 and won the Vogue Who’s On next award the same year and now regularly presents his collections at Milano Men’s Fashion Week.

His brand is heavily inspired by queer identity and the styles of the 90s and early 2000s. At the very core of his brand Magliano is “committed to independent organizations that fight for minorities’ rights.” This is done through tasteful collections with strong messages such as his Fall 2023 Menswear collection, No, which brings awareness to the dangers of complacency.

Paolina Russo by Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard:

Paolina Russo is a London-based brand founded by Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard. Since completing a BA and MA at Central Saint Martins, receiving the L'Oréal Creative Young Talent Award and establishing a multi-project collaboration with Adidas, Russo and Guilmard have been increasingly defined by considerate craftsmanship, sustainability and innovation in textile development. The designers are currently finalists in the 2023 International Woolmark Prize, as well as part of 1 Granary's support and mentorship programme.

Committed to the sustainability and mindful production, this knitwear brand uses upcycled and unconventional materials to create avant-garde sportswear that “taps into a familiar nostalgia for the boredom, uncertainty, and naiveté of growing up.”

Quira by Veronica Leoni:

Following her debut at Jil Saunder, her years under Phoebe Philo at Celine, and working as lead designer at 2 Moncler 1952, Veronica Leoni officially launched her own brand, Quira, in September of 2021 at Milan Fashion Week.

This Rome-based brand brings an innovative and sensible perspective on contemporary womenswear by elevating classic staples to one-of-a-kind designs by merging 90s minimalism with its modern interpretation of the avant-garde. Pieces like rib knit cardigans with elongated sleeves, sculptural trench coats, and skirts with deconstructed layering exemplify the brand’s experimental approach.

Setchu by Satoshi Kuwata:

Satoshi Kuwata is a Japanese designer based in Italy. Having lived and learned between Kyoto, Paris, Milan, London, and New York, he developed a unique approach to elegance and a profound knowledge and respect for different cultures and traditional craftsmanship.

This appreciation to global design is then poured into his brand Setchu. Named after the Japanese word “Wayo Setchu (和洋折衷),” with “Wayo” referring to Japan and the West and “Setchu” meaning compromise, Setchu as a brand represents the “blending of Japanese and Western concepts - the compromise between the two cultures.”

Jean Paul Gaultier by Julien Dossena :

Since the announcement of his retirement back in 2020, a mere few days before his farewell spring couture collection, Jean Paul Gaultier’s namesake brand has enlisted a series of creative directors to each design under the Gaultier name for one couture collection. This unique initiative has allowed multiple popular designers to reinterpret the Gaultier archives and brand identity through their own individual style and design codes. Former host designers include Chitose Abe (FW21), Glenn Martens (SS22), Olivier Rousteing (FW22), Haider Ackermann (SS23), and in most recent news was the announcement of Julien Dossena for the upcoming Fall 2023 Couture collection.

After graduating from La Cambre in Brussels and interning for Nicholas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, Julien Dossena took over as creative director at Paco Rabanne in 2014. Dossena has since revived the futuristic brand while still managing to maintain its original space-age identity through modernizing some of Rabanne’s most memorable designs like The Twelve Unwearable Dresses from the mid-1960s.

This announcement and collaboration seems like a perfect match seeing that Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier are both known for their retrofuturistic designs. This is also the first time Jean Paul Gaultier has collaborated with a designers under the same fashion conglomerate Puig. And since Rabanne sadly passed a month ago at the age of 88, it will be interesting to see how and if Dossena honors the legacies of both revolutionary fashion designers.

AI Fashion Week :

In a tragic continuation of the fashion industry’s incessant need to add artificial intelligence everywhere, mentioned here in last week’s newsletter, the first ever AI fashion week has been announced. Hosted by the AI studio Maison Meta on the 20th & 21st of April, this AI fashion week “aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the fashion industry.”

I want to focus on this phrasing because it is the same language that was used in the Stradivarius AI campaign from last week. I find it very misleading to advertise art made by artificial intelligence as something that extends “beyond the limitations of our reality,” not only due to the algorithmic biases rooted in prejudice (which maybe isn’t a part of reality of the ten largest technology companies in Silicon Valley who did not employ a single black woman in 2016, however it is for everyone else), but also because fashion is and always will be an artform rooted in the human form.

Artificial intelligence takes texture, movement, dimension, and — most importantly — the human experience away from art and fashion. It has more limitations than our reality and if you don’t trust my word, you can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth:

“Fashion shows are social events that bring people together and create a sense of community. An AI fashion show could lack the human element that makes fashion shows so engaging and enjoyable, and could ultimately fail to attract and retain an audience. While AI technology has many exciting applications in the fashion industry, an AI fashion show may not be the best use of this technology due to the subjective and personal nature of fashion, the reliance on human creativity, and the social aspect of fashion shows.” - ChatGPT on why an AI fashion show is a bad idea

Kate Spade and Indigenous Appropriation :

Kate Spade is currently under fire with indigenous activists for their appropriation of the traditional Diné ribbon skirt. This skirt is considered sacred regalia in some indigenous communities and has a long history with colonialism in the Americas.

After the Native people were forced to abandon cultural practices, such as making clothing out of the much-preferred animal skins, trade cloths such as linen and ribbon were adopted out of necessity to dress native communities. However the ribbon quickly became a way for indigenous people to display their creative expression and identity through clothing which is why the ribbon skirt still exists as an important part of some native cultures today.

@martinadeneI didn’t have time to show all our skirts.. but my amazing mom made pretty much all of them 💕 #ribbonskirt #nativetiktok #indigenous #fyp

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This is why cultural appropriation is such a major problem. It’s history repeating itself; it actively takes away from the history of adaptation and practices that only exist due to the original cultural genocide of Native people. It also has systemic consequences — traditional arts, such as beadwork and pottery, have sustained the economy of native communities for generations. A report from Racing Magpie, a Lakota art and culture center based in Rapid City, South Dakota, states that “40 percent of households on the Pine Ridge Reservation make a majority of their income through handmade art, artifacts or sales,” now compare that to the estimated 0.6% of Indigenous American & Alaskan Natives who hold design positions in the U.S. fashion industry.

As of Friday (3/31), Kate Spade New York has yet to comment on these accusations, but I think it is still incredibly important to hold the fashion industry accountable and listen to native voices (Follow @denewomanrising on TikTok for more on this situation).

Succession vs. Burberry :

Burberry made fashion and mainstream news this week as it was ripped to shreds in the Season 4 primere of HBO’s dark comedy-drama series Succession. This section might contain light spoilers, so skip ahead if you haven’t watched, but intend to!

The discourse ignited after Cousin Greg brought a date to Logan Roy’s birthday party however she made an irreversible life-altering career-damaging mistake, she *check notes* wore a Burberry nova check handbag?

In the scene, Tom pulls Greg aside to let him know that everyone at the party is laughing at his date for bringing a “ludicrously capacious bag,” which he then starts to make assumptions of the contents of the bag and the wearer by questioning, “What’s even in there, huh? Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? I mean, Greg, it’s monstrous, it’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job.”

Now, if you have been here since my London Fashion Week Review, you know that (1) I’m practically Nostrodamus and, more importantly, (2) these comments about fashion in media are always part of a much bigger picture.

I highly recommend going back to read my full Burberry review, but to summarize — this last collection from Burberry was completely void of the brand's signature nova check, instead the patterns typically seen on the inner-linings of their trench coats were displayed as outerwear.

Burberry has a long history of classicism rooted in the signature nova check. The brand constantly shuns and reclaims this universally-recognized pattern as a way of perpetually separating themselves from the working class. Despite it being in fashion as recently as Spring/Summer 2023 (the collection that’s literally in stores right now), the brand has already prepared for the Fall/Winter season as it falls back out of favor with its audience.

Bottega Veneta Show in Beijing :

Bottega Veneta will be re-presenting their Fall/Winter 2023 collection in Beijing on July 20th and will include new looks developed for the Chinese market. Not too much to add on it yet, other than the fact that Bottega Veneta Fall/Winter 2023 was my favorite collection from this past fashion month and I’m so so so excited to see the additional looks.

Now watch as I completely contradict myself by criticizing the brand in the next section:

Bottega Veneta’s New Bag :

Bottega Veneta has announced their newest bag called the Quadronno, which appears to be a canvas bag with leather straps that resembles a classic tote. New bags are released all the time, but this one specifically peaked my interest because it has one very unique feature for Bottega… a brand name.

As many of you know, since the appointment of Matthieu Blazy as creative director in 2021, Bottega Veneta has rebranded itself as a quiet luxury brand that is leading the newly-phrased movement known as stealth wealth which relies less on a name or social media presence and more on the integrity of the designs.

I plan on writing more about how this exists in a larger cultural context later, but as mentioned in my essay When Capitalism Becomes Cosplay and the Succession vs. Burberry section above, there is a long standing history of socioeconomic classes rebranding their dress codes to either mimic or separate themselves from other classes. For the old “quiet luxury” that means minimal logos and innocuous designs that starkly contrast from the flashy wardrobes of the nouveau riche, but what happens when the new money adopts these habits as a form of assimilation? new dress codes.

If class performance were a chess match, it would be a blitz round, seeing that the announcement of this bag and the succession episode are a mere 3 days apart from each other. In other trend-forecasting words, logos might be coming back in for like 3-5 business days!! Or at least until Burberry’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection is available in stores.

Dior Fashion Show in Mumbai :

Dior hosted a landmark show this Thursday by becoming the first international luxury fashion house to do an official calendar runway show in India with their Pre-Fall 2023 collection. This collection was in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft who has a long history with Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

This show is historic for two reasons, it acknowledges India as a growing buying power in the international luxury market and embraces traditional Indian embroidery on an international stage — meaning India is being recognize as both a global consumer and producer of luxury fashion.

Weekly Reads:

Telfar’s New World by Senam Attipoe, Girl in Brown

Despite Inflation, Gen Z Consumers Are Still Shopping Online by Kanika Talwar, WWD

Uniqlo Executives Hold 'Sustainability' Breakfast by Amy Odell, The Back Row

How 1997 changed fashion forever: From Tom Ford's Gucci G-string to Thierry Mugler's Fly sunglasses, a new exhibition in Paris chronicles a very important year in fashion. by Sarah Moroz, i-D

Something Odd Is Happening With Handbags by Amanda Mull, The Atlantic

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Jeremy Scott Leaves Moschino :

After 10 years as creative director, Jeremy Scott decides to part ways with Moschino. In an interview with Farah Fluerima for The New York Times, Scott explains that this split was amicable and just simply time to move on to a new project. Although that new project is not yet known, Scott is currently in Seoul, South Korea working on a collaboration with Hyundai Motor Company. Inspired by Hyundai’s Re:Style initiative, which promises to recycle Hyundai interiors, Scott will be unveiling a collection made from recycled car parts and upholstery on March 23 at AP Again, in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. The exhibit will run until April 9, 2023.

Moschino was founded in 1983, meaning their 40th anniversary is this year. The brand’s first decade was operated by, the founder and namesake, Franco Moschino. Franco Moschino was notorious for his witty and satirical designs that challenged the fashion hierarchy by parodying other luxury brands through his Couture! and Cheap and Chic lines.

“Fashion is absolutely tacky. Being fashionable is not positive at all. Fashion is over. Let’s talk about something worthwhile. Fashion kills people. It is Fascism. As a designer, I have to convince you to change–to cut your hair, to change the frames of your glasses. You’re a creature of the fashion system, a Muppet, not yourself,” - Franco Moschino, New York Magazine, 1989.

Franco Moschino sadly passed away in 1994 after fighting AIDS for several years which means his time as creative director at Moschino lasted a little over 10 years. For this reason, I think Jeremy Scott’s departure after a decade with the brand is appropriately timed. Scott managed to revive Moschino and carry on Franco’s legacy by sticking to the founder’s original brand identity — something that is not to common amongst heritage houses. I hope the same can be said for Moschino’s next creative director and I’m excited to see what is in store for the brand moving forward.

Balenciaga Profile in The New Yorker :

Demna’s Balenciaga was discussed at length by Laura Reilly for an article in The New Yorker. Nothing in this profile was new information, however it did compile Demna’s personal history, design career, and controversies as well as provide and overview on Balenciaga’s entire brand history.

The main discussion at hand was, of course, the controversial Balenciaga campaign from November 2022 that photographed children holding inappropriate merchandise, but it did extend much further than that one topic. This article did slant in favor of Demna, sometimes obnoxiously so. I tend to slant out of favor of Demna, sometimes obnoxiously so, so here is what I agree and disagree with:

Disagree :

- The article opened with immense praise of Demna, citing quotes like “Demna’s the only one who talks about the things we’re all thinking about” and “[While] other designers take us to the Qing dynasty or the Belle Époque, to Djuna Barnes’s Left Bank flat or Talitha Getty’s Marrakesh villa. Demna had been willing to take us there” while (ironically) simultaneously calling all other designers and brands “pretentious.”

Demna is not immune to pretension, in fact, he perpetuates it. I wrote an essay a few weeks ago on the fashion industry’s glamorization of poverty that you can read here, but to summarize, Demna has a long history of “critiquing capitalism” by selling luxury goods that resemble clothing of the lower class and/or unhoused. Profiting on the less-than-fortunate living situations of those living in poverty isn’t a “critique on capitalism” it is, by definition, just capitalism. Any pseudo-intellectual description you attach to justify the designs will read as nothing less than pretentious.

- I also think it is in poor taste to open an article with praise for a designer when a large reason why he is being discussed at length is for potential child endangerment. Whether you believe it to be true or not, it does not compel you to take this situation seriously and, again, whether you believe it to be true or not, any discussion of potential child endangerment needs to be carefully handled.

Agree :

- Although I think the ad is a cause for concern, I do agree that the situation was manipulated to feed dangerous conspiracy theories and weaponized by right-wing media to aid their own unrelated narratives. Again, this is another situation of a child endangerment discussion being inappropriately handled.

Fashion Trust U.S. Awards :

The Fashion Trust U.S. awards were on March 21 at Goya Studios in Los Angeles, California. The Fashion Trust U.S. is a non-profit initiative dedicated to discovering and funding young designers. Winners of the awards are given financial grants and mentorships to aid them in building their own successful brands.

The awards and 2023 recipients are as follows:

The St. John Knits Ready-To-Wear Award: Aisling Camps

Aisling Camps is a Trinidadian mechanical engineer-turned-knitwear designer. She initially graduated from Columbia University, but later pursued a second degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology where she developed her skills in knitwear design. She operates her namesake brand out of Brooklyn, New York where all of her pieces are made by hand or outsourced from Emilia-Romagna, Italy from a family-run business with three generations of knitwear experience.

Since she is a Trinidad native who grew up in the Port of Spain, Camps says she naturally leans towards beachy designs. Her eponymous brand is self-described as “Regal, Minimalist, Caribbean, and Modern.”

Aisling Camps is the 2023 winner of the St. John Knits Ready-to-Wear Award. This award consists of a $150,000 grant, an opportunity to collaborate with the St. John Knits design team, as well as mentoring and business development advice from their global CEO, Andy Lew, and the FTUS advisory board which is made up of 19 industry professionals such as Law Roach and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson.

The Jewelry Award: L’Enchanteur

L’Enchanteur is a Brooklyn-based brand co-founded by Nigerian-Dominican twins Dynasty and Soull Ogun. Their brand is heavily influenced by spirituality. The elements, numerology, mythology, religion, magic, and folklore are all common themes amongst their designs. The Ogun twins have previously worked with 3.1 Philip Lim and have dressed celebrities such as Megan thee Stallion, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu as well as designed the jewelry for Beyoncé’s Black is King.

Although the specialize in many areas of design, they specifically won the 2023 FTUS Jewelry Award. The design duo will receive a grant of a $25,000 as well as mentoring and business development advise from the Fashion Trust U.S. advisory board.

The Sustainability Award: Elena Velez

Elena Velez is a New York City-based designer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Velez is one of the most popular rising designers at the moment. She won both the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund and the American Emerging Designer of the Year award at the 2022 CFDA Fashion Awards.

Velez’s work is heavily influenced by her Midwest blue-collar upbringing and her brand is dedicated to creating a space for the working class in high fashion. As a former metalsmith herself, Velez frequently collaborates with local artisans to amplify regional crafts through her deconstructed and industrial design style.

As the winner of the 2023 FTUS Sustainability Award, Elena Velez will receive a $25,000 grant as well as mentoring and business development advise from the FTUS advisory board.

The Creativity Award sponsored by Google: Puppets and Puppets

Puppets and Puppets is a New York City-based fashion label founded in 2018 by Carly Mark and Ayla Argentina. Argentina covers most of the garment construction while Mark operates as creative director and publicist of their brand. Carly Mark was also a nominee for the 2022 CFDA American Emerging Designer of the Year award.

As multi-talented creatives, and with Mark as the head of the docent program at the Detroit Institute of Art, it comes as no surprise that a lot of their collections are inspired by cinema and fine art. Their two most recent collections, Spring 2023 RTW and Fall 2023 RTW, were inspired by the films Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Dead Ringers (1988), respectively.

Puppets and Puppets is the 2023 recipient of the FTUS Creativity Award. This award consists of a $25,000 grant as well as mentoring and business development advise from the Fashion Trust U.S. advisory board.

Graduate Award sponsored by Google: Papa Oppong

Papa Oppong Bediako is a New York City-based designer from Accra, Ghana. Since graduating with a MFA in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Bediako has gone on to design for the West African textile company, Woodin, as well as style and direct a fashion show for Adidas (Ghana). He has also received accolades from CNN and Forbes for his work in amplifying African design, with the latter listing him as one of the 15 young African designers “re-branding the continent.”

As the winner of the Graduate Award sponsored by Google, Papa Oppong will receive a $25,000 grant as well as mentoring and business development advise from the FTUS advisory board.

Inclusivity Award: Agbobly

Agbobly, formerly known as Black Boy Knits, is an eponymous brand founded by the Togolese designer Jacques Agbobly. Their designs emphasize on Black, immigrant, and queer design codes that aim to “subvert expectations for work made by African designers.” As a non-binary African designer themself, Agbobly’s explores gender nuance through fashion while blending traditional Togolese design techniques that are commonly overlooked within luxury fashion.

Jacques Agbobly is the winner of the 2023 FTUS Inclusivity Award. This award was created to recognize a brand that fosters a diverse and inclusive environment that acknowledges and utilizes individual’s talents from various backgrounds. Agbolby will receive a $25,000 grant as well as mentoring and business development advise from the Fashion Trust U.S. advisory board.

Fashion and Artificial Intelligence :

Artificial intelligence had a big influence on fashion this week…

Vogue Brasil Introduces AI Covers for the March 2023 Issue:

Six photographers and visual creatives were invited to each design a cover for the March 2023 Issue of Vogue Brasil. Although the photographers were all real, the models were not. This project aimed to open a conversation on fashion’s place in the digital world and legitimize AI, not as an alternative to traditional photography, but as an additional genre of it.

The covers were designed in an artificial intelligence program called Midjourney. This program generates images through text descriptions called “prompts.” Photographer Igi Lọ́la Ayedun writes that this project taught “how to transcribe our own ideas and imagery desires,” and that this prompt-based project was “the most difficult AI I've ever done.”

Levi’s Begins Testing AI-Generated Models:

The denim brand, Levi’s, announces they will supplement their human models with AI-generated ones later this year. This initiative is in collaboration with the Dutch digital fashion studio Lalaland.ai which apparently allows customers to see models “that look more like themselves.” This AI program claims to create “super-realistic models of every age, size, skin tone, and body type” and that this initiative offers a “more inclusive, personal, and sustainable shopping experience.”

Stradivarius AI Campaign

Colombia-based fashion brand, Stradivarius, launched their spring collection this week, not only using AI models, but also some AI clothing. As written on their website, these designs “are what our fashion would be if reality didn’t limit us.”

General Thoughts:

I have been a critic of artificial intelligence’s place in fashion since the very beginning. It comes as no surprise to anyone that the fashion industry has a long history of uniformity and exclusion that often overlooks racial minorities and plus size models. In recent years we saw a rise in diversity optics in the fashion industry, with one of the most public displays being Jacquemus Spring 2021 collection where the majority of models were people of color, but that did not reflect the actual design team of Jacquemus at all.

I fear that the rise of AI in fashion takes it once step further by, instead of only having (very minimal) representation in the modeling side of the industry, now replacing those career opportunities with models of color that aren’t even real.

With women only making up 26.7% of the tech workforce, and black women specifically making up only 1.7%, AI has already proven to show a great amount of racial and gender prejudices. This is a problem enough on its own, but to now present as a diverse and inclusive solution to the current exclusivity problem in the fashion industry is just like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. There are real, plausible, inclusive ways to make the fashion industry a more diverse place and none of it requires avatars to lead the revolution.

Telfar Introduces New Live Pricing Model :

Telfar, a black-owned luxury brand known for its contemporary pricing, is further proving that statement to be true with the announcement of a new live pricing model, “TELFAR LIVE”, for their March 27th drop at 12pm EST.

This pricing plan allows the value of each item to be determined by Telfar customers. All items will be listed at the wholesale price at the time of the drop at noon (this means that some starting prices are as low as $50 USD) and for every minute that passes before an item sells out, its price will increase by one dollar. Once the item sells out (or if it stays in-stock until it reaches the retail price), the end price will remain as the retail value indefinitely.

This pricing plan is a radical response to Telfar’s dominant force in the resell market. Telfar Clemens has always advocated for an accessible business model, but that has been targeted by bots and mass resellers in recent years. His iconic Telfar Shopping Bags have a retail price of $150, but have been listed as high as $600+ on the resell market. This, of course, defeats the purpose of having an accessible brand, so Clemens is passing the authority onto his audience to set the price that is most reasonable with them.

Vera Wang Becomes the First Fashion Designer to Receive the National Medal of Arts Award :

Vera Wang received the National Medal of Art Award from President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday. This award is the highest medal honor given to artists in the United States and Vera Wang was the first fashion designer to ever receive it.

As someone who has dressed multiple First Ladies, was inducted to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame for her contribution to costume design, won the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, designed the uniforms for the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders, and has overall been an essential part of American fashion for the past 33 years, I’d say this honor is well deserved.

I am also thrilled to see fashion being recognized as an art form of its own at the national level. Historically fashion has been undervalued, even at the institutional level with the Costume Institute being the only Metropolitan Museum curatorial department that has to fund itself, which is largely rooted in the misogynistic history of the arts. Fashion is frequently reduced to a craft since it historically presents as a female-dominant interest, so the fact that the first time this award is recognizing fashion, it is also recognizing a Chinese-American woman is very exciting news!

EU Commission Releases Proposition to Cut Down on Greenwashing :

The European Commission has released a proposition for how companies market their sustainable businesses. This proposal requires companies to meet a set of standards in order to advertise themselves as an environmentally conscious brand. This initiative is to cut down on the widespread greenwashing problem in marketing.

The Proposal for a Directive on Green Claims targets businesses that “state or imply a positive environmental impact, lesser negative impact, no impact, or improvement overtime for their products, services, or organization.” The proposal requires green claims such as “made from 30% recycled plastic” or “committed to reducing carbon footprint” to be substantiated or else there will be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties.”

Although this proposition is not exclusive to the fashion industry, greenwashing has been a large problem in fashion for many years. Between persuasive marketing like referring to microplastic-shedding textiles as “vegan leather” or disguising garment-dumping as “clothing donations to the third world,” greenwashing is not only dishonest about their environmental impacts, but their humanitarian ones as well. There needs to be a set of standards present, so these brands can morally and legally be held accountable.

The Fashion Law breaks down this initiative even further in an article I will link here and below.

Fear Of God Announces First Fashion Show :

Fear of God’s creative director Jerry Lorenzo announced his first fashion show which will take place on April 19 at The Hollywood Bowl.

This iconic venue is not only important to music history, but fashion history as well. In 1993 Calvin Klein hosted a runway show fundraiser which raised $1 million for the AIDS project that included a performance from Tina Turner.

Although not much is yet known about Lorenzo's upcoming show, between the history of the Hollywood bowl and presenting off of the fashion week schedule, all eyes are currently on him.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the American luxury apparel brand and earlier this month Alfred Chang, PacSun’s co-chief officer, joined Fear of God’s team as chief executive officer. In February, the brand ventured into retail with a pop-up shop in Seoul, South Korea at the Hyundai Trade Center, so all of Lorenzo’s cards are lining up to have a successful fashion show debut.

Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby Leave Trussardi :

The GmBH Designers, Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby, leave Trussardi after only two years with the brand. This sadly comes as no surprise seeing that recently the entire board of directors and CEO, Sébastien Suhl, resigned amid €50 million debt. WWD states “It is understood the goal is to restructure Trussardi for a potential sale. Three parties have expressed an interest in the company, whose employees have been put in ‘cassa integrazione,’ a government-funded redundancy pay since February that is expected to extend until the end of April.”

First Look At H&M x Mugler :

The first look at H&M x Mugler was released on March 23 through a music video that features Manfred Mugler’s original muses Jerry Hall and Connie Flemming. The collection appears to have pieces similar to Casey Cadwallader’s current Mugler as well as some callbacks to Manfred’s archive.

I wrote about my feelings for H&M x Mugler extensively a few weeks ago in my essay When Capitalism Becomes Cosplay. I still hold the same feelings after finally seeing the collection, it is exactly what I was expecting, but now I am more interested in the rise in archival callbacks and how that effects the value of vintage pieces. I addressed this a bit in my JW Anderson review for London Fashion Week and have plans to discuss it even further in an upcoming essay, but to briefly summarize:

Since fashion is class performance and the fashion industry is widely dependent on exclusivity, there has been a drastic increase in the interest of archival pieces. Because of their age, there is an even more limited supply than the initial limited supply that is embedded in the luxury fashion model, which means an item’s value is directly linked to its rarity. However, since fashion is a business, it finds capital in the interest of vintage pieces therefore many brands have been bringing archival designs back into production (see: Jean Paul Gaultier Cyber Collection).

I’m curious to see how this will hold an overall effect on the value of archival pieces. Of course, there is still value in having “the original,” but since fashion is widely based on visuals, if the lack of visual-exclusivity leads to the the dwindling interest in archive fashion, the interest in re-editions will sink with it: an ouroboros.

W Magazine Announces Chinese Edition :

W Magazine is set to release a new fashion publication in China in partnership with MC Style Media, the publishing conglomerate that oversees Marie Claire China.

The publication will be led by chief executive Alex Sun and editor-at-large Mix Wei. The first edition of the magazine will be released in April and will subsequently adhere to a bi-monthly publishing schedule. W China will also have digital content on the social media platforms Instagram, Douyin, WeChat, Xiaohongshu (RED), and Weibo.

Beyoncé and Adidas Part Ways :

After five years in collaboration, Beyoncé’s activewear brand Ivy Park and Adidas have parted ways due to creative differences. However she is reportedly planning on reclaiming sole ownership of her brand to maintain full creative freedom.

Weekly Reads:

Is Viral Fashion Meant to Be Worn? by Laura Reilly, The Cut.

“Ive Been Suffering For Years.” Law Roach on the reasons behind his retirement from celebrity fashion by Lindsay Peoples, The Cut.

The Button-Pushing Impresario of Balenciaga: How Demna engineered the rise—and near-fall—of the luxury fashion house. by Lauren Collins, The New Yorker.

The New Requirement for Landing Media Coverage by Diana Pearl, The Business of Fashion.

EU Commission Releases Proposed New Rules to Cut Down on Greenwashing by The Fashion Law.