I don’t design clothes for the Queen; but for the people who wave at her as she goes by. -Willi Smith
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I don’t design clothes for the Queen; but for the people who wave at her as she goes by. -Willi Smith
Read moreA passionate declaration from Bill Cunningham, American fashion photographer of the New York Times, who remembers that the Black fashion models at the Battle of Versailles fashion show brought together a cultural movement that not only marked a new era in fashion, but was a defining moment in racial equality.
Read moreFrom civil rights to the catwalk, Ebony Fashion Fair defied all odds and left an empowering effect on the African American community. The cumulative effect of years of presenting high fashion to African Americans, on African Americans, with African Americans taste-making in mind, enabled Mrs. Johnson to be a change-agent who harnessed the power of […]
Read moreDonyale Luna, Naomi Ruth Sims, Beverly Johnson.
Read moreMildred Blount became the first African American member of the Motion Pictures Costumers Union. Her hats are in the collections of California African American Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Read moreI love my clothes and I’m particular about whom I sew for. I’m an awful snob. I’m not interested in sewing for café society or for social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for the families of the social register. – Anne Lowe Gerri Major, Ebony Magazine, December 1966
Read moreIn 1900 a transformation of Black identity and the world’s view of Blacks in America took center stage at the 1900’s World’s Fair in Paris. A perception of Blacks in America was manifested through photojournalism and visual data witnessed by the outside world looking in. Those in the Black community validated that perception by leveraging […]
Read moreCotton, the most widely used textile fiber in the world, has a distinguishable, contentious history of oppressed, discriminatory labor practices in the United States. The use of cheap factory labor has its roots in an all too familiar story of oppression and segregation.
Read moreA Study of Eight is a curated editorial project advancing the study of African Americans’ contribution to fashion history. Eight American stories cover people and events of cultural and historical significance occurring between 1880 and 1980 against the backdrop of the post Reconstruction era to beyond the civil rights movement. These stories represent the voices of […]
Read moreBranding 101: Branding is the Big Picture. Branding is the sum of all impressions one has of your business. Such as, the quality and detail of your seasonal collections; public relations and news about the organization; social media output; your name, graphic and visual identity; packaging. Deliver a consistent on-target brand experience across all consumer […]
Read moreAgainst the backdrop of unprecedented store closures, bankruptcy, and excessive inventory throughout the supply chain, is fashion week necessary? Mckinsey & Company suggest the global industry’s economic profit will fall by 93 percent in 2020 after rising 4 percent in 2019. In a worst case scenario, the industry won’t get back to 2019 levels until […]
Read moreWe have to be unburdened by what has been to consider what can be. – Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Read moreDiminished, downsized, and discerning is the current normal of the fashion industry. Fashion companies will post approximately a 90 percent decline in economic profit in 2020, after a 4 percent rise in 2019. – BoF and Mckinsey & Company, The State of Fashion 2021 report
Read moreIn an age of socioeconomic inequalities, climate crisis, and a pandemic, characterized by accelerated technological advances and new working models, design plays a crucial role in supporting the ways we care for ourselves, each other and the planet. Managing resources equitably and sustainably is vital for ecological resilience. The Design Museum, United Kingdom, Designers in […]
Read moreBy 1930, Berlin emerged as an international fashion capital. It’s success even drew Parisian fashion designers. Most of the fashion businesses were owned and operated by German Jews. In their thrust to decimate the Jewish population, in 1933 the Nazis implemented a campaign to force these firms to sell. Signs in store windows read “Germans […]
Read moreDespite the efforts of governments and other actors, anthropogenic GHG emissions continue to increase. Under current trajectories, global mean temperatures are projected to increase by 2.2°C to 4.4°C by the end of this century. – Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action | Climate Action Playbook
Read moreStay focused, slow it down, present scarcity, and invest in a circular system.
Read moreAs part of the IFM – Première Vision Chair, Français de la Mode conducted a study that surveyed 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy and the United States about their consumption habits of Eco-friendly fashion.
Read moreAre you giving your consumer a platform to provide you with meaningful feedback? Do you know why their consumption patterns have changed? Don’t assume anything. Have you asked?
Read moreGordon Parks accomplished many firsts, including the distinction of being the first black photographer at Vogue, Glamour, and Life magazines.
Read moreIs the industry doing that? Lady Gaga has said ‘fashion doesn’t need to go together; it just needs to be upsetting’. She was referencing her dismissal of wearing designer clothing from head to toe. That’s just one aspect of the control culture or out-of-control culture that the fashion industry emits.
Read moreTextiles [clothing] have no way out of a circular fashion system. In a circular system, they are designed with no exit strategy.
Read moreWhat I hope to accomplish is basically a diversion of the practices we use to satisfy our materialistic needs. I personally believe that the urge for something new is something not worth trying to change, what I focus on changing is the reaction to that urge. – Ophir El-Boher
Read moreWhat I find fascinating about the subject of sustainable fashion is that many in the industry don’t truly understand, or let’s say embrace, the benefit of a complete supply system that conserves and values our resources.
Read moreThis is a re-post from October 2014, Sustainable Fashion Never Goes Out of Style. This future scenario was published in February 2010 report, Fashion Futures 2025, by Levi Strauss & Co. We are 10 years into their 15 year forecast. Not too far from a future like this?
Read moreThe carnage of closures from the impact of COVID-19 throughout the supply chain is forcing the industry to pause and re-set. According to Mckinsey & Co., if stores remain closed for two months, 80 percent of publicly listed fashion companies in Europe and North America will be in financial distress. Revenues for the global fashion industry […]
Read moreWhat will the future look like after COVID-19? It will seismically shift societal behavior – in what we appreciate, what we prioritize as important, and how we consume.
RP Hill
Did you know that futbol team, aka soccer, t-shirts are considered fast fashion and negatively impact the environment? Sustainable fashion designer Juan Pablo Martinez thinks so. He says, “the top 10 futbol teams alone, sell 17,500,000 100% polyester t-shirts every year”.
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