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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Fashion Culture | Battle of Versailles: ‘This Was the Real America, An America They Haven’t Seen’
A 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.
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Fashion Culture | The Empowering Effect of Ebony Fashion Fair
From 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 […]
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Fashion Culture | Donyale, Naomi, and Beverly – Fashion’s First Black Supermodels
The Black community did not have model representation in mainstream fashion magazines until the tumultuous time of the 60’s when Donyale Luna, Naomi Ruth Sims, Beverly Johnson were the first Blacks to grace the covers. Black beauty had been denied to enter this space for so long, so finally, there was inclusion, respect, and recognition, […]
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Fashion Culture | Who Made the Hats for Scarlet O’Hara? Meet Mildred Blount
Mildred 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.
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Fashion Culture | Elizabeth, Fannie, Anne, and Zelda, Fashion’s First Black Designers
I 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
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Fashion Culture | W.E.B. Du Bois’ Exposition des Nègres d’Amérique Transformed the World’s View of Black in America
In 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 […]
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Fashion Culture | The Cotton Factory – ‘the Good, the Bad and the Ugly’
Cotton, 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.
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Fashion Culture | A Study of Eight, the Untold American Story
A 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 (CRM). These stories represent the voices […]
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Branding in the Fashion Space – Where Do the Lines Between Leadership and Listening Overlap and Diverge?
After all, most artists don’t go around proclaiming, ‘I want to be a commercial success.’ – Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman & CEO
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Branding, Marketing & Advertising 101
Branding 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 […]
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Unsettling and Uplifting -10 Uncharted Paths to a New Direction for Fashion
We have to be unburdened by what has been to consider what can be. – Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
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Time Will Tell. The State of Fashion 2021
Diminished, 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
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Fashion Culture | Aryanization and the Destruction of Berlin’s Fashion Industry
By 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 […]
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In the COVID era keep creating | 5 survival tips not to ignore
Stay focused, slow it down, present scarcity, and invest in a circular system.
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Buy Less, But Better | Study Shows Notable Shift to Sustainable Consumption
As 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.
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Are You Listening? Consumer Feedback is King | A How-To Guide
Are 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?
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Fashion Culture | Fashion’s First Black Photographer
Gordon Parks accomplished many firsts, including the distinction of being the first black photographer at Vogue, Glamour, and Life magazines.
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The State of Fashion 2020 | Sustainability First
For the first time sustainability was named the biggest opportunity in this study.
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A Message from the Editor to FIDM graduates and all emerging designers
. . . And to Those Still Trying to Break Through the ‘Noise’. There are no impossibilities. In a world where we are taught to conform, we must be diligent in using our creative power for change.
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Fashion Unknown Fact | 10,000 liters of water. . .grow one kilo of cotton
10,000 liters of water is required to grow one kilo of cotton needed to make just one pair of denim jeans. In comparison, one person would take 10 years to drink 10,000 liters of water. Cumulatively, the fashion industry produces about 20% of global waste water. Source: UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon […]
Read moreWith 25.5 billion pounds of USE-ABLE textiles thrown away each year (70 pounds per American), there is a lot of waste that can be prevented.
You don’t need to be an expert to succeed in fashion
Expertise is no longer a guarantee in this business and bachelors degrees and awards don’t always take you to the top. Sometimes boundless energy, street smarts, a killer idea and an iPhone are what it takes.
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The State of Fashion 2019 | The Courage to “Self-Disrupt”
The fashion industry continues to hover in a state of flux . . . and we predict that 2019 will be a year shaped by consumer shifts linked to technology, social causes and trust issues, alongside the potential disruption from geopolitical and macroeconomic events. Only those brands that accurately reflect the zeitgeist or have the […]
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Fashion Culture | Alexander McQueen and Fashion’s Firsts
Alexander McQueen will clearly be documented in fashion history as the first most awarded and socially provocative designer.
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Ten Minute Catwalk – Costly, Waste of Time, Once You See It, Forgotten!
A ten minute catwalk? How about a ten month campaign of exposure! Why not leverage this very short window of exposure to maximize your business long-term. Here are 10 steps of keeping your brand prominent in the eyes and buying power of your audience: Tell your story – document your design and development stages by […]
Read moreWe need to shift our consumption values so that the entire fashion system can shift along with it.
– RP Hill –
Fashion Unknown Fact | India, World’s Youngest Emerging Economy
What does this mean for the fashion community? According to a report by Technopak, “in contrast to the increasingly aged populations in the West, Japan, and even China, India is expected to become the world’s youngest emerging economy by 2020, with around 64% of its population in the working age group” – median age 28 [compared to US 38, […]
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Consumers Call the Shots | A Power Shift Away from the Retailers
The future is in the hands of the consumers with a power shift away from the retailers. Shoppers have more control over what, when, how, and how often they purchase fashion, leaving retailers (both online and brick and mortar) with many challenges not the least of which is ‘what to offer’. Plunkett Research, Ltd.’s Keys […]
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