Introducing, "In the News" (in your inbox!), Issue 07, July 23, 2021
Twice a month, you'll receive a curated news report that addresses some of the most critical and timely headlines as it relates to fashion and race.
NOTE: This is an abridged version of our full “In the News” issue. To read the full stories and view all of the images, continue on at our website.
In Issue 07 of In the News, we consider how the pandemic brought attention to often overlooked labor issues, explore the problematic gap between consumer intention and action, spotlight the first couture collection by a Black American fashion designer, and examine the politics of policies that dictate public appearance.
Sustainability & Labor Issues
Tension has continued to build as garment workers struggle with pandemic-related realities on the ground while European and American-based businesses push for higher production levels to meet rising consumer demand. In Bangladesh, exports are growing at a record pace while the country battles new spikes in coronavirus cases. Although the government implemented a two week national lockdown from July 1-14, garment factories were still permitted to operate. And yet, despite evidence of financial revival, many factories are still failing to fairly support laborers. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is filing complaints in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan (and potentially Bangladesh as well), in an effort to hold some of fashion’s biggest corporations liable for alleged human rights violations in their supply chains. Throughout the pandemic, many labor groups have reported increased cases of wage theft and unfair working conditions, detailed in a recently published report by AFWA. This legal action is considered groundbreaking because it attempts to hold global clothing brands accountable for what takes place in their factories – which has often been circumvented in the past. Some of the companies facing complaints include H&M, Levi Strauss, Tommy Hilfiger, and DKNY. This type of accountability has typically been circumvented by brands in the past, as explained by Don-Alvin Adegeest in a recent piece for Fashion United. Adegeest argues that these pandemic-related issues have “exposed the undeniable truth that extreme labour exploitation forms the core feature of global apparel supply chains. The humanitarian crisis unleashed on garment workers in Asia due to the pandemic-induced recession, was neither unanticipated nor unavoidable. Rather, it was the direct consequence of the actions of global apparel brands located in the Global North, which earn super-profits through the exploitation of workers.” […]
Further Reading:
Watch Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton, give a talk reviewing the global history of cotton and its intersection with industrial capitalism.
Learn more about the complex history of cotton production within the U.S. in the book, Clothed in Meaning.
Listen to the Fashion Revolution Podcast Series, “Who Made My Clothes” – Part One – Part Two – Part Three
Also on our radar:
Indian fashion designer Rahul Mishra’s recent couture collection made a concerted effort to utilize the skills of local karigars (highly skilled artisans). Learn more about the struggles faced by karigars throughout the pandemic in Issue 02 of In The News.
The assasination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has created political instability that may have the corollary effect of destabilizing the country’s supply chains. Visit the digital humanities project Rendering Revolution to better understand the role of dress in Haiti and its complex intersection with political struggle.
For the unabridged version that includes full stories and images, continue on at our website.
Business & Retail
[…] Several artists and designers have accused Shein of blatantly replicating their work – but in an industry where copying is generally considered legal, not much can be done. The brand has also been called out by outlets like Diet Prada for cultural appropriation and racist missteps. But as Nguyen points out, “it’s hard to imagine Shein embracing corporate accountability without widespread consumer pressure.” And while Shein may be based in China, its customers are mostly not Chinese – the U.S. is its largest market of the 220 countries where it sells products. It’s also the leading shopping app in 50 countries, including the U.S., where it overtook Amazon on the iOS app store in June. This success has attracted funding from major American investors like Sequoia Capital and IDG. The consumers driving Shein’s rise are primarily young, Gen Z shoppers in America – ironically, the same segment that is typically at the forefront of demanding brand accountability and ethics. Bloomberg observes, “those concerns have yet to undermine the appeal of super-low prices and unending variety.” Shein’s continued growth exposes a problematic gap in what consumers say they value, and how they actually spend their dollars.
Further Reading:
Listen to an episode of the Fashion No Filter podcast featuring Robin Givhan and Henrietta Gallina, in which they discuss issues of “performative marketing and smoke and mirror optics of advertising and inclusivity.”
In our Retail as a Portal conversation series, we explore how retail can empower us to produce and consume with positive, social impact and ignite systemic change.
Also on our radar:
The New York Times reports that LVMH has bought a majority stake in Off-White, making Virgil Abloh the most powerful Black executive at the most influential luxury goods group in the world.
The Fashion Roundtable advocacy group has published a new research paper [PDF download] in partnership with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fashion and Textiles, with findings that emphasize pervasive discrimination across the British fashion industry.
Hilal Ibrahim’s Henna & Hijabs label becomes one of the first hijab lines available at a major U.S. retailer via a new partnership with Nordstrom.
For the unabridged version that includes full stories and images, continue on at our website.
Design & Imagemaking
Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond recently unveiled his debut couture collection for his label Pyer Moss as the first Black American fashion designer to show as part of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. The show took place at the historic home of Black beauty entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker in Irvington, New York. The event began with an inspiring speech by Elaine Brown, former leader of the Black Panther Party, followed by a musical performance by rapper 22Gz, and the presentation of the collection. […]
Further Reading:
Read about the significance of camp as a technique of Black queer expression in Sequoia Barnes’ research article.
Explore our reading list on Blackness and Luxury Fashion.
Learn how the fashion runway can be examined through the lens of Critical Race Theory in this paper by Sophia Adodo.
Also on our radar:
Designer and host of The Cutting Room Floor podcast, Recho Omondi discusses the complexities of her recent viral interview with Leandra Medine Cohen of Man Repeller, which confronted issues of racism in the fashion industry.
The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced an upcoming exhibition on African fashion and design, set to open in 2022. Fashion and Race Database founder Kimberly Jenkins is quoted in The Guardian discussing the significance of combatting “the idea that Africa is not capable or equipped to showcase innovation or creative design” and that we are “finally seeing the creativity of Africa in a substantive way.”
Last week’s Gossip Girl premiere featured Christopher John Rogers, and Vogue shares the inside scoop on the collaboration.
For the unabridged version that includes full stories and images, continue on at our website.
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Dress Politics
In late June, MetroUK reported that swimming caps by Black-owned brand Soul Cap, which are specifically designed for natural Black hair, had been banned from the Olympics. The news sparked outrage from athletes and backlash from the public, with many arguing that the decision was indicative of systemic racism and ignorance. Within a few days, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced on July 2 that the decision was being reviewed and reconsidered. But nearly 3 weeks later, the organization has not confirmed a decision. In the interim, The New York Times published a piece examining the controversy, in which Evan Nicole Brown notes that the issues at stake are much more significant than this one instance: “Even beyond the world of elite athletics, legislation surrounding what is and is not acceptable for Black hair has long been a point of contention, and in some instances, has been simply racist.” […]
Further Reading:
Explore our reading list on Fashioning Black Hair to learn more about hair discrimination and the relationship between Black hair and power, beauty, resistance, and identity.
Examine the intersection between appearance policies and discrimination in the research article, “Let My Hair Be.”
Learn more about the practice of veiling as part of Muslim dress within international Muslim minority contexts with the book, Veiling in Fashion: Space and the Hijab in Minority Communities.
Consider nuanced interpretations of religion and culture with the essay, “Wrapped in Meaning: Modest Fashion as a Feminist Strategy.”
For the unabridged version that includes full stories and images, continue on at our website.
In the News is researched and written by Anu Lingala and edited by Anthony Palliparambil, Jr. and Kimberly Jenkins.
Anu Lingala is a trend forecaster, brand strategist, and founder of Revisionary: a space dedicated to reframing our aesthetic vision and decolonizing our aspirations by centering BIPOC-owned brands. She also helped launch Public Service: a platform and creative studio working to advance equity in imagemaking. Anu has always been passionate about applying sociocultural and historical analysis to contemporary industry contexts. She holds a BS in Apparel Design from Cornell University and an MA in History of Design from the Royal College of Art, where her dissertation examined cultural appropriation in fashion.