DEI news and archive

Double Take adaptive runway asks industry to look again at DEI commitment

The Double Take runway show was a unique event which precluded New York Fashion Week by one day. Sponsored by Genentech to promote disability visibility, it featured models from the SMA community who collaborated with Open Style Lab, the nationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to creating functional yet stylish solutions for and...

Business

Saks appoints DEI exec

Luxury e-commerce platform Saks has announced it has appointed Alicia Williams as vice president, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), effective immediately. As part of the ESG team, led by Cara Chacon, Williams will be responsible for boosting Saks’ DEI efforts and commitments across the company while formulating its future strategy. Williams...

Business|Exclusive Featured

Poor leadership, escalating tuition, and the corruption of fashion education

Fashion schools had already been suffering from a steady decline in enrollment, astronomical tuition fees and speculation that a third level education was no longer a prerequisite to a successful career. Then the pandemic came along and exposed the cracks in fashion education's very foundation. The Great Resignation dominating headlines has not...

Business|Interview Featured

Amid wave of resignations, fashion educators tell of burnout, lack of support and cancel culture

Students today are graduating into an historically unprecedented environment of social and climate unrest amid a once-in-a-century global pandemic. It will have an effect on this generation of young professionals. When Covid struck and classes were taught remotely, academic leaders in fashion schools nationwide focused discussion on the mental...

Fashion Featured

Black History Month is over for another year, so what now?

Each year as Black History Month comes to a close, speculation inevitably arises that the fashion industry will return to its white-centric status quo, its conscience clear for another year. As comedian Chris Rock said in 2015, “Black History Month is in the shortest month of the year, and the coldest—just in case we want to have a parade.” In...

BusinessFeatured

Facebook algorithms hurt independent brands serving disabled market

Two years ago, Facebook flagged the website of Slick Chicks, a company which sells adaptive underwear for diverse bodies, for content which Facebook said went against their community standards. The content was an image of a woman in a wheelchair wearing their patented side opening underwear. “We feature our customers and brand ambassadors on our...