Do #BlackLivesMatter to the fashion industry?
By: Bianca O'Neill
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, Beauty, Fashion, Racism, Activism

The social movement has exposed a raft of issues amongst the fash pack — but if we look deeper, we’ll find they were always there.

The spotlight has shone on the fashion industry this past week. (Photo: Unsplash)

The past two weeks have been filled with images of worldwide #BLM protests, questionable op-eds, and a disappointing number of new revelations within the fashion industry.

It was almost farcical in its recipe: a black Instagram tile, followed by accusations of racist behaviour in the comments, followed by a mea culpa, followed by a resignation. Over and over again.

So will these ‘realisations’ — only ‘realised’ once they have been called out publicly — really change anything? First, let’s take a look at just some of the biggest #BLM revelations this past week.

Man Repeller

This week’s most prominent accusation landed in the lap of Man Repeller founder, Leandra Cohen (nee Medine). After posting a vague open letter about how she could create “a sustained impact in the fight to eradicate systemic racism”, the accusations flooded in — from past employees and interns alike.

Then, a second open letter appeared, in which Cohen suggested she was “humbled by the depth of wisdom on display” — but apparently not humbled enough to bother actively working on her own shortcomings. She instead announced that she had stepped down from the top job.

I was openly critical of Cohen’s decision to step down in an op-ed I penned this week, suggesting that her solution of running away from the problem might just be the opposite action that Man Repeller (and, in fact, Cohen) needs.

Ironic, then, that Man Repeller posted this as their first reference to George Floyd, before the shit hit the fan:

Refinery29

Another seemingly-progressive media outlet took a hit last week, in the form of Refinery29’s top editor, Christene Barberich. The co-founder and global editor-in-chief was accused of “racist aggressions”, underpaying Black staff, and a general lack of diversity.

Her response detailed her plan to “make room” for others by stepping down from the top job.

“I will be stepping aside in my role at R29 to help diversify our leadership in editorial and ensure this brand and the people it touches can spark a new defining chapter,” said Barberich on her latest Instagram post.

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership that’s truly reflective of the diversity of our audience with divergent points of view, one that builds and expands on our original mission to amplify and celebrate a wide range of voices, perspectives, and stories…stories that need and deserve to be told.”

Vogue

As we continue with the publishing theme, Diet Prada has also shared accusations levelled at Vogue from many ex-employees, including Vogue ex-media planner Shelby Ivey Christie.

“ ‘A white male exec on the digital biz team dressed up in a chicken suit, with gold chains, sagging pants + rapped to our entire biz org as a meeting “kickoff” ’, said one tweet. HR was alerted, but nothing was done.”

So far, I haven’t seen a response from the media company, or Anna Wintour herself — although they have been posting #BLM content and coverage all week.

Zimmermann

Also shared by Diet Prada this week was a post detailing a leaked set of ‘grooming standards’ for Zimmermann employees — some of which included the requirement that hair was to be “blow dried straight” and should contain no “plaits, braids”. Clearly the standards were created with non-POC hair in mind.

There were also allegations from former US interns Maci Marie Bourgeois and Desiree Celestin, as well as a Black model hired for a photoshoot, that disparaging comments had been made about their hair.

The Aussie fashion brand responded to enquiries from Fairfax journalist Benjamen Judd, saying of the model-related allegations that “management had been made aware of an incident in early 2019 and the contractor who made the remarks was immediately terminated.”

They also shared a post to Instagram, saying: “As founders, the realisation that our company has let people down, especially women of colour, is an urgent call to action... We apologise to all those that have been hurt by our failure to adequately protect against discrimination and are truly sorry that we have not lived up to these expectations.”

Anthropologie, Celine, Reformation, L’Oreal

There are almost too many more to dive into in this article, but a further four companies are worth mentioning — also uncovered by Instagram watchdog Diet Prada.

Anthropologie have been accused of racist profiling, allegedly using a ‘nickname’ for profiling Black customers in-store. The company rigorously denied the accusations in an Instagram post on their profile.

Celine posted a #BLM black tile, only to be called out in their comments by celebrity stylist Jason Bolden. “Wait really,” he said in his comment under their post, “u guys dnt dress any black celebs unless they have a white stylist @celine 🤷🏾‍♂️✊🏾🧐 FACTS [sic].”

Cult brand Reformation has also fallen victim to their own blind spots, being called out for hypocrisy after posting some light #BLM content and donation links. Amongst allegations of being held back for a promotion, former employee Elle Santiago also detailed her first Black History Month at the brand, where a now-VP posted photos eating fried chicken, captioned “Happy Black History Month!”

The brand shared a video stating they are ‘making changes… starting now’.

Meanwhile, L’Oreal was haunted last week by their prior decision to dismiss transgender Black model Munroe Bergdorf. Bergdorf alleges that she was fired due to sharing anti-white supremacy posts on her social media, and after asking for a public apology was ignored by the brand.

You can see Diet Prada’s posts, and more details, here: Anthropologie, Celine, Reformation, L’Oreal.

Gucci

I’ll end on this one, only because it kind of answers my initial question: Will these ‘realisations’ really change anything? My answer is maybe in the short term, but also probably not. And Gucci is why.

Having being called out several times for racist imagery and appropriation in the past (see their ‘blackface sweater’ and ‘sikh turban’ gaffes here), the brand posted a regram of @ cleowade’s #BLM commentary. It was about as lazy as the appropriated designs they have repeatedly doled out.

If a huge brand like Gucci can’t even be bothered to allocate time for creative and marketing professionals to cobble together a campaign representing their position on such an important issue, how are we meant to believe that they actually give a shit?

So… do all these resignations mean that change is coming?

For those who think that this latest raft of resignations is ‘something new’ in the fashion industry, I have bad news: this has been going on for years. Until we see these people replaced by POC voices — diverse voices that truly wield enough power to make the structural and cultural changes needed within a broken company to reform it, top to bottom — we’ll just get more of the same.

Another empty black tile, another allegation, another resignation.

Change — true, meaningful change — must come from within. So now we have to work out how to get those voices to the table. And I sure as hell know a black tile on Instagram ain’t gonna cut it.