Global Fashion Roundup: Beyoncé Announces Release Date Of New Collection, Lebanese Creatives Launch ‘Dear Beirut’ And More

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 This week in fashion news from around the world; Beyoncé announces the release date of her new fashion collection Drip 2, Lebanese creatives unite to raise funds for rebuilding Beirut’s artistic harbour district and many more. 

Flipkart Buys $200 Million Stake In Aditya Birla Fashion And Retail.

In a further move to break into the fashion industry, Walmart-owned brand, Flipkart, is acquiring a 7.8% stake in Aditya Birla Fashion, one of the world’s largest retail markets. 

The group will purchase its stake in the fashion and retail brand for a sum of $203.8 million. As part of the partnership, Flipkart will sell and distribute various Aditya Birls Fashion and Retail’s brand’s products.

“This partnership is an emphatic endorsement of the growth potential of India,” Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, said. “It also reflects our strong conviction in the future of the apparel industry in India, which is poised to touch $100 billion in the next 5 years.”

In a statement, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart Group, said the two companies will work toward “making available a wide range of products for fashion-conscious consumers across different retail formats across the country. We look forward to working with ABFRL and its well established and comprehensive fashion and retail infrastructure as we address the promising opportunity of the apparel industry in India.”

Beyoncé’s New Adidas × Ivy Park Collection To Be Released On October 30.



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#THISISMYPARK DRIP 2 October 30

A post shared by IVY PARK (@weareivypark) on Oct 22, 2020 at 8:23am PDT

On Monday, 19th October, on the official Ivy Park social media channels, Beyoncé announced that her new collection in collaboration with the sports brand, Adidas, Drip 2, will be released on October 30. 

The caption “DRIP 2 October 30 #ThisIsMyPark” followed images of a meadow. Then, on Wednesday, the first-look images of the collection with Beyoncé modelling the newest gear was released. 

Unlike the first collaboration between Adidas and Ivy Park which features mainly monochromatic themes of maroon-coloured pieces, this new collection has a more vibrant and diverse colour scheme. 

Vogue Australia Announces Vogue American Express Fashion’s Night In 2020.

Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann announced on Tuesday, 20th October, the launch of the Vogue American Express Fashion’s Night In 2020.

For the first time in its 11 year history, the retail event will run online from 22nd October to 1st November 2020. To spice things up this year, Vogue Australia and presenting partner American Express have remained the annual Fashion’s Night Out event. 

The event will be an 11 day national festival of fashion and beauty featuring a series of virtual events all designed to highlight the local retail and fashion industry.

“It’s incredible how this Vogue Australia event continues to develop. It was founded by AnnaWintour in 2009, with the intention of helping retailers survive the GFC. In 2020 amidst the backdrop of a global pandemic, Fashion’s Night Out will become Vogue American Express Fashion’s Night In, and we are pulling the event back to its core purpose – to ignite retail spend and create sizable economic impact for the retail and fashion sectors,” McCann said.

In addition to that, American Express vice president of brand, charge cards and experiences Naysla Edwards said, “Vogue American Express Fashion’s Night In will take the traditional evening of fun to a new virtual space. From the comfort of their homes, all of our Card Members can continue to enjoy the benefits of membership with a virtual runway show.

Selected Card Members can watch interviews with designers and exclusive behind the scenes content. The Australian retail industry has been hit hard, and we’re proud to back hundreds of online retailers with our exclusive Card Member offer, giving the business community the support it needs now.”

All participating retailers in the event will feature on the Vogue Australia website with a product gallery and shoppable links to their e-commerce stores.

Fashion’s Night In Sydney will host live and online events as well as offers to local retailers while Fashion’s Nighy In Melbourne will, for the first time, precede the Melbourne Fashion Week Program with local online events and offers, to continue to support the rebuild of Melbourne’s retailer community. 

Universal Standard Launches ‘Vote With US’

In line with the company’s goal of “creating a more inclusive future for all”, Universal Standard has launched a ‘Vote With Us’ campaign. 

The company which is known for offering clothes in sizes 00 to 40 launched a new e-mail driven campaign that encourages customers to “vote for a future that represents all of US.”

“We know that so much is at stake with this election, and this campaign speaks to the importance of supporting the interests of our collective community,” said Polina Veksler, Cofounder and CEO of Universal Standard.

The campaign comes alongside the release of a new capsule collection of branded products. For each sale, $10 will go to the organization When We All Vote.

“We’re a clothing company, but we’re not just about clothing. We’re on a mission to ensure that everyone is seen, included, and represented in fashion. Making clothes in every single size so that everyone can participate is just one part of the solution,” Veksler added. 

The campaign collaborated with 3 creatives who focus on different aspects of human life, June Canedo, Grace Bukunmi and Natalia Mantini.

“June is devoted to an intimate look at immigrant life. Grace challenges herself in capturing diverse forms of beauty, and Natalia channels her energy into highlighting the power of connection and community. Aside from just how beautiful their work is, we love working with and supporting creatives who are so passionate about a more inclusive future because we know we can’t do this alone, ” Veksler shared. 

In explaining the main purpose behind the campaign and the use of cloths to send across the message, Veksler said, “This campaign is about the importance of voting and demonstrating collective values through our individual voices. We hope to help close the race and age voting gap, and level the proverbial playing field when it comes to voter turnout, in the same way that we are addressing equity when it comes to size in the fashion industry.”

Lebanese Creatives Unite To Raise Funds For Rebuilding Beirut’s Artistic Harbor Districts

To rebuild Beirut’s artistic harbour districts, 5 creatives have launched ‘Dear Beirut’, which is a design-driven jewellery and fine art online auction fundraiser to run from Thursday, 22nd October to Sunday, 25th October 2020. 

The project spearheaded by Lebanese Jewellery designer Karma El-Khalil, textile designer Denise Maroney, fine art curator Dina Bizri, art director Elda Hadajian, and Direct of TED Fellows Shoham Arad will hold on the auction platform, ArtSpace. The aforementioned 5 women and ArtSpace are fostering the Dear Beirut auction to benefit communities affected by the August 4, 2020 waterfront warehouse explosion that shattered neighbourhoods around Beirut’s port, leaving an estimated 3,000 people homeless.

Beirut is a renowned centre for jewellery-making and master jewellery artisans, fine art-making, fashion design, as well as other applied arts. According to El-Khalilz jewellery available in the Dear Beirut auction includes creations from Beirut-based L’Atelier Nawbar (a heritage company which lost its studio in the blast), along with outstanding pieces from such influential jewellery designers as Pippa Small, Lydia Courteille, Stephen Webster, Anthony Lent, Falamank, Ele Karela, Kathy Rose, Dagmar Zaragoza, Roseark and El-Khalil. 

The auction also includes artworks from over 60 fine artists and photographers, including Kiki Smith.   

“Auction proceeds will benefit Offre Joie, a strictly vetted Lebanese non-governmental organization working on the ground in Beirut to reconstruct and rehabilitate affected neighbourhoods,” El-Khalil explains. “Dear Beirut is also partnering with Jobs for Lebanon, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization, in order to ensure needy communities receive vital assistance. We are primarily concerned with the most vulnerable communities in Beirut affected by the blast, which include artists and designers, LGBTQI, those in creative professions, migrant workers and low-income households,” El-Khalil continues. “We are focusing on their immediate needs, which we recognize as the rebuilding of their neighbourhoods.”

The Dear Beirut auction is offered as a meaningful way to support immigrants and low-income households who, along with artists and artisans, provide various valuable services to society. ​