In fashion news from around the world this week, Megan Thee Stallion partners with Fashion Nova for a new collection, Farfetch and The Folklore team up to showcase Africa fashion and more.
Pinterest and 1 Granary Launch Visual Discovery Platform for Fashion Design Graduates.
Pinterest and 1 Granary, a London-based magazine and digital platform for young fashion creatives, have partnered to launch Designers to Hire.
Designers to Hire is a platform to help fashion design graduates network, showcase, and sell their work. The platform will use Pinterest’s Story Pins to amplify profiles and portfolios from graduates globally and to connect them with employers, stylists, and customers. These designers can also commercialise their work through shoppable Product Pins.
“The main part of the project is not to celebrate, showcase or support by exposure. We wanted to put the work in a context of employability,” said Olya Kuryshchuk, 1 Granary’s founder and editor-in-chief. “The project is designed with the objective to provide all this and simultaneously reach a wider audience, providing the designers with the opportunity to direct commercialisation. The visual-led nature of Pinterest along with its interactive features and tools ticked all the criteria that we consider essential when a young graduate gets out in the job market.”
Megan Thee Stallion Launches Fashion Collection with Fashion Nova.
Popular rapper, Megan Thee Stallion has launched her fashion collection in collaboration with Fashion Nova. The Hot Girl collection was designed to give her fans pieces they will want to wear any and all seasons.
The collection features many denim pieces, a range of rouched tops and body-con flares. According to her, the goal of the collection is to encourage when to feel as confident in their skin as she feels in hers.
“I want women of all heights, sizes, and shapes to see themselves represented, and to know that they are being thought of,” said Megan in an interview with Vogue. “To try something on the first time and be like, “Wow, this just fits me perfectly,” with no adjustments needed. When you’re taller or curvier, that doesn’t happen that often, and it’s a really good feeling that everyone deserves to have. I got really tired of ordering jeans and them fitting like capris. I know tall girls felt my pain!”
Farfetch and The Folklore Team Up to Showcase African Fashion Brands.
On Wednesday, The Folklore, a retailer that stocks high-end and emerging designer brands from Africa and the African diaspora, announced a partnership with retail giant Farfetch. According to Amira Rasool, The Folklore’s founder, the partnership “will give The Folklore’s brands greater access to global luxury customers.”
The capsule collection added 10 new brands to Farfetch’s roster, including Nigeria-based brands Andrea Iyamah, Orange Culture, Clan, Fruché, Lisa Folawiyo, Onalaja, and Tokyo James, as well as 3 New York-based brands William Okpo, EDAS, and Third Crown, and is now available to shop on Farfetch.com.
“For so long, these brands – either because they were overlooked by international retailers or didn’t have the capacity to run a D2C [direct-to-consumer] e-commerce businesses – have not had the opportunity to cultivate a massive global audience,” said Rasool in an interview with Refinery29. “Farfetch understands that globalising these brands is our primary mission and the team there has been super helpful with providing resources and time to make this partnership as successful as possible.”
The collection release was accompanied by a campaign shot in Lagos, Nigeria.
Priyanka Chopra Becomes BFC’s Ambassador for Positive Change.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) has named Priyanka Chopra its Ambassador for Positive Change. The actress will work to support the BFC’s effort to create a positive change in the fashion industry and to inspire future generations.
In her new role, she will work to raise awareness and promote best practice within the industry, celebrate those who are inclusive and ethical and highlight the importance of creative education.
“I am thrilled to join the British Fashion Council as its Ambassador for Positive Change,” said Chopra in a statement. “Fashion has always been the pulse of pop culture and can be a powerful force with the ability to connect cultures and bring people together. Through my role, I look forward to celebrating the incredible diversity and creativity of the industry, while working to champion budding and iconic designers doing their part to make an indelible impact on people and our planet.”
This news is part of the British Fashion Council’s work on the Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF), which aims to help the British fashion industry become more resilient, circular, equal, and fair.
H&M’s New Conscious Collection Made from Waste.
H&M has taken the concept of sustainability to a whole new level with its new conscious collection, autumn/winter 2020, which is made entirely from waste. The collection features dreamy dresses, beautiful separates, and elegant accessories.
Each piece is made from sustainably sourced materials made from waste utilising fabrics made from post-consumer carpet fibre, post-industrial plastic packaging and PET bottles, food crop waste fibre, and sustainably sourced wood pulp.
“For autumn/winter 20, we wanted to be trailblazers,’ said Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M. “Speaking through beauty, waste can be the future of sustainable fashion.”
The collection, which will launch on December 1, features gowns made from taffeta, mini dresses covered in flowers, ruffled tops, and a textured tuxedo, amongst others. It also contains such accessories as heeled mules made from vegan leather, and jewellery made from recycled metals.
Another Tomorrow Launches a Size Exchange Program
On Thursday, luxury sustainable fashion brand, Another Tomorrow launched a size exchange program. This program allows customers to exchange sizes of items from the company’s core tailoring collection once within the first year of purchase for free.
Vanessa Barboni, Another Tomorrow’s Founder and CEO, said that beyond her hopes to destigmatize women’s bodies, she sees this move as part of the company’s commitment to sustainability. The pieces that are returned via this program will either be resold at a lower price through the company’s circular resale program or upcycled, based on their state on return.
