In this week’s fashion news from around the world; industry leaders launch RAISE Fashion to support Black creatives in fashion, Pinterest launches Black-owned fashion and beauty shop, and many more.
360 Creative Hub Launches Design Contest To Give Fashion Designers A Chance To Win Free Design Spaces
As their way of helping fashion businesses and emerging designers stay afloat in these times, the 360 Creative Hub started a design contest tagged Design Pro Challenge. The Design Pro Challenge aims to assist and motivate young startup fashion designers to get back on their innovative track and pursue their passion.
The contest requires designers to showcase their best works and engage in a healthy competition motivating them to scan through forgotten or dusty works that would do well being showcased rather than abandoned. To enter the challenge, designers are to share 3 of their best designs created this year on Instagram using the hashtag, #DesignProChallenge, and tag @360creativehub on Instagram.
360 Design Hub will repost entries made and designers are to advocate for likes and comments for their posts on 360 Creative Hub’s Instagram page. The 10 best performing designers will be selected as winners.
Winners will be chosen based on the number of likes and engagement on their posts, and the creativity of their designs. These 10 winners will win free access to 360 Creative Hub’s fully-equipped co-sewing space in Surulere till the end of September 2020.
Entries for this challenge closes on Sunday, August 23rd 2020.
Industry Leaders Launch RAISE Fashion To Support Black Creatives In Fashion
As creatives in the fashion industry are calling for inclusivity, many organisations have emerged to hold the industry accountable and support Black creatives. A new group of female forces in the fashion industry have united to make a difference through the launch of RAISE Fashion.
RAISE which stands for, ‘Respect, Advocate, Inspire, Support, and Empower’, was founded by Carly Cushnie of Cushnie; Roopal Patel of Saks Fifth Avenue; Elizabeth von der Goltz and Nayla Touma of Net-a-Porter; April Hennig of Jonathan Simkhai; Alexa Geovanos of Chloé, and executives Nelli Kim and Felita Harris.
RAISE Fashion was launched to offer the expertise of industry experts to emerging Black talents and help them overcome the challenges they face. They will provide free mentorship to Black designers, founders, and businesspeople within fashion.
“The fashion industry can be incredibly difficult to access. There are so many barriers to entry. Our mission is to break down some of these barriers and to open doors to the Black community through strategic mentorship and networking opportunities,” Cushnie said.
The group will pair some of its 70 mentors from within the industry with applicants. Mentors will offer guidance in every aspect of the industry, from product creation to retail advice to branding.
“The initial concept for RAISE as a mentorship program came from a very humble reflection about what I could personally offer to make a positive impact in helping BIPOC businesses,” Geovanos said. “The outpouring of positive responses from colleagues across the industry who shared the same passion and enthusiasm for offering this support was motivating. People from across all facets of the industry were experiencing turmoil in their own businesses, but the idea of being able to step away for a moment and objectively look at challenges and opportunities outside their own scope, while making our industry more inclusive, was universally exciting for so many of the advisers.”
As part of the launch, the group is teaming up with Harlem’s Fashion Row as its industry partner. It will provide mentorship and strategic consulting for every recipient of Harlem Fashion Row’s Icon360 grant, a nonprofit program providing relief to designers of colour who are pivoting their businesses during coronavirus.
Pinterest Launches Black-Owned Fashion And Beauty Shop
As their way of standing in solidarity with and supporting Black-owned brands, Pinterest has launched a Black-owned fashion and beauty shop.
In celebration of National Black Business Month, Pinterest launched its newest Pinterest Shop collection, featuring all Black-owned fashion and beauty brands. The company said there was an increased interest in Pinners searching for “Black-owned business” and “support small business” from June 22 to July 19 compared to the same period in 2019.
“We’ve seen an enormous increase in searches for ‘Black-owned businesses’ in the past year, which shows how hungry the world is for more from their shopping experiences,” Andrea Millard, Chief Marketing Officer at Pinterest said. ” We’re proud to showcase these amazing entrepreneurs and help bring more customers and businesses as innovative and beautifully crafted as these.”
The collection features over 20 Black-owned fashion and beauty brands and more than 600 products all in one spot to make it easier for Pinners to discover and shop from mission-driven brands. Each product featured has a shoppable product pin that links buyers directly to the respective store’s virtual checkout, allowing funds made to go directly to each retailer.
Tommy Hilfiger Launches Its First Hijab
In recent times, the fashion industry has embraced diversity more than ever before. There are now plus size models and Black creatives taking prominent roles in the industry.
In line with this, Tommy Hilfiger has announced that it will launch its first hijab on August 24, 2020. The hijab will be available for purchase both in-store and online, via the company’s website. Following the introduction of curve-sizing to the brand, the creation of the hijab honours the brand’s vision to be more inclusive and accessible to all fashionistas.
The hijab, which is lightweight and very breathable, is crafted from fine jacquard, with a light shimmer of soft lurex thread, giving it an elegant look.
TechStyle Fashion Group Announces Partnership With Good360 For Recurring Apparel Donation
TechStyle Fashion Group, the global fashion retailer known for its membership-based digital brands Fabletics, Savage X Fenty, JustFab, ShoeDazzle and FabKids, announced, on Tuesday, an ongoing partnership with Good360, the global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving.
Extending TechStyle’s growing commitment to philanthropy and sustainability, the new partnership kicked off with a donation of approximately $1.5M worth of JustFab and ShoeDazzle apparel to nonprofit organizations serving families in need.
“Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clearer than ever that as industry leaders, we have an important responsibility to protect our environment and communities,” Meera Bhatia, President of Expert Services, TechStyle Fashion Group, said. “At TechStyle Fashion Group, we are always looking for new and impactful ways to lessen our environmental burden, while being mindful of our commitment to philanthropy. We look forward to working with Good360 to donate clothing on an ongoing basis to those who need it the most.”
This partnership is part of a series of recent initiatives dedicated to addressing waste in fashion while reducing TechStyle’s impact on the environment. TechStyle has also partnered with Soles4Souls in the past, donating footwear to provide relief to families in need, as well as donated unused fabric scraps to Marimole, a textile waste recycling company.
Brands under TechStyle, like Fabletics, have also increased their efforts to address the fashion industry’s challenges to environmental sustainability by transitioning from plastic shipment bags to recycled, biodegradable and reusable polybags. They also debuted an eco-conscious capsule collection made entirely from recycled and upcycled materials in celebration of Earth Day.
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