The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Is There a Protest Message in Your New Jacket's Pocket? You've Been Shop-Dropped (The Guardian)
"Craftivist Collective is a group of 'gentle activists' that protests against injustices in a quiet, non-confrontational manner involving pretty, handcrafted gestures of defiance. To shine a spotlight on the ethics of the British fashion industry, they spent LFW engaged in shop-dropping."
Naomi Campbell on Women of Colour in Fashion: 'We Don't Want to Be a Trend' (Elle UK)
"Everyone is using [black] culture as inspiration... You've got to really think ahead now. Think differently and think what readers want — that's the only way to keep their interest. People want to see multi-cultural women of all colours, shapes and sizes."
What If Clothes Were Made to Fit Bodies? (Racked)
"Women's sizing feels particularly arbitrary in comparison to menswear, which is built on the assumption that clothes are there to serve your body, whatever shape it may be. It's a difference that goes deeper than who has an easier time finding XXXL clothes. Men's pants, for instance, tend to recognise that waist size and leg length don't go hand in hand."
In Mexico, Weavers Embrace Natural Alternatives to Toxic Dyes (The New York Times)
"Natural dyes, though more expensive and harder to use than the chemical dyes that have largely supplanted them, produce more vivid colours and are safer and more environmentally friendly than their synthetic counterparts."
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Nike Introduces Flyleather, Its Latest 'Super Material' (The Business of Fashion)
"The material is made with recycled leather fibres that are melded together with a polyester blend, allowing for more flexibility than traditional leather. Flyleather boasts a carbon footprint that's 80 percent smaller than traditional, full-grain leather and needs 90 percent less water to produce."
H&M's Charity Arm Has Found a Revolutionary Way to Recycle Textiles (Business Insider)
"A viable textile blend recycling technology has so far eluded the industry, however H&M's breakthrough concerns a hydrothermal, or chemical, process, which uses only heat, water and less than 5 percent biodegradable agent, to self-separate cotton and polyester blends."
Traces of cotton from Xinjiang were found in nearly a fifth of samples from American and global retailers, highlighting the challenges of complying with a US law aimed at blocking imports that could be linked to forced labour in China.
The fashion industry continues to advance voluntary and unlikely solutions to its plastic problem. Only higher prices will flip the script, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
The outerwear company is set to start selling wetsuits made in part by harvesting materials from old ones.
Companies like Hermès, Kering and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leathers responsibly. But critics say incidents like the recent smuggling conviction of designer Nancy Gonzalez show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.