Chiara Ferragni to join Tod’s Board of Directors. The Italian influencer and entrepreneur is expected to bring insight into a younger generation and the way they shop to the Italian shoemaker. Ferragni has leveraged her audience of 23 million Instagram followers to build a namesake apparel line. Boosting its digital capabilities is a key focus for Tod’s as the company seeks to bounce back from a deep pandemic slump.

J.Crew taps Madewell executives for marketing, digital and sustainability roles. The American retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2020, appointed Jose Davila as chief people officer, Danielle Schmelkin as chief information officer, Derek Yarbrough as chief marketing officer and Liz Hershfield as senior vice president of sustainability. The latter three each spent years working directly for the Madewell brand, which has served as a bright spot in the company’s portfolio.

Fashion’s go-to DJ Michel Gaubert apologises for Asian mask video. The DJ, who has created the sound of brands like Chanel and Valentino, posted a video of guests at a Parisian dinner party wearing paper masks meant to indicate typically Asian features with someone in the background saying “Wuhan girls, wahoo!” on his Instagram. Within minutes, Gaubert deleted the post, but it had already attracted attention. Diet Prada picked up the video, and Susana Lau called it “patently racist.”

Kim Kardashian’s Skims valued at $1.6 billion.The Series A round of $154 million was led by Joshua Kushner’s venture capital firm Thrive Capital, with additional investment from Imaginary Ventures and Alliance Consumer Growth. Founded in 2018, the inclusive shapewear brand has sold over 4 million units as the multi-billion dollar shapewear market heats up.

The Global Fashion Agenda appoints CEO. Federica Marchionni will take the reins at the forum for sustainability in fashion on June 1, succeeding Eva Kruse, who founded the advocacy group 15 years ago. Though Marchionni began her career in telecommunications, she has years of leadership experience in the global fashion industry, including roles at Lands’ End and Dolce & Gabbana. Most recently, she served as chief executive of the Chinese e-commerce platform Secoo.

Lisa Osborne Ross appointed US CEO of Edelman PR. Previously, Ross worked as managing director of APCO Worldwide, spent 15 years at Ogilvy PR and also served as communications director for the US Department of Labor under the Clinton Administration. Ross will become the first Black woman to lead the world’s largest PR firm when she takes the helm on May 3. Since last summer’s social justice protests, fashion PR has faced a reckoning when it comes to making the industry more welcoming for Black employees, as well as other people of colour.

Yi Yangqianxi is the new face of Armani Beauty. The 20-year-old star (who rocketed to fame as a member of the musical group TFBoys) ranked first in the 2020 edition of Forbes’ China Celebrity 100 list and is no stranger to brand partnerships — he is a brand ambassador for Tiffany and Co., and a global fragrance spokesperson for Bulgari. Yi was also one of the Chinese stars that cut ties with international brands for taking a stance against using cotton sourced from Xinjiang in their supply chains, ending his affiliation with Adidas.