WORDS Maggie Scaife
IMAGE Antonio Delle Monache
L’Oreal apologises to Munroe Bergdorf
In lieu of her damaged relationship with cosmetics giant L’Oreal after speaking with their new president Delphine Viguier former BRICKS cover star Munroe Bergdorf has now announced she is “Looking forward to new beginnings and a new positive relationship with the L’Oreal team.” The company issued a statement in which they pledged a donation of €25,000 to UK-based Mermaid Gender, a charity who support gender-variant and transgender children and their families plus another €25,000 will be given to UK Black Pride who celebrate LGBTQIA people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent and their friends, lovers and families.
Support flooded in in the comments on Munroe’s Instagram announcement for her persistence and what she has achieved from the likes of trans artist Chella Man, Glaswegian gender-bending designer Charles Jeffrey, drag artist and writer Tom Glitter, author of ‘I Am Not Your Baby Mother’ Candice Brathwaite and BBC Radio broadcaster Claraamfo said “It’s what you deserve!!!! This is MONUMENTAL, you are a true fighter and history maker. SO happy and proud of you!!!”
Brands donate to Black Lives Matter charities
A-COLD-WALL* have donated £10K to Black Lives Matter Financial Aid and they are urging Black-owned businesses to apply for 10 grants of £10,000 to keep them afloat during this pressing time. LVMH prize finalist and Black founder Samuel Ross asks that all applicants send their details over to FOUNDATION@A-COLD-WALL.COM and promises grants will be made available to those who are successful within 72 hours.
Resident London skate brand PALACE have pledged $1M in 2020 starting by donating to Black Lives Matter and the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. founder Levent Tanju’s announced this news via Instagram the caption reads: “this ain’t some bandwagon shit btw. It just took a hot minute to figure out if I could drum up a mill by the end of the year and work out what we’re going to do long-term”
A Sai Ta of ASAI is currently producing his iconic, viral Rhianna ‘hot wok dress’ exclusively for three separate charities, donating all profits to Black Lives Matter, Solace and The Voice of Domestic Workers. The designer set his intentions clearly on Instagram this week fitting his brand name into the acronym ‘Actively Standing Against Injustice’.
New York-based designer and Lower East Side boutique owner Maryam Nassir Zadeh, which stocks Black talent such as London’s own Martine Rose and Telfar, pledged to match all donations made by her followers within a 24-hour window to nine different related charities.
National Basketball Association hero Michael Jordan has committed to donating 100 million dollars alongside his eponymous footwear brand Jordan, a subsidiary of Nike, over the coming 10 years to various unnamed organisations “Black lives matter. This isn’t a controversial statement. We are you. We are a family. We are a community.”
Samira Nasr appointed as first black editor of Harper’s Bazaar
As anti-racism protests spread from the streets to the corridors of powerful magazines like Vogue, the appointment of Samira Nasr, the first woman of colour to run Harper’s Bazaar, may offer a path forward. The 153-year-old magazine announced the historic appointment on Tuesday, replacing longtime editor Glenda Bailey, who led the publication for over almost twenty years.
Samira is quite the influencer in the fashion industry, serving as the Fashion Director at Vanity Fair, as well as holding titles at both Elle and InStyle. Early in her career, she also interned at Vogue, going on to become editor Grace Coddington‘s assistant. Outside of her work in magazines, Samira has worked on a number of fashion campaigns for different brands, including Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch and Laura Mercier.
Fashion Illustration Gallery design charity facemasks
Fashion Illustration Gallery has invited some of the world’s leading fashion illustrators and contemporary fine artists to make an artwork from a handmade, calico face mask, designed by contemporary fashion label Colville. All proceeds from the auction of these works will go straight to the UK registered charity Hope and Homes for Children. The artists have used this potent emblem of our time to explore the possible meanings of our mass adoption of these masks, as a means of personal protection, decoration and social distancing, whilst mirroring the extraordinary times we are living through.
Artists participating include: Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, Jacky Blue, John Booth, Will Broome, Cecilia Carlstedt, Jean-Philippe Delhomme, Jeremy Deller, Godfried Donkor, David Downton, Luke Edward Hall, Georgie Hopton, Gary Hume, Cary Kwok, Jordi Labanda, Peter Liversidge, Tanya Ling, Marko Matysik, Alastair Mackinven, Sam McEwen, Toby Mott, Tim Noble, Sarah Staton, Gavin Turk, Daisy de Villeneuve, Mark Wallinger, James White, Wilfrid Wood and Christina Zimpel. The auction of the artworks will go live on Friday 12th June at 12pm and conclude on Sunday 21st June from 4pm. Each lot end time is staggered.
London Fashion Week launches digitally
Today, the British Fashion Council commences its first ever digital-only fashion event. In light of the coronavirus pandemic and safety guidelines limiting travel and event capacity, the BFC has replaced catwalks with films, podcasts, live-streamed discussions – and even a drop-in virtual afterparty. “It is essential to look at the future and the opportunity to change, collaborate and innovate,” said Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC.
The event is also going to be gender neutral, meaning that both menswear and womenswear designers will have the opportunity to share their experiences from the last few months and discuss other important issues currently facing the industry. Check back in on Monday for an in-depth look at the event’s success.
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