WORDS Maggie Scaife
IMAGE Ellie Goldstein shot for Gucci Beauty
Marine Serre Wins ANDAM Family Fund Award
The Parisian runway designer Marine Serre has been awarded the grand prize of €20,000 plus essential industry mentorship to grow and develop their brand. As one of Europe’s most impactful Awards, previous winners of the National Association for the Development of the Fashion Arts include Margiela, Jeremy Scott and Y-Project. Marine Serre announced their news on Instagram: “The entire team and I are truly grateful to ANDAM and their jury for awarding our work. We are all facing challenging moments and this support will help us remain strong, determined, and independent. 🖤”
Gucci Features Their First Model with Down’s Syndrome
Disability activist and model Ellie Goldstein has been cast for Gucci Beauty’s brand-new campaign set to be featured in Vogue Italia. The up and coming 18-year-old shared some intimate BTS shots on her Instagram grid on Monday, expressing her excitement; “Best day EVER! 💜🙏 I feel so lucky and honoured to be chosen for this mascara campaign” she writes. As their most-liked Instagram post in history, the Italian house – who have often faced critique in the past for their poor efforts to reflect diversity – will hopefully take notes and ensure they provide disabled models with much more exposure in future.
Mimi Wade Releases a Hand-painted Bag for the NHS
As a key part of their Artists Capsule J & M Davidson have provided the London-based designer Mimi Wade with one of their grey leather crossbody ‘pebble’ bags onto which she has painted kitsch red and yellow cherries for a one-off online sale. Open to bidders internationally, 100% of the profits will be donated to the National Health Service to continue supporting healthcare workers as the pandemic eases. The minimum bid currently sits at a healthy £775.00 with the auction for all four bags in the capsule coming to a close on Sunday.
You Can Make Harry Styles’ Viral JW Anderson Cardigan
The multi-coloured patchwork piece of knitwear attracted so much attention on the Tik Tok app back in February that the British designer has decided to release the mystery knit pattern this week for adoring fans to replicate for free from the comfort of their own homes. #harrystylescardigan was trending long past its sellout, those who managed to snap one up were willing to fork out £1,250 to emulate his look. JW Anderson said: “I am so impressed and incredibly humbled by this trend and everyone knitting the cardigan. I really wanted to show our appreciation so we are sharing the pattern with everyone. Keep it up!”
Vogue Portugal Pulls One of Four New Cover Stories
Many readers were horrified to see that the release of a particular editorial cover image for the prestigious magazine’s ‘Madness’ issue this past week had slipped through the production line without questioning. The cover depicts a scene of two nurses bathing a model posing as a patient inside a psychiatric hospital. Supposedly in solidarity with mental health sufferers, it ruffled many feathers, gaining criticism for romanticising and glamorising the reality of this sensitive subject. Emma Hope Allwood of Dazed tweeted “It’s hard to condense the emotions of having a loved one in a mental health ward into a tweet but aestheticising it in a vogue cover is so offensive to me. There are destigmatising ways to talk about mental health. Somehow “the madness issue” doesn’t look set to be one”. The publication pulled the cover and released a statement which expressed “Vogue Portugal deeply apologises for any offence or upset caused by this photoshoot. On reflection, we realise that the subject of mental health needs a more thoughtful approach. We sincerely apologise for this.”
The Internet Calls for Boohoo Boycott
Despite the legal minimum wage for over 25-year-olds in the UK being £8.72, employees of the fast-fashion label Boohoo have been reported to be earning an hourly wage of £3.50. The Sunday Times published the results of an official covert investigative report this week revealing the illegal activity of co-founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, who both earned more than £1.3 Billion in the last financial year. Based in Leicester the factory staff were expected to work in hot and cramped conditions and warned by others; “you are not to tell anyone about working here” claiming they “must be discreet”. Boohoo PLC also owns influencer-favourites BoohooMAN, Pretty Little Thing, Nasty Gal, MissPap as well as high street favourites Coast, Oasis, Karen Millen and Warehouse. The company is now worth ⅓ less than it was on Friday the 3rd, shoppers have clearly taken a stand. On Thursday the company released a statement on Instagram claiming the accusations to be false and that they are launching an independent review of the company’s UK supply chain. This will prioritise “supplier compliance with minimum wage regulations, compliance with Covid-19 regulations, working hours and record-keeping, right to work documentation and contracts of employment.”
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