How The New Ethic Works In Fashion Business In The Era Of Inclusiveness, Harassment, Toxicity And LGBTQ +

2023 Author: Henry Pass | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 21:12

Do you know what is the most in-demand communication skill today? - says Lucien Pages, one of the most respected fashion PR specialists. - Ability to correctly, that is, to apologize in time, meaningfully and non-verbally”. Indeed, under the conditions of the victorious cancel culture, it is impossible or almost impossible to do “everything right”, and the reckoning for any mistake comes quickly and according to a well-developed scheme. First, angry posts from activists and the @diet_prada board of shame (if you want to find out who was canceled today, just look at this account), then a significant drop in sales, and sometimes the closure of the brand - there are also such examples. Moreover, a terrible punishment can overtake for a misconduct on any of the many fronts. Among them are latent (and not so much) racism and xenophobia, disrespect for any shade of the LGBTQ + spectrum, lack of inclusiveness,ignorance of environmental problems, cultural appropriation, unfair pay for workers of different levels, harassment or toxic atmosphere in the team, and so on and so forth.

You can endlessly list the thresholds that you can easily break your forehead against in 2020. The real Waterloo was the #BlackOutTuesday flash mob, during which the designers supported Black Lives Matter - so unsuccessfully that instead of gratitude they received an uncontrollable wave of criticism. It went to Jonathan Anderson, who recklessly wrote on Instagram: “There is only one race - human,” Edie Slimane, who posted a black square on Celine's account, while the last black model was seen in it a year ago, Virgil Abloh, who donated a comical $ 50 (actually more, but it was already too late), and indeed to all those who engaged in demonstrative activism without backing it up with a concrete financial basis. “When it came to restoring Notre Dame or fighting COVID-19, wallets were much more open to the public,because such materials evoke a response in the soul of the white and privileged elite of fashion giants. And mass protests against police arbitrariness are incomprehensible, unglamorous and I don't want to associate with them. At least until the public opinion compels”- this is how the New York fashion consultant Antoine Gregory formulates general claims. In his words, of course, there is some truth - well, to what extent a white, cisgender and also rather privileged author of these lines can appreciate it - but it is also impossible not to notice the work of fashion houses on mistakes. After a series of high-profile faux pas, many had separate departments or people responsible for the "new ethics". In February 2019, Prada announced the creation of the Diversity and Inclusion Council, co-chaired by Ava DuVernet, director,activist and author of the true-to-life and heartbreaking mini-series When They See Us, about black teenagers innocently convicted of raping a white girl. In March of that year, Gucci announced the Gucci Changemakers program to tackle inequality, and then hired Rene Tirado, who previously held a similar position in Major League Baseball, to the position of global leader for diversity, justice and inclusion.formerly holding a similar position in Major League Baseball.formerly holding a similar position in Major League Baseball.

Chanel took a similar path, inviting Fiona Pargeter from the Swiss banking holding UBS to monitor the compliance of the company's policy with current regulations. LVMH has expanded the mandate of Eleanor Rizzuto, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Bvlgari Group and the Italian Brands of the conglomerate, to not only develop and implement a sustainable development strategy, but also to train all employees against discrimination. “In 2019, we organized it for 3,442 executives who play a key role in conveying LVMH's values. And since 2008, an independent organization has been conducting in-house discrimination checks in the context of published job openings to ensure that our colleagues - and especially those in charge of recruiting - do not have racial or any other prejudice,”she says. Kering has gone a step further and recently added new board member Emma Watson to the already serving Kalpana Bahaman Denzel (Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent), with a flawless actress like Hermione taking over as head of the company's sustainability committee. And this is just the tip of the iceberg: according to The Wall Street Journal, diversity specialists (in a broad sense) are now the most sought-after people in corporate hiring, but few of them stay in their places for long. According to The Wall Street Journal, diversity specialists (in a broad sense) are now the most sought-after people in corporate recruiting, but few of them stay long in their jobs. According to The Wall Street Journal, diversity specialists (in a broad sense) are now the most sought-after people in corporate recruiting, but few of them stay long in their jobs.

What is their job and why is it so difficult to do it? Annie Wu, H&M Global Leader for Diversity and Inclusion replies: “We need to become more aware of where the wind is blowing, to better understand the racial and cultural context, to think more about how what we are doing is seen from the outside. In a constantly changing world, where one or another topic comes to the fore, it is not easy at all, but we are learning and moving forward. " In practice, this means the need to anticipate socio-cultural trends and clearly understand: if yesterday the use of elements of the national costume was quite acceptable and spoke of a sincere interest in a foreign culture, and in order to be considered very progressive, it was enough to release a transgender model on the catwalk, today you are the first just crucifiedand the second will be taken for granted. As well as active cooperation with charitable foundations, mandatory support of young talents, reverse discrimination, reduction of harmful emissions in production and expansion of the size range.

“WE ALL NEED TO LEARN TO FEEL STRONGER WHERE THE WIND IS BREAKING, IT IS BETTER TO UNDERSTAND THE RACIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT, TO THINK FREQUENTLY, SOMETHING WHAT WE ARE DOING IS SEEN WITH”

On the one hand, it seems unfair that such stringent requirements are imposed on our industry. For the manufacturers of luxury clothing, people come more often and louder than for those who make diapers with a golden-haired doll on the packaging, for example. But here, I'm afraid, brands have no one to blame but themselves. Having turned the social agenda into one of the most important selling mechanisms, they signed an invisible letter of intent, and they will not be able to refuse it. Is it really necessary? After all, from the very beginning of its existence, fashion has been an ultra-closed, caste world with a strict set of rules, kept by thin, unsmiling pale-faced women. And even as elitism began to fade under the pressure of an era of diversity, acceptance of the “other,” and the development of empathy, this world continued to resist change. So maybe it's goodthat now we are forced to develop soft skills by not at all gentle methods. Reading the discussions under the posts with the next ethical flaws, one is often amazed at the level of aggression of the commentators, and looking at the financial statements of companies - at how direct the relationship between revenue and "ethics" is. But after going through a tough course of treatment, it will be possible to look with greater confidence into a bright future. And say to others like Nike (by the way, one of the few corporations whose Black Lives Matter initiative was well received by the protesters): Don't do it!But after going through a tough course of treatment, it will be possible to look with greater confidence into a bright future. And say to others like Nike (by the way, one of the few corporations whose Black Lives Matter initiative was well received by the protesters): Don't do it!But after going through a tough course of treatment, it will be possible to look with greater confidence into a bright future. And say to others like Nike (by the way, one of the few corporations whose Black Lives Matter initiative was well received by the protesters): Don't do it!

Text: ANASTASIA UGLIK