New York Fashion Week's Drive-In with Pyer Moss

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The future of the fashion show, at least as we know it, seems increasingly uncertain. Amid the global pandemic, fashion weeks around the world have moved to digital-only format, starting with the men’s shows that were scheduled to kick off next month in Milan, Paris, and London. Whether this trend will continue into the fall remains unclear. Saint Laurent is the first major brand to announce it would be moving off the 2020 schedule entirely, and it’s likely that others will follow suit.

With his announcement today, Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss is proposing an alternative to a virtual experience that is primed for age of social-distancing: a drive-in fashion happening. Set to take place during New York fashion week this September, the event will play host to a premiere of American, Also, a feature film documenting the two years leading up to the boundary-pushing Pyer Moss spectacular that took place last September at Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn. A trailer for the forthcoming film was uploaded to the designer’s personal Instagram account earlier this month. In it, behind-the-scene footage from the show at the historic New York landmark is spliced with archival clips of the neighborhood as the designer narrates. “So many of us, when we get opportunities and huge platforms, the first thing we do is leave,” says Jean-Raymond over a soundtrack of choral music. “Slowly but surely, I’ve been finding my way back… now we’re finally home.”

The New York premiere will be followed by a series of drive-in screenings in multiple cities across the country, exact details for which are to be released later this summer. Though Jean-Raymond is not planning to show a new collection, there will be a drop of clothing to coincide with the event. As with previous Pyer Moss events, the guestlist will be a combination of invited press and friends of the brand, with a percentage of tickets available to the public.

“It’s always been our mission to show the amount of thinking and laboring that goes behind putting together a collection—we’ve been slowing down the speed of how much we produce and improving the quality of what we produce throughout the years,” said Jean-Raymond via email. “This film aims to show the love and care our entire company puts into every single moment we create and will show that we appreciate fashion as an art form and communication tool that we’ve used to embolden a community around us.”

With only a soft blueprint in place for the re-opening of New York City, the fate of fashion week still hangs in the balance. Regardless of what governmental measures will be in place at the time, the logistics of Jean-Raymond’s concept will be complicated to say the least, starting with the location. Save for one much-buzzed about diner-turned-movie-theater in Queens, there are no drive-in venues in the city. And that’s not to mention the issue of transportation. That said, Jean-Raymond has always been the kind of designer to think big. With an audience of three thousand and a choir of 70-plus voices, his last show set a new precedent for fashion experiences, one that reverberated along social media channels for weeks after.

If Jean-Raymond can pull this off, he’ll be leading the way at a time when the fashion world is in desperate need of solutions.

Source: Vogue.com

FASHIONADO

CR Runway with amfAR AGAINST COVID-19: FASHION UNITES

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The industry’s most powerful names will come together to bring an uplifting moment for everyone doing their part to stay home and to raise awareness for an important cause. ⁣

Join the second annual CR Runway as Carine Roitfeld and amfAR unite the world through creativity in a first-of-its-kind virtual fashion show event to support COVID-19 research.

This 30-minute streaming event will feature fashion-world celebrities from around the globe. The fashion show will be styled from the wardrobe of each top model by Carine Roitfeld and her team.

For a front row seat, please visit YouTube.com/fashion or stay right here on crrunwayxamfar.org to view the show. We invite you to support by simply staying home and enjoying the show. Join us as we help to end COVID-19.

You can make a difference by supporting the amfAR Fund to Fight Covid-19

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A Note from Carine:

I hope this note finds you safe and well. As you may know, last June I began a dream that I’ve long had: to launch my very own runway show, CR Runway.

We would like to use our runway to create a platform to benefit research on and the fight against COVID-19. This year’s CR Runway will be entirely digital. CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 will debut online on Friday, May 1 as the world’s first fashion show of its kind. With safety as our foremost concern, CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 will be created remotely from all around the world. My team and I will collaborate directly with each talent on everything from fashion to hair, makeup, nails, and choreography direction so that every model can film herself “walking” from the comfort of her own home. These videos will be edited together to form a complete digital runway show which will be streamed on Friday, May 1.

In these times of uncertainty, our support for one another has never been so crucial. We must do what we can to help—not only in material efforts but also with our platforms and through our actions. I’ve always believed in the power of inspiration — it’s one of the founding reasons behind CR Fashion Book— and I know that we can use the runway to really make a difference. I look forward to your participation in CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 and your help in bringing hope and inspiration to the hard-working scientists and others engaged in this fight.

Sincerely,

Carine

Derek Blasberg will host the world’s first virtual fashion show which airs on YouTube this Friday, May 1, 2020 at 1:00 PM Los Angeles / 4:00 PM New York / 9:00 PM London / 10:00 PM Paris. ⁣

FASHIONADO

Fashion Nova Launches Fashion Nova Cares With Cardi B To Giveaway $1 Million Dollars Directly To People Impacted By COVID-19

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Fashion Nova, a leading online fashion lifestyle brand, and cultural icon, Cardi B announced Fashion Nova Cares with Cardi B, a philanthropic initiative focused on helping people in need. Beginning now until May 20, 2020, Fashion Nova Cares will give away $1,000 dollars every hour, for a total of $1,000,000.

"People are struggling to pay rent, buy food, medicine and other essentials for themselves and their families. We all feel compassion and concern for those affected by the Coronavirus," said Richard Saghian, Founder and CEO of Fashion Nova. "Fashion Nova Cares with Cardi B will provide people with necessary relief to help them get through this crisis. As a community-driven brand, we are inspired by the kindness and generosity of others and we wanted to do our part to help those in need."

"Everyone has been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic," said Cardi B. "Fashion Nova Cares and I have come with a way to help the many families in need."

To qualify, those in need can visit fashionnova.com/cares to share their stories and information. Fashion Nova Cares will choose 24 people each day for the duration of the program.  Fashion Nova will then distribute individual checks in the amount of $1,000.

"All of us have to play a part in supporting the communities that we serve," added Richard Saghian. "Our Fashion Nova Cares initiative will continue beyond the current challenges of Covid-19 with additional endeavors and programs that will further help make a positive impact in people's lives."

FASHIONADO

Here’s Where You Can Buy a Face Mask Right Now

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In a reversal of earlier guidance that Americans don’t need to wear face coverings in public in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, the White House is expected to announce in the coming days that wearing a mask, or covering the face with a bandana or scarf, is in fact advisable, according to memos created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and shared with the White House this week.

In a copy of the guidance obtained by The Washington Post, the CDC recommends that “the community use of cloth masks as an additional public health measure people can take to prevent the spread of virus to those around them.” President Donald Trump added in a press briefing on Thursday that “I don’t think it will be mandatory,” and a White House official told the Post that the guidance would be “narrowly targeted to areas with high community transmission.” That largely tracks with what medical professionals told GQ earlier this week: that wearing a cloth mask isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s better than not doing anything.

The memos and guidance that the CDC shared with the White House clarify that N95 respirators and surgical face masks, both of which are in critically short supply, should be reserved for health-care workers. So if you’re going to wear a mask—and you should; just listen to these experts—what are your options? Here is a running list of designers and manufacturers who are creating non-medical-grade masks—we'll update as more information becomes available.

Ball and Buck

For the masked sportsman. Ball and Buck’s camo mask will keep you safe(r) on a trip to the grocery store, and also well camouflaged in the deer blind.

Maison Modulare

Can a face mask be...sexy? Check out Maison Modulare’s French lace version and tell us we’re wrong.

Alabama Chanin

Natalie Chanin is a longtime practicioner of "slow design," making hand-sewn and machine-made womenswear garments in her factory in Florence, Alabama. All her pieces are made from 100% organic cotton sourced from the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative in Lubbock Texas. Her non-medical grade masks are made from tight-weave cotton that is less permeable than standard cottons, and are washable and reusable.

Daniel Patrick

Because if you've gotta wear a mask, you might as well get one in a colorway no one else has. If you order at least two of them, the company will send you another one for free.

Naomi Nomi

Recently, Naomi Mishkin explained the troubles she was facing in shifting her Naomi Nomi line to mask production. The first handful of obstacles have been overcome—civilian masks are being made, and every purchase means one is donated to a healthcare worker. They’re sold out for now, but join the waitlist and check back over the weekend for increased stock.

American Blanket Company

Denser than a standard cotton or paper mask, these are made from polyester fleece. It’s like wearing a blanket on your face, but more breathable. (The world’s coziest mask?) American Blanket Company will donate a mask with every purchase.

Citizens of Humanity

The denimheads of Citizens of Humanity have turned their jeans expertise to mask-making. $25 gets you a pack of five in assorted washes—just right if you want to match to your favorite jeans.

Collina Strada

New York upstart Collina Strada was one of the breakouts at New York Fashion Week back in February, some 37 years ago. Now, designer Hillary Taymour is sending along a free mask with every purchase. If you’ve been jonesing for a T-shirt with nipple piercings, now’s the time.

Buck Mason

You might know Buck Mason as a direct-to-consumer brand well-liked for its T-shirts. Now, they’re turning that tasty cotton into masks.

Los Angeles Apparel

Los Angeles Apparel, the company founded by American Apparel founder Dov Charney, is selling three-packs of masks in several different colors. It says mask purchases will fund its ability to donate masks, and to cover costs at its factories.

Everybody.world

Everybody.world is also selling Los Angeles Apparel's black face masks. In this case, though, proceeds go directly to the Everybody.world's employee-relief Rainy Day Fund, which it says it set up to offer more paid time off for factory workers during the pandemic.

Classic Sofa

New York-based furniture company Classic Sofa has a ton of face masks available in three different sizes and several different colors.

Take Care

Canada-based company Take Care Supply was founded specifically to make masks in response to the coronavirus epidemic. The company says its masks will ship in two to seven business days.

Peri

Peri is using deadstock fabric to make its face masks, which it still has available in three different colors. Good luck finding a croc-print mask anywhere else!

Swimspot

A 10-pack of Swimspot's basic black masks will ship in 5 to 7 days.

Reformation

Reformation's 5-pack of face masks are out of stock, but they company says they might ship in a week or two. You can join the waitlist now.

Goodfight

Goodfight promises its mask will ship by April 15th. It also says they for each purchase, they'll donate one to an L.A. institution in need of personal protection equipment.

Ellie Funday

EllieFunDay's face masks won't ship for another two to three weeks. But if you buy one the company will donate another to a local hospital.

CustomInk

CustomInk's masks are set to ship April 15th.

Christine Shirley

Christine Shirley's owner Paige Sullivan is making masks out of the fabric she has lying around in her Pennsylvania studio. If you have colors you prefer, you can say as much in the order notes, but there aren't any guarantees. You should be able to get your mask in 10-14 days.

The Oula Company

Oula says its masks will ship in one to two weeks. They feature a random fabric—likely one that's super colorful.

Whimsey + Row

Whimsey and Row's face masks are currently out of stock, but you can join the waitlist to be notified when they come back in stock. For each one you buy, the company will donate one to an institution in LA, like Union Rescue Mission.

Source: GQ

FASHIONADO

Ralph Lauren Will Contribute $10 Million to Coronavirus Relief Efforts

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The fashion industry has felt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic at every level of its business, with charitable and legislative plans to support brands, retailers, designers, and employees that have been affected by the crisis emerging slowly but surely over the past two weeks.

Thursday, Ralph Lauren announced a major donation that provides serious support to his employees as well as global relief efforts. His Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation set out a plan to give $10 million to four charitable organizations. Conglomerates like Kering and LVMH have donated millions of euros in cash in addition to producing masks and other equipment for European health authorities. Lauren’s, meanwhile, is the largest amount given in a single donation of any fashion company so far, and the kind of meaningful, major statement that many in the American fashion community have been waiting for.

“At the heart of our company, there has always been a spirit of togetherness that inspires our creativity, our confidence, and most importantly our support for one another,” Lauren, who serves as executive chairman and chief creative officer, said in a press release. “In the past weeks and months, that spirit has never wavered.”

In the release, Lauren outlined a plan to split the money between four major organizations, with the goal of providing relief to his own employees, support for global efforts to fight the spread of coronavirus, and financial assistance to American designers. The first organization is the Emergency Assistance Foundation, an American nonprofit that creates employee relief funds, and which will provide grants to help employees of Lauren’s corporation to assist with medical care or the care of family members. Sums will also go to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and Ralph Lauren’s Pink Pony Fun for cancer research.

Lastly, $1 million dollars of the donation will go to A Common Thread, the initiative launched earlier this week by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue to support designers and those behind-the-scenes who have been impacted by the coronavirus.

The company’s release added that it is also exploring the production of medical-grade masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment. As GQ reported yesterday, fashion designers’ production of much-needed masks has been riddled with roadblocks and red tape. Leadership from an organization of Lauren’s size could make the manufacturing of those supplies far more effective.

Source: GQ

FASHIONADO

CFDA + Vogue Launch Program to Fight COVID-19

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In response to the pandemic, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion fund has been repurposed and rechristenend A Common Thread. Tom Ford and Anna Wintour Photo credit: Clint Spaulding/WWD

In response to the pandemic, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion fund has been repurposed and rechristenend A Common Thread. Tom Ford and Anna Wintour Photo credit: Clint Spaulding/WWD

“What can we do?”

Anna Wintour posed that question to CFDA chairman Tom Ford earlier this month in reference to the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated the fashion industry. Both notoriously proactive and intrepid, they came up with a plan within days: to repurpose the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, shifting focus from emerging designers to all the American fashion community who are severely financially impacted by the COVID-19 fallout.

The initiative, renamed A Common Thread, aims to raise awareness as well as money. Beginning March 25, designers and those who work behind the scenes across the industry can submit videos in which they tell their fashion stories, including the impact of the pandemic on their careers and lives. The videos will live on the digital platforms of the CFDA, Vogue and all Condé Nast titles. The program utilizes the hashtag #cvffacommonthread.

Logo for A Common Thread, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Logo for A Common Thread, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Wintour came up with the name A Common Thread, the logo for which features a sewing needle and red thread in the shape of a rose, the needle pulling the thread and piercing the bloom. Word of the program will go out to CFDA membership today in a letter penned by Wintour, which she and Ford signed.

“It’s easy to feel helpless as the news changes hour by hour, and the challenges it all presents only seem to grow and become more insurmountable as time goes on,” it reads.

To lessen the sense of isolation and desperation, the message encourages members to take advantage of available city and state resources, listed on the CFDA web site. “Yet,” the letter continues, “the question remains for us: What can we do to help?”

A Common Thread is Wintour and Ford’s initial answer. Although the fund’s parameters have been fully defined, designers and brands seeking relief can apply on the CFDA web site beginning on April 8.

“We’ve created a fund, now we have to fill it. Then we have to figure out who gets that money,” Ford said on Monday, noting that significant details — criteria for consideration; who will decide how funds are allotted and to whom — “need to be fleshed out.”Already established: The program is open to designers and brands across the industry. They need not be former CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners, nor even CFDA members. While the selection committee remains TBD, it will include people from both within and outside of Vogue and the CFDA, according to Ford.“We’re rushing to put this together as fast as possible because we want to let everyone have a voice in this. We want to do something,” he said.

See Also: Fashion Industry Comes Together to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund has awarded $6.6 million in prize money since its inception, with the most recent annual purse a total of $700,000 distributed among the winner and two runners-up. Those resources will be transferred to A Common Thread. In addition, there’s a crowd-funding element. As of today, donors can contribute by texting “thread” to 44321 or online at givelively.org, a fund-raising platform for nonprofits. Suggested amounts range from $5 to $100 to name-your-number.If that approach seems modest relative to the devastation wrought by COVID-19, Ford and Wintour will likely seek major-donor contributions going forward.

There is no reason that we’re not at some point going to be hitting up larger companies for bigger contributions,” Ford said. “It will really depend on what happens after all this is over. If it only lasts three months, I think we’ll be able to raise more money than if it drags on and on.”Yet it’s one thing to offer a young, fledgling designer-led company a first prize of $400,000 and mentorship by an industry leader to help kick-start his or her business. It’s quite another to, in a meaningful way, help an entire, vast industry comprised of thousands of businesses, many of them already challenged before the virus struck, to rebound in a landscape that’s almost completely dark, producing next to zero revenue for who knows how long. The level of relief required (if any amount will be enough) is more in line with that sought in a parallel CFDA effort spearheaded by Tory Burch made known over the weekend — explicit inclusion in the near-$2 trillion federal stimulus package now being battled over in Congress.Ford praised that effort, and stressed the necessity of its success. “I have to say, Tory has done a great job,” he said. He added that while the letter sent to President Trump and signed by the CFDA and a host of other industry organizations “was quite general,” in behind-the-scenes exchanges, “people were getting quite specific.”By comparison, what A Common Thread can deliver is modest. “We’re not senators,” Ford said, while noting that the two efforts serve overlapping but not identical purposes.To that end, A Common Thread’s storytelling component should resonate powerfully. “There is symbolism to it and in a way, maybe that’s the bigger part of it — uploading videos, putting faces to everyone who’s out of a job, who needs a job, giving them a place where they can communicate that. I think the power of that will affect the funds we’re able to raise, and from whom.“Whether you’re a seamstress or a tailor, whether you work in a shop, whether you’re a fashion designer, whether you’re someone who won the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund, you will [send in] videos to the site,” Ford continued. “I think that the more we can put faces to the individuals who are suffering, the more help we’ll be able to get.”

See Also: Fashion Groups Seek Government Aid

To that end, fashion suffers from an image problem. Though a huge industry that’s central to the economy and employs, including retail, millions of workers in a vast array of mostly unglamorous disciplines on every imaginable pay scale, generally, when people think of the fashion industry they don’t conjure images of seamstresses, patternmakers, production people and retail sales associates. Rather, they envision its glamour deities — celebrities like Wintour and Ford.Worse, they often project a world in a bubble, an elite, exquisitely dressed bubble whose denizens live to be on the front end of the next hot handbag launch while flaunting chic attitude. “Let’s face it, a lot of people think fashion is frivolous,” Ford said.

Wintour concurs that perception is not only misguided but dangerous, particularly now. “[Too many people] think about fashion in a very narrow sense,” she told WWD on Sunday. “They’re not thinking about all the different layers that are involved, whether it’s the factories or the supply chain or those who supply raw materials, or the truck drivers who deliver the goods. It stretches out so many different ways. I think it’s the biggest employer in the country. People are not thinking about it in that way. They’re thinking about it as a very niche business, and that is a mistake.”

One for which fashion itself must accept a share of responsibility. “People see the glossy surface,” Ford said. “That’s what we as fashion designers and the fashion industry work to show the world — we work to show people the glossy surface that makes them want to shop and buy the products. So they’re not aware of everything that goes on behind it.

”That must change now. “We have to educate,” Ford offered.

Which speaks to the importance of A Common Thread’s video project. “It’s very important to put faces to this,” he said, noting the resonant power of Tom and Rita Hanks going public with their diagnoses, as well as the tragedy of the New Jersey family that has lost four members to COVID-19. “When you see the photographs, when you hear the stories,” Ford said, “it touches you emotionally far more than statistics will.”

Source: WWD /  Bridget Foley

FASHIONADO

OCTAVIUS MARISON DEBUTS FW 20/21 COLLECTION WITH FASHION DESIGN STUDENTS AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF ATLANTA

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Photo Credits: Paras Griffin/GETTY and Art Institute of Atlanta’s Taylor Bareford; Phaedra Williamson

Photo Credits: Paras Griffin/GETTY and Art Institute of Atlanta’s Taylor Bareford; Phaedra Williamson

On March 14, 2020 the Art Institute of Atlanta made fashion history with their extraordinary, student-driven production which even made national headlines via E! News and Essence.com. The newsworthy event boasted a celeb-filled front row to include Eva Marcille, Angelica Ross, Dyllon Burnside, Terri J. Vaughn and Jamal Sims, who directed the show that provided the talented students of the Art Institute of Atlanta the experience of a real-world, first-class production. Students, faculty and administrators across all disciplines worked together in unison to produce the multi-media extravaganza: fashion design, photography, video & audio production, culinary arts, graphic design and interior design.

Sixteen fashion design students participated in the juried fashion premiere. They showcased capsule collections in menswear and ready-to-wear featuring a wide variety of genres, from eveningwear to gender-fluid fashion. It was evidently clear that the future of fashion is alive and thriving at the Art Institute of Atlanta. For added educational value and impact, the young designers were paired with professional fashion designers months before the runway show. The mentorship guided students to success while offering real-world working situations that included multiple fittings with professional models, critiques, garment mockups and working alongside industry professionals on all levels of production.

Visually, the fashion show was dynamic, from the set to the clothes to the choreography of the models. The set was designed and built by Carlton Lee Studios and featured two jumbo screens and a custom neon lit runway within the open air lower deck of the parking lot - think The Fast & The Furious, Tokyo Drift. To drive home the theme (no pun intended) Lexus sponsored the event with car placement - on the runway itself! The Lexus LC 500 and Lexus RCF Track Edition were positioned front and center becoming a focal point and anchoring the runway. Jamal Sims (Aladdin movie choreographer) directed the show to perfection. The culmination of movement, set design, hair and make up by Paul Mitchell Schools and of course, the fashion, made for a spectacular presentation.

Lastly but most certainly not least, Octavius Terry, the man behind the vision and the Art Institute of Atlanta’s Fashion Coordinator said this was a “dream come true.” Terry, who is a menswear designer, joined the Art Institute nearly two years ago and from the beginning talked about bringing together all departments for an all-inclusive, collaborative production that, under faculty guidance, would be 100% student driven and produced. His dream was realized and more.

Octavius Terry debuted his FW 20/21 menswear collection titled “Octavius Marison.” The fourteen look collection offered an elevated interpretation of streetwear meets sartorial elegance. “The mix of modern living and antiquated living (near the Wall of China)” was an inspiration said Terry. “Kill Bill came to mind because it is all about the underdog rising and that’s what I felt about our school, faculty, students and also myself.” The collection was rich in color and pattern. It was edgy yet wearable. An obsession-worthy key element to the collection were the various ponchos with bold zipper hardware. A definite must-have.

And just as we thought things couldn’t get bigger or better, the grand finale came with a Proclamation for Octavius Terry presented by Councilman Antonio Brown - an emotional highlight of the evening.

History was made at the Art Institute of Atlanta. On all levels.

FASHIONADO