Since May 26, headlines have been dominated by the murder of George Floyd and the international protests he sparked. Thousands of people have taken to the streets around the world to speak out against police brutality and the fight against darkness, while online, thousands more have massively supported #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) and called for the end of systemic racism.
On social media, many fashion brands quickly aligned themselves with the protesters, posting black squares on Instagram on #BlackoutTuesday and sharing long legends denouncing racism, discrimination and violence. But not everyone bought it.
"Plain and simple, I don't think there is any intention of making a lasting and lasting change," said Teen Vogue editor Lindsay Peoples Wagner in an email to CNN. "Anyone can jump on the BLM movement right now on social media, but what are you doing at home, in your head office, with your relationships, with the power you have?"
Charges of hypocrisy have plagued brands since the protests began. On social media, commentators have wondered if luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo, who declined to comment on this story, could be an ally in the fight against racism when actor Tommy Dorfman accused them of discriminating against trans models and color models in a recent campaign; or if the LA Reformation label could really support #BlackLivesMatter when people claiming to be former employees accused the brand of racism at work in the comments (the founder Yael Aflalo apologized and resigned as CEO); or if Anthropologie could genuinely claim "Our hearts are breaking with current events", as they did in an Instagram post that has since been deleted, when they were accused of racial profiling of their customers - allegations the brand denied.
That doesn't mean anything about the reaction against fashion publications. Earlier this month, a CNN investigation uncovered numerous allegations of racism and workplace toxicity at the refinery29. In response to these accusations, editor and co-founder Christene Barberich - who resigned on June 8 - said in a statement: "My goal has always been to help close the representation gap and I believe that this is reflected through the pages of Refinery29. "
Meanwhile, Anna Wintour briefly announced that she would be leaving her much-vaunted position at Vogue, while former staff and talent shared their own experiences with racism in the magazine.
Wintour, whose official title appoints her artistic director and editor-in-chief of Vogue US and global content consultant, sent an internal email to her staff on June 5. In the note, seen by CNN, she acknowledged and took "full responsibility" "for the racism that flourished under her watch:" I know Vogue did not find enough ways to raise and give give way to black publishers, writers, photographers, designers and other creators. We also made mistakes by posting images or stories that were hurtful or intolerant, "she wrote.
In addition, a spokesperson for Condé Nast, the editor of Vogue, said in a statement: "Condé Nast is focused on creating meaningful and lasting change and continues to implement an inclusive hiring process to ensure that a diverse range of candidates is considered for all vacancies. "
"Anyone can jump on the BLM movement right now on social media, but what are you doing at home, in your home office, with your relationships, with the power you have?"
Lindsay Peoples Wagner
This is the Instagram response from the French luxury brand Celine - a black square with a caption saying: "Céline opposes all forms of discrimination, oppression and racism. The world of tomorrow will not exist without equality for all #BlackLivesMatter "- which caused Hollywood stylist Jason Bolden, whose famous clients include Taraji P. Henson, Ava DuVernay and Serena Williams, to interrupt his scrolling. In a sharp comment that was later picked up by the industry watch account Diet Prada, Bolden accused the brand, which declined to comment on the story, of not dressing black celebrities for the red carpet unless they only work with white stylists.
"I didn't focus on fashion; I focused on the lives lost and the injustice (against) black people," Bolden said in a telephone interview. "But at this particular moment when I saw this going through my flow, it just sparked my rage. It was just a joke for me. It didn't seem authentic to me."
As a stylist, Bolden said he often feels marginalized by high fashion brands. He remembers having a hard time finding a designer to dress Henson for the 2017 Academy Awards, where his film "Hidden Figures" was nominated for three awards, including one for best picture. "These are exactly the same brands that I would see dressing up talents that no one had ever heard of, and they were all white girls," said Bolden.
"And in those moments, what else are you supposed to be looking at? (Henson) has everything they could want. She has the press that goes with it (the Oscar nominations), she has the main cover, she presents, she won a Golden Globe ... she's in critically acclaimed movies. And yet they said no. "
"But at that particular moment when I saw it go through my flow, it just sparked my rage. It was just a joke for me. It didn't seem authentic."
Jason Bolden
"I think what we see are people like me who are fed up with people and brands who don't speak," said Peoples Wagner. "It is very easy for people to take advantage of a moment and say that they care about a problem, but people have been doing it for years without making any real systemic changes, and that is what is required brands now. "
It is not the first time that the fashion industry has stumbled upon solving race issues. Cultural appropriation, high-level racist blunders and the lack of diversity in the tracks are permanent subjects of discussion, leading to a recent wave of hiring for diversity and inclusion. Peoples Wagner is one of the few black publishers to run a large fashion magazine (with Edward Enninful of the British Vogue and the new editor of Harper's Bazaar, Samira Nasr, who will officially start next month), and he there are only two black designers at the helm of European fashion houses.
"I don't know if a white person is even able to understand the emotional turmoil of being black and trying to have a business here and trying to survive (in this industry) ... I don't know not if there is a fashionable sector where blacks can say that we have the same resources, we are equal, we are treated in the same way ", said the model Adesuwa Aighewi, one of the black models most prominent working today.
After parading and launching campaigns for some of the world's most renowned luxury brands and appearing on the cover of Vogue in April 2020, Aighewi said that she considered her "whole career" to be part of recent efforts - although limited - from the industry to increase the diversity of models in magazines and on the runway after years of criticism. "Literally, everything I did was the face of my race and a sign of diversity. I shot the cover of American Vogue in December, and yet I don't see any of the companies that have proudly taken me on. parade to have meaningful dialogue on Black Lives Matter. "
Danielle Prescod, style director for BET.com, was not surprised to see brands suddenly denouncing racism in the aftermath of Floyd's murder. "(With) something that moved as quickly as this movement was taking place on social media, it would have been so blatant if people hadn't said anything," she said.
"Literally everything I did was the face of my race and a sign of diversity."
Adesuwa Aighewi
However, she couldn't help but question motivation when brands that had previously been silent on race issues, or that hadn't prioritized inclusion and diversity, chose this moment to speak out.
"It seems dishonest when a brand says something like" We stand with the black community ". It's like, when have you met the black community before?" She said. "You have had the same opportunities to defend the lives of blacks, to defend the beauty of blacks, to employ blacks from the start of your business. So for you this week, decide that you do it (care about life of blacks) is too practical, ends up looking like a marketing opportunity rather than something that is very close to their hearts. "
Indeed, more than ever, aligning your brand with popular causes can be a good strategy. According to the State of Fashion 2020 report, compiled by management consulting giant McKinsey & Company and the commercial publication Business of Fashion, almost two-thirds of consumers identify themselves as "convinced buyers" who will choose, will change , avoid or boycott a brand based on its positioning on societal issues. "For this reason, the report predicted that more businesses will" elevate diversity and inclusion as a higher priority. "
At a time when 74% of Americans support the protests, according to a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll, taking sides with protesters - even on the surface - means taking sides with popular opinion.
"If you look at how brands come together around the causes, they are generally popular causes and the causes of the majority because what you are trying to do is align your brand with customer values. So now you have a customer who judges your brand not as an entity, but as a person or personality, "said Martin Raymond, co-founder of the consulting firm in anticipation of trends The Future Laboratory.
"Traditionally, it was useful for brands to sit on the fence but, increasingly, if you sit on the fence, you may have shards on your butt. You end up not really understanding the pendulum of history and where it oscillates, and where you must be when this pendulum passes over you. "
However, by aligning themselves with a cause, brands open up to increased consumer scrutiny and criticism, which can be problematic when their promises contradict their practices. Raymond highlights ongoing conversations around the sustainability efforts of fashion brands, which have often been called "greenwashing": "If I looked at your infrastructure, your supply chain or your sourcing - especially in fashion - I would find pretty strange things there that would be readily available for criticism and challenge. "
However, Bethann Hardison, a former model who became a modeling agent and advocate for diversity, is less cynical. "When people offer their solidarity, I don't tend to question it ... I don't have time for that. We have a movement to keep moving forward," she said.
"These big companies, many of them are very good people and they want to do the right thing, but they are used to being what they have been. Now is the time for people to wake up and watch and notice that something different is happening around them and happening to them. "
For brands that historically have not had to think critically about race and social justice - or solve the problems of racism in their own teams - a learning curve is to be expected. "Some people are challenged for the first time to speak openly about the breed."
"When people offer their solidarity, I don't tend to question it ... I don't have time for that. We have a movement to keep moving"
Bethann Hardison
Some brands have been more successful in building solidarity than others. Bolden congratulated designer Valentino Pierpaolo Piccioli for his multicultural casting and for making the South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech the de facto face of the brand. Likewise, Prescod congratulates the large luxury retailer 11 Honoré for its commitment to using various models on its platform and on Instagram. ("You are not going to make two scrolls without seeing a black face," Prescod observed.)
Hardison points to Gucci as an example of a brand that is taking promising steps to address the lack of representation in fashion. In 2019, the Italian brand, which had faced insensitive reactions to insensitive designs and the cooptation of designs by black designer Dapper Dan, launched its Changemakers Impact Fund. Last October, the fund launched a $ 1.5 million diversity scholarship program to "ensure that a new era of diverse and exceptional youth benefits from industry opportunities and experiences of fashion". And, on June 3, the company announced it would donate to NAACP, Campaign Zero (a non-profit organization that works to end police brutality) and Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights camp. Gucci also suspended operations in the United States on June 4 "so that employees will have a day of mourning, honor the lives lost and re-commit to being part of the solution."
But truly anchoring anti-racist values in your business requires a radical change at the top, where decision-making power resides. In its 2019 report on inclusion and diversity in the industry, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) stated that focusing on visibility - like diversity on the runway or on magazine covers - doesn't not enough: "Industry must recognize and prioritize efforts to support greater diversity on the corporate side: financiers, general managers, heads of fashion houses, magazine editors and business leaders "wrote Erica Lovett, director of inclusion and diversity at publisher Condé Nast. "Until the fashion leaders in all categories become more diverse, we will continue to progress only at the surface level."
Research suggests that diversified hiring is more than just a matter of good optics: it's a good deal. A 2018 McKinsey study found that companies with high levels of ethnic and cultural diversity in management teams were 33% more likely to have "peak profitability".
"People have been saying for years the steps to follow: create a pipeline for BIPOC talent (black, indigenous and colored), make sure that this pipeline gives way to leadership positions so that you don't have fair a ton of BIPOC Assistants and Freelancers, etc., "said Peoples Wagner." Inclusiveness is not as difficult as people suggest. It is simply a decision made across the board. the company and not a unilateral choice. "
Hardison sees this moment as "a first step" in a larger struggle for change and predicts that today's troubles will lead to "far-reaching changes" in the future. (She's not alone: in a recent interview, civil rights and academic activist Angela Davis said: "This particular historical conjecture offers possibilities for change that we have never experienced before in this country.")
Aighewi is also optimistic, but recognizes that real change will not happen easily. "People really have to do the work: feel uncomfortable, have these conversations, admit that the system is not correct," she said.
"These companies have been around long enough. It is not the first time that blacks have complained about the fashion industry; it is not the first revolution. Something must come of it."
