The year of #MeToo, two
Since the #MeToo movement Tarana Burke started in 2006 exploded last year, the furor of testimonies on the abuse of power only gained traction in 2018. At the top of the year, the fashion industry blew wide open with the Boston Globe damning report of sexual exploitation and abuse by Patrick Demarchelier, Mario Testino, David Bellemere, Greg Kadel and Bruce Weber. Instagram account @ShitModelMgmt, started the year in similar guerrilla fashion releasing a public blacklist of photographers, stylists, and agents that models allegedly accused of sexual inappropriateness and downright abuse, with DMs to back the accusations up. The list was deleted after a week, as some of the accused threatened defamation retaliation. Paul Marciano of Guess Inc. and Sir Philip Green of Topshop fame were both accused of misconduct, with the former stepping down from his company after harassment settlements were paid out. The fashion industry responded actively with organizations like Model Alliance advocating for private changing rooms during fashion week and launching their RESPECT program that aims to bind corporations legally to curb rampant abuse. Humans of Fashion Foundation launched their app connecting individuals to volunteer mental health professionals and pro-bono lawyers for confidential support. Finally, mega-publisher Condé Nast International issued out a code of conduct banning alcohol from sets, established that nudity must be signed off by the model directly, and set an age limit on models featured in their magazines. The jury is still out on whether social media accusations are the best route or they rule out fair due process but one thing is clear – the era of silence on rampant abuse in the industry is waning, but not eclipsed.
Brands got serious about adopting more sustainable practices
2018 had us full tilt in existential bedlam, and part of that was confronting fashion’s monstrous environmental footprint. Maybe it was the certain doom of our climate-crisis that spurred brands to reconsider the way they operate, we’re just glad they are. That said, Stella McCartney has long been at the forefront of the movement with her uncompromising and comprehensive attitude towards sustainability in the sourcing of materials, building ethical supply chains and actively measuring their impact. This year, brands like Chanel, Gucci, Versace and Michael Kors, Coach, Maison Margiela, DKNY, Donna Karan and Burberry joined the already fur-free like Tommy Hilfiger, Vivienne Westwood, Armani, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney in pledging against the use of fur. That’s just one part of tackling a 2.5 trillion dollar industry’s environmental emergency that includes cutting down carbon emissions, pollution, deforestation, water waste and more. To curb harmful practices companies have begun mobilizing by way of initiatives: the CFDA just announced their Guide to Sustainable Strategies, similar to Kering’s EP&L which weighs the cost and benefits generated for the environment in € value; also this year, the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action was launched in accord with the Paris Agreement with signatories including Stella McCartney, Adidas and H&M Group; The Global Fashion Agenda, Copenhagen’s nonprofit partnered with the likes of Kering, H&M, Target, and Li & Fung and most recently added added Nike to their fold.
Fashion took the red pill
By the second half of the year, computer-generated avatars had everyone’s Instagram feeds feeling more like a Second Life Second Coming; maybe a natural reaction to dismal politics and social emergencies, or a gung-ho embracing of technology’s augmented role in our lives. Enter one of Time Magazine’s “25 Most Influential People on the Internet” Lil’ Miquela, or Miquela Sousa, the CGI Instagram influencer no one asked for but was everywhere. After an Instagram takeover for Prada, a Pat McGrath shoutout, and editorials in Vogue, 032c, Garage, V Magazine, the always-on-trend virtual it-girl amassed a very real 1.5 million followers. Her success gave way to influencers @blawko22, @bermudaisbae, @lil_wavi. Balmain got excited and cast Shudu (@shudu.gram), “The world’s first digital supermodel”, alongside Margot and Zhi as part of their uncanny virtual army campaign. They’re all represented by “The Diigitals”, an all-digital agency that is hoping to “demonstrate the potential of 3D fashion modeling”. For Balenciaga’s Fall campaign the house collaborated with artist Yilmaz Sen to create elastic CGI renderings of models. Why? Well, it looked cool. Sophia the Robot might point out, none of that is actually Artificial Intelligence. Sophia, the Hanson Robotics humanoid talking head was seen hanging out front row at Alexander Wang’s AW 19 show.
Print’s great migration to digital officially began
Digital spending is on the rise, and print is, well, not––losing as much as $400 million in revenue, according to the Association of Magazine Media’s annual report. This year print media tightened its belt with a number of publications piling onto the proverbial digital Ark. Some folded altogether. Condé Nast’s Teen Vogue halted production of print early in the year to move to online-only, as well as its Glamour magazine, who besides special issues, will focus on digital. Condé has been looking for a buyer for its 46-years-running W Magazine. Hearst’s Seventeen magazine will also go digital. As Condé Nast grapples with the changing landscape it’s been a never-ending shuffling of top brass and restructuring. Taking a position, Youtube appointed Derek Blasberg its director of its new vertical, YouTube Fashion and Beauty. Love Magazine’s Katie Grand who partnered with Blasberg to produce a video-only magazine (even though there will still be a print issue as well). Rookie Magazine’s Tavi Gevenson, who started her beloved teenager-focused online magazine when she was 15, recently pulled its plug and in a lengthy editor’s letter wrote, “In one way, this is not my decision, because digital media has become an increasingly difficult business, and Rookie in its current form is no longer financially sustainable”.
For apology speechwriters, business was booming
“Do better” might as well have been the slogan for 2018 with plenty of foot in the mouth moments, tone-deaf oversights, or blatant bad behavior. The social media microscope meant no one was beyond reproach or just one wrong move away from being #cancelled. Fashion elected its unofficial accountability task force––Diet Prada. The Instagram run by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler was quick to put on blast the clumsy, like Vogue for images of Kendall sporting an afro or Vogue Italia for darkening Gigi Hadid’s skin tones; and the grievous, too, like Gosha’s accusation of soliciting explicit images in the name of “street casting”. What was a predictable pattern, culpable brands were quick to issue apologies, the most recent being Prada after the release of a trinket keychain that resembled a blackface character from the 19th century, a similar gaffe to H&M’s hoodie controversy. But an apology doesn’t always mean bygones can be bygones: the most infamous apologies of the year included Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce’s after their racist promotional ads; Victoria’s Secret’s Ed Razek’s apology following his tone-deaf trans comments and at the top of the year Miroslava Duma’s following her racially insensitive Instagram story.
If you were a brand and you didn’t collaborate, did anyone even hear you?
As the fashion industry increasingly struggles to predict its hits and misses, a new blueprint for commercial success has emerged: The Collaboration. In 2018 we saw Burberry teaming up with Vivienne Westwood, JW Anderson continuing his successful partnership with Converse, Fendi pairing with Fila, and Virgil Abloh with enough guest appearances to rival a Lil Wayne discography. This year saw fashion’s version of the two-for-one cementing itself as a seemingly surefire money-maker.
The ex-factor: Brands and their creative directors’ keep on breaking up
With enough staffing changes to rival Theresa May’s parliamentary cabinet and the English Premier League, upheaval amongst head designers at major fashion houses spilled over from 2017 to continue on throughout 2018. Hedi Slimane at Celine and Riccardo Tisci at Burberry were the headliners, with Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones at Dior Homme also major shakeups, while mystery still surrounds what will happen at Lanvin, with Lucas Ossendrijver and Oliver Lapidus both leaving the brand this year. And while it’s yet to reach Trump White House levels of short-lived favoritism, it seems like the longevity of a creative director’s career with a singular brand is no longer a given.
The year that diversity wasn’t an afterthought
Compared to previous years, this was a solid 12 months when it came to diversity on magazine covers, billboards or the runway. Still, fashion enthusiasts and veterans alike expanded the conversation, pushing for more representation in race, gender, age and body types whether sitting in the front row, behind the camera, on the streets of fashion capitals or in the boardrooms of the fashion elite. On the flipside, faux pas continued as Prada and Dolce and Gabbana’s recent racists mishaps left many wondering how such a blatant mistake could have been executed in 2018 and how many people of color are in those decision making rooms. At least, the former set up a diversity council – hopefully a step towards better practices and learning from past mistakes.
Hype rules everything around me
When the CFDA Awards gives Menswear Designer of the Year to Supreme, you notice. Accordingly, this was the year that belonged to the Cozy Boyz with many in luxury fashion going the streetwear route – Dad Sneakers we’re looking at you – highlighting its mark on pop culture. After Virgil Abloh and Nike’s “The Ten” collaboration in 2017, it seems like everyone thought “checks over stripes” with brands like AMBUSH, COMME des GARÇONS, A-COLD-WALL* (we promise we’re not yelling) and Undercover landing a Nike collab of their own. Adidas, of course, wasn’t left out the race with their ongoing line with Kanye West and their ambassador program that had the likes of Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin joining ranks. Even fashion’s elite was taking pointers from the athletic powers that be, with brands like Alexander Wang throwing out the old formulas of seasonal rollout in favor of “drops” – no doubt terminology he picked up from his own Adidas collaboration this year.
All anyone was talking about was China
The major economic impact of the Chinese market isn’t news – the wealth of China’s almost 1.4bn people has been rapidly increasing over the past 20 years, and along with it has been an unceasing demand for luxury fashion goods. This year saw major labels approach China as less of a profitable outpost and more as a determining factor of brand strategy, with Coach, Tommy Hilfiger and Miu Miu all opting to stage shows in Shanghai rather than in NY or Paris. But beware the brand who underestimates the sophistication of the Chinese buyer––as evidenced by the Dolce & Gabbana fiasco. Outmoded Eurocentric perceptions and patronizing treatment of Chinese culture can have disastrous repercussions.
