Haider Ackermann joins Belgian brand Maison Ullens
As fashion tries to find its footing and after a weird reshuffling from Berluti after less than 2 years, Haider Ackermann has found a new gig to supplement any financial woes he might be incurring under his eponymous label. Belgian ready-to-wear label, Maison Ullens has brought on the designer as a creative consultant to bring some buzz and expertise on color and draping into the decade-old line. Founded by Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten (or Mimi for short), past collections focused on knits were first pushed as “wearable luxury” designed for travel. His first collection for the brand will be for the fall 2021 season. [WWD]
Creatives Speak Out Against Hate Crimes Towards the Asian Community
In the past year and current weeks, there has been an increase in violence, xenophobia, and hate crimes towards the Asian community due to misplaced anger regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. This rising tide of violence against Asians has stimulated influential creatives in the industry such as Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, and Michelle Lee to speak up and shed awareness to #StopAsianHate. This is an ongoing conversation and as designer Gurung said, “To build an equitable world, we have to be actively anti-racist, anti-racism is not a hashtag but a lifelong commitment.”
IMG, Joan Smalls, and The Black in Fashion Council partner with The Color of Change for #ChangeFashion Initiative
The initiative is deeply invested in combating racism and dismantling systemic issues in the fashion industry by “partnering with executives, influencers, and talent across the industry to make change a reality.” #ChangeFashion is the third extension of the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, The Color of Change — the first was #ChangeHollywood and the second was #ChangeMusic. The NGO has teamed up with IMG, Joan Smalls, and The Black in Fashion Council by releasing a roadmap with four different recommendations for the industry to hold themselves accountable. Find out more about the specific recommendations here. [WWD]
Everybody Wins CFDA’s Fashion Fund This Year
The CFDA and Vogue are spreading the love this year, with the announcement that the Fashion Fund grant money and mentorship will be awarded to all ten finalists. This news comes a year after the Fashion Fund was supplanted by A Common Thread, a fund established to help fashion designers who had been affected by the pandemic. The application process for this year’s Fashion Fund opens on March 10th, and will be judged by Anna Wintour, Chioma Nnadi and Mark Holgate of Vogue, Eva Chen of Instagram, model Paloma Elsesser, Roopal Patel of Saks Fifth Avenue, Sam Lobban of Nordstrom, and former Fashion Fund recipient Aurora James of Brother Vellies. [The Daily]
ANDAM is Back with Philo and K-Pop
The ANDAM Prize is also back on this year. Members of the jury include Phoebe Philo, Kerby Jean Raymond, and Korean rapper Lisa from the k-pop mega-group, Blackpink. The Grand Prize—which will be awarded to just one designer—is €500,000 and mentorship from Cédric Charbit, chief executive at Balenciaga. Previous winners include Glen Martens and Marine Serre. [BoF]
Bottega’s Social Media Mystery Solved
Bottega Veneta’s mysterious social media strategy has finally been revealed: they are letting brand fans and ambassadors do the talking. The news comes after the luxury brand deleted all social accounts last month. After much speculation within the industry, Kering CEO and chairman François-Henri Pinault clarified that the brand is not eschewing social networks altogether, but explained that Bottega is “merely using them differently.” [The Daily]
