The cost of representation: Why fast-fashion brands’ inclusive sizing is a problem

The cost of representation: Why fast-fashion brands’ inclusive sizing is a problem - Glossy

The cost of representation: Why fast-fashion brands’ inclusive sizing is a problem - Glossy
How Covid-19 helped Karolina Zmarlak reclaim the soul of her fashion company - NBC News
The hidden obstacle to circular fashion: Chemicals - Vogue Business

The cost of representation: Why fast-fashion brands’ inclusive sizing is a problem - Glossy

Posted: 06 Jan 2021 09:02 PM PST

In the 24 hours after its November 18 launch, Megan Thee Stallion's Fashion Nova collaboration reportedly drove over $1.2 million in sales. The line features 106 pieces, and offers junior, plus and even tall sizes, welcoming women over 5'10" to the inclusivity conversation.

Fashion Nova, Forever 21 and Boohoo make up 39%, 12% and 10% of the plus-size market, respectively. Fast-fashion brands including Asos, Pretty Little Thing and H&M have also launched size-inclusive collections. In contrast, per Edited, less than 20% of sustainable brands carry above-average sizing — Reformation launched expanded sizing in select pieces in 2018.

Fast-fashion retailers often capitalize off egregious labor practices, and their affordable, diverse sizing can leave women who wear above-average sizes chained to the cycle.

"Fast-fashion retailers exploit garment workers, who are mostly women of color; they over-market to Black women, although they do not protect our interests; they steal designs of Black women and other rising designers; and they [do] horrific harm to our planet," said Mica Caine.

Following the release of Megan Thee Stallion's line, Caine expressed her discontent in an open letter on social media, which was reshared by Unbothered, Refinery29's community for Black millennial women. In the letter, Caine cited fast fashion as "one of the most destructive, racist and anti-woman industries in the world."

Approximately 80% of garment workers are women, according to non-profit company Labour Behind the Label. A February 2015 report by the Clean Clothes Campaign showed that the top garment producing countries in 2011 were China, Bangladesh, India, Turkey and Vietnam.

In July 2018, Refinery29 owed Fashion Nova's ascent, in part, to working with influencers who were women of color. Furthermore, Black consumer choices have a "cool factor" that influences the mainstream, per Nielsen.

In her letter, Caine discussed fast-fashion's long history of copying designs from independent Black designers. Designer Aazhia claimed Fashion Nova stole her work for Megan Thee Stallion's collection, which Megan refuted in an interview with The Morning Hustle.

In 2019, after a 3-year federal investigation, the New York Times reported on December 16 that Fashion Nova illegally underpaid factory workers. Minutes after the article was shared, Fashion Nova responded to the allegations on Twitter, calling them "categorically false."

Caine and her twin sister own Mive, a marketplace that sells size-inclusive, sustainable styles designed by BIPOC. She said she posted the open letter because she never saw anyone discuss fast fashion in a cultural context.

"A lot of these retailers have big partnerships with different Black TV shows and entertainers," Caine said. "Saweetie launched Pretty Planet with Pretty Little Thing, and Teyana Taylor [has] a creative director role at the company. It's really these entertainers that uphold the cultural significance of these brands when they're in every way anti-Black."

PrettyLittleThing was contacted for comment and responded by saying, "PrettyLittleThing prides itself on supporting Black culture and the BLM movement. We work with a wide range of campaign faces ensuring we are representing diversity and inclusion across all of our platforms."

Brooklyn-based Tribes of Kin designer and sustainable fashion influencer Mia Anyinke noted another fast-fashion look-alike, which she discovered upon releasing her turtleneck mask dress collection.

"I came up with the idea [for the turtleneck mask dress] in the middle of quarantine and started in August," said Anyinke. "When I actually created it, I looked it up, and nothing came up [that was] like it. When the New York Post article came out, I read it and said, 'Oh, so Pretty Little Thing is doing the same thing.'"

The New York Post article reported that Pretty Little Thing's turtleneck mask dress sold out after Kate Moss' younger half-sister was seen wearing it and that other brands (including Tribes of Kin) were "embracing the all-in-one garment." Anyinke said she was contacted by a New York Post reporter for an interview, but it was only following the article's release that she became aware of such similarities in design.

Tribes of Kin priced the dress at $199, while PrettyLittleThing sold its version for $19. Considering her company's large Instagram following of more than 27,000, Anyinke said she would not be surprised if Pretty Little Thing had copied the style. Anyinke said she felt powerless seeing the images side-by-side. She was not contacted by a Pretty Little Thing representative. Glossy reached out to PLT for comment, and a representative said the company was not aware of the accusations and did not copy the dress.

Anyinke and Caine agree that the systematic exclusion of larger sizes from conscious clothing options only feeds the cycle — and the onus does not lie on Black women alone to fix the system.

Caine said, "It's very important to recognize that the movement is way bigger than just sustainable brands, but it's only in their best interests to cater to Black and brown women, and expand sizing offerings. Almost 70% of women are plus-size in the U.S., and you're shutting out a key demographic. Black women are fashion."

In a 2016 survey conducted by Yahoo Style, out of 1,000 participants, 24% of Black women identified as plus-size. And women account for 52% of Black Americans, whose total spending power is expected to reach $1.5 trillion this year.

How Covid-19 helped Karolina Zmarlak reclaim the soul of her fashion company - NBC News

Posted: 06 Jan 2021 07:54 AM PST

Covid-19 has spelled disaster for sales in the fashion industry. Brooks Brothers and Nieman Marcus, for example, filed for bankruptcy. And LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton saw an 84 percent revenue drop during the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, The McKinsey Institute predicted that fashion companies will post a 90 percent decline in profits last year, when they had reported a 4 percent rise in profits the year before.

But for designer Karolina Zmarlak, sales were only one part of the picture. Her fashion company, KZ_K Studio, has weathered the storm not through revenue, but through deep, unique connections with her clientele.

When the pandemic first hit in March, the first thing Zmarlak did had nothing to do with clothes: she and her business partner called and texted their 1,000+ clients to check in on them individually. Her clients include A-listers including Jodi Foster, Cynthia Nixon and Gloria Estefan.

"Our clientele, these women, are the lifeblood of our business. They are an extension of our family," Zmarlak, 38, told NBC News' Know Your Value. "We asked them how they were doing, what was their experience? The same questions came back to us. It became these amazing, uplifting conversations. We could process [everything that was going on] together."

Though she had just released her spring collection, Zmarlak decided to forego any promotional language about the new pieces for months in the beginning of the pandemic. Instead, KZ_K sent out newsletters featuring positive messages and visual imagery meant to make people feel good in dark times. The company also hosted weekly Instagram Live events featuring interviews with some of its clients, including a plastic surgeon in Oklahoma and an interior designer in New York.

Karolina Zmarlak during our one of KZ_K's collection photoshoots.Courtesy of KZ_K

"We connect with a lot of professional and powerful women who are amazing in their fields," said Zmarlak. "It allowed clients not only to connect with us, but for the community of clients to connect. It was an incredible tool to be productive and encourage each other and be inspired."

Perhaps the biggest puzzle Zmarlak has faced during Covid-19 is that her business is, at its core, in-person. KZ_K sells modernist, ready-to-wear outfits for professional women, but was never an online retailer. To design the clothes and style her clients, she relied on face-to-face interactions with them, travel, fabric mills, factories in New York's garment district and all of the employees therein. Not to mention, clients needed a reason to buy high-end fashion when they were largely homebound.

Thankfully her clients are extremely loyal and action-focused. It was their suggestion, in fact, that KZ_K start issuing gift certificates to get some cash flow in lieu of appointments, Zmarlak said. Her customers bought the certificates in droves, with some of the proceeds going to City Harvest.

As the pandemic wore on, it started to feel OK to sell clothes. Though it may have eased the burden, Zmarlak was opposed to going the online retail route.

Designer Karolina Zmarlak.Courtesy of KZ_K

"A big portion of our design and product experience with clients is one-on-one, and personally I prefer to be in person," said Zmarlak. "I want to have that experience with each and every client. When the world shut down initially, the question was: how do we continue doing this in a connected way?"

KZ_K had to get creative. Zmarlak now confers with clients over video conference, then she sends them customized packages filled with sample clothes, which are available for purchase. Also, an unexpected opportunity arose: clients suddenly needed to be styled for Zoom calls.

"What was funny was their appearance from the waist up became extremely important," Zmarlak said. "They were still doing the same amount of meetings, and they had to be viewed professionally."

Zmarlak said she wasn't always so adaptive. Born in Poland, her family moved to the suburbs of Chicago at age 10. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and has lived in Manhattan ever since.

"I first started in my 20s. When you're at that age, you have impatience," she said. "You're working and saying: why can't this go faster? Why can't I be successful?"

She launched an eponymous fashion label in 2009 with her business (and life) partner, a developer named Jesse Keyes. They founded KZ_K in 2016. By then, Zmarlak had learned to slow down and shine the focus on her clients, and on the well-being of the people working under her.

"The success and health of a business is not something that happens overnight," she said. "Long-term success is going to come when everyone around you—clients, the factories—everyone is committed to the community."

KZ_K's sales have not fully recovered, Zmarlak said. However, the pandemic has reminded her what her company is all about. She offered the following advice to struggling business owners.

"Hustle and continue pivoting....Worry less about how quickly success comes, and worry more about the people who are in your business. Worry about the clientele, and building relationships that are lifelong," Zmarlak said. "We've been building that focus for years, but it has definitely been solidified in the pandemic."

The hidden obstacle to circular fashion: Chemicals - Vogue Business

Posted: 07 Jan 2021 02:30 AM PST

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