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I hope Alexina gets well soon
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I hope Alexina gets well soon
Employees of BOF China all got laid off...
I wonder who will report on this, and what does it mean? Will the Chinese site shut down entirely? Such a shocking move. Ahmed must be pressed on this and explain his decision just like every other exec right now.
bofA Letter to the BoF Community
Dear BoF Community,
Like many other media companies around the world, the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted our business in ways that we could never have imagined. Over the past 4 weeks, our team has remained steadfast in our commitment to open, inform and connect the global fashion community, pivoting our business and editorial strategies to reflect the unprecedented context in which we now find ourselves.
Some areas of our business continue to grow rapidly, especially our BoF Professional membership programme, for which new sign-ups have increased by more than 500 percent over this same period last year, making it the industry’s most trusted guide to navigating this crisis. We believe this is due to the quality of analysis we provide, as well as the global connectivity and community that BoF enables, underscoring that no individual or company can make it through the pandemic alone. In times like these, we need to create new ways to connect and learn from each other, and we are energised to be playing a role in making this happen.
That said, other areas of our business — especially those dependent on physical events and digital advertising — have been negatively impacted, leading to lost revenue that we will find difficult to recoup. Given this impact, we have had to make the difficult decision to go further than our initial cost-savings measures and take actions that impact the heart and soul of our business: our people.
Unfortunately, these measures include limited furloughs and redundancies in the areas of the business that have been most affected. Additionally, we are exploring strategic options for our BoF China business, including its Chinese-language content and franchise events. Finally, senior members of our team are also sacrificing a significant portion of our salaries as part of our collective effort to reduce costs.
These decisions were difficult to make and are not a reflection of the contributions of the highly-valued team members that are impacted. BoF is certainly not alone in having to take such actions, but as a small business going through this kind of crisis for the first time, it is particularly painful for our talented team members who have given so much to this company. I am so grateful for their contributions and for all the hard work they have put into building BoF.
Many of you have asked how you can support a company like BoF at a time like this. To that, I say, you are already doing it, by reading our analysis and subscribing to BoF Professional. For those who haven’t already joined, you can support our award-winning journalism by signing up here.
While this change is unexpected and difficult, our team is moving forward by creating more avenues to open, connect, and inform the global fashion industry. This has always been our mission, but the Coronavirus crisis has revealed the urgent need for new solutions, and we are focused on delivering these with renewed innovation, creativity and purpose.
We hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe, healthy and well. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Imran Amed, Founder and CEO
The New York TimesCan Fashion Save Itself?
By Vanessa Friedman
The revelation of the crisis in retail caused by the coronavirus and the global response has coincided with the close of the first round of applications for A Common Thread, American fashion’s self-rescue plan. The initiative was created less than a month ago to help the independent designers, stores and contractors that make up the fashion ecosystem.
Can the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue succeed where the Small Business Administration has stumbled?
In the 10-day application period that began April 8, more than 800 companies and individuals from 38 states applied for a slice of what is currently a $4.1 million fund, raised from industry supporters and private individuals, with grants earmarked for business with revenues of under $10 million and fewer than 30 employees.
No grant will be more than $100,000.
“We don’t pretend this is a bailout,” said Anna Wintour, the artistic director of Condé Nast and editor of Vogue. “We see this as a grant that will bridge a very difficult time, something to keep the lights on. The goal is to give a little bit of money to as many as possible.”
It could help designers pay the factories that produce their samples, and the fabric suppliers; help stores pay designers for stock that has been ordered and produced; and help factories pay their garment workers.
“What really struck me was the depth and severity of the current crisis, as reflected in the applicant pool,” said Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the CFDA. “There were businesses on it that are 30 years old, who have helped build the American fashion industry, but who have remained content, year in and year out, to operate locally, without the goal of being a global lifestyle brand.”
He paused and then added, “It was really difficult to see some of the names.”
(Mr. Kolb declined to provide the names out of respect for their privacy, but, he said, “You can look at the New York Fashion Week schedule.”)
According to the CFDA, approximately 71 percent of the applicants were brand or designer names, 13 percent independent retailers, 7 percent small factories, and 8 percent associated companies like production and PR companies that help support the industry.
After an initial vetting by the CFDA to weed out incomplete applications and ineligible names, a committee of 10, which includes Wen Zhou, the chief executive of 3.1 Phillip Lim; Rachna Shah, a partner at KCD; and Jeffery Fowler, the president, Americas at Farfetch, will read the applications and decide on the grants. The committee hopes to have the first money out by mid-to-late May.
A Common Thread is just one of a group of fashion-world initiatives in the major style capitols. In London, the British Fashion Council’s BFC Foundation Fashion Fund for the Covid Crisis is looking to disburse an initial 1,000,000 pounds to independent designers and students, in grants of no more than 50,000 pounds. In Milan, the Camera della Moda is raising money to support independent talent through a campaign called #TogetherForTomorrow, which is also connecting young designers to experts in different fields.
In Paris, the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers — at 300,000 euros, the most lucrative emerging designer award in the world and normally allotted to a single emerging designer — will be shared among the eight current finalists. A second fund, which includes the 150,000-euro Karl Lagerfeld prize, will be available to aid winning designers from the last six years of the LVMH competition, on application.
A Common Thread began as a repurposing of the fund-raising the CFDA and Vogue engaged in for their Fashion Fund prize, and since then, it has been augmented by donations: Ralph Lauren gave $1 million; PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, gave $50,000; and hundreds of small donors, many anonymous, have been giving between $5 and $25.
“I’ve been so moved and touched by the generosity,” Ms. Wintour said. “When Ralph called to tell me of his contribution, I just burst into tears. To have him step in and help us get started had been such a vote of support. And then there were hundreds of small donations, that just break your heart. There have been participants in past Fashion Funds who returned their money from last year who didn’t want their names mentioned. They just said, ‘We are in this together.’”
Many designers who have applied to A Common Thread said the experience was fairly straightforward.
Jonathan Cohen, a designer who is known for his joyful prints and conscious upcycling, was a runner-up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2018. He applied for both a small business loan ($200,000) and the A Common Thread grant for $100,000.
“The difference on this application was focusing on how we were affected, as well as what we need to keep going,” he wrote in an email.
Mr. Cohen was in San Diego, where he moved to be with his family. It is the first time he has lived at home since he was 19 (he is now 34) and the first time he and his business partner, Sarah Leff, have been separated since starting their business in 2011.
“At this time, we are paying all expenses out of personal pocket,” he wrote, adding that normally he would have payments from stores for spring-summer merchandise but that most of that money was now on hold and not likely to arrive for months (if at all). “A Common Thread would be very helpful to cover immediate expenses, as well as plan the next six-eight months. For the S.B.A., it is very unclear when/how much money we will get.”
Mr. Kolb said he expected to be able to award money to 10 percent of the applicants. Those who do not receive funds in the first round, which is earmarked for those in the most immediate need, will be automatically included in the next round. He expects most grants to range between $25,000 and $75,000. (He estimates that $2 million will be disbursed.)
“We’re not naïve about this,” Ms. Wintour said. “We know we can’t help everybody. And maybe some of the people we do help won’t make it. But we wanted to show there is a support system in fashion. That there is a future.”
I hate that it’s come to this in the industry, because no one revels in misery and tragedy. But, the industry has become so bloated, with so much amateur-level mediocrity solely subsidized on basic gimmicks, that it’s time to weed out the weak and lessers. Just because an individual may “love” fashion, doesn’t mean they “deserve” or are “entitled” to be a part of the industry. And then there are those that clearly are only in it for the fame and fortune, while blatantly flaunting their lack of talent and skills, and branded predominately on identity-politics.
Let this be a periods, that as painful and unkind as it may be— the lessers get eliminated, and where talent and skills— and not only in PR and marketing, but genuine creative vision and genuine passion for the craft (sounds absolutely tacky and corny but it needs to be said) becomes paramount again in this industry. If a label consistently needs grants/industry-equivalent bursaries to stay in the business, then maybe it’s time for it to end.
Who care about Grace Elizabeth-- look at her man...