Designer & Fashion Insiders Behavior (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[readings]

Destroying storefronts and stealing is not right and it will never be. All it does is just reinforcing the negative stereotypes about black people.

I am a bit late to the party and I know that this is off-topic in this forum, but I think that it is very important to be aware of the power of what you choose to put emphasis on and contribute to becoming a subject of conversation.

When the social violence gets so crushing and that there are absolutely no means to act on it, material violence becomes the answer. Steering the conversation about racism, injustice, protests towards looting is supporting the editorial line of the right/ far-right media and supporters. Yes - in most cases it is of course unfortunate, but you have to be aware that feeding the discussion around looting = contributing to their strategy of diverting the conversation from political & social injustice towards a stigmatisation of minorities & protestors. I think that we all agree that it's a shame when material destruction happens if that damages small or vulnerable businesses, but this conversation precisely is reinforcing negative stereotypes. Some stores being trashed is a marginal event/ discussion, especially that some of the looting is not done by protestors but precisely people who do it on purpose to contribute to this stigmatisation. Do not get tricked into this - except if you are doing if consciously which would mean that our political views are fundamentally different.

In that case, however, I do not think you get to say this :

of course

On that note...

The problem is that people somehow seems to forget that riots are a consequence...Not the end goal.

Yes protesters are protesting and looters are looting but if people are destroying and stealing it’s because they believes (rightfully) that in this capitalist society, material things are more important than their lives or their rights.

This. Thank you.
We have to learn to look past the actions and into the causes of those actions, which we will find to be, in the case of minorities and unprivileged people: social injustice and helplessness.

 

[Avonlea]

I am a bit late to the party and I know that this is off-topic in this forum, but I think that it is very important to be aware of the power of what you choose to put emphasis on and contribute to becoming a subject of conversation.

When the social violence gets so crushing and that there are absolutely no means to act on it, material violence becomes the answer. Steering the conversation about racism, injustice, protests towards looting is supporting the editorial line of the right/ far-right media and supporters. Yes - in most cases it is of course unfortunate, but you have to be aware that feeding the discussion around looting = contributing to their strategy of diverting the conversation from political & social injustice towards a stigmatisation of minorities & protestors. I think that we all agree that it's a shame when material destruction happens if that damages small or vulnerable businesses, but this conversation precisely is reinforcing negative stereotypes. Some stores being trashed is a marginal event/ discussion, especially that some of the looting is not done by protestors but precisely people who do it on purpose to contribute to this stigmatisation. Do not get tricked into this - except if you are doing if consciously which would mean that our political views are fundamentally different.

In that case, however, I do not think you get to say this :



On that note...



This. Thank you.
We have to learn to look past the actions and into the causes of those actions, which we will find to be, in the case of minorities and unprivileged people: social injustice and helplessness.

Sorry but you are not the one to tell me what I can and what I cant say. I dont agree with you yet I am not going to tell you whats the right way of thinking. Since when saying that looting/vandalism is not right equals supporting far right? Its just having common sense. My post is not reinforcing anything, its the people on the streets who are doing it. I am not getting tricked into anything either, I just try to stay objective.

 

[readings]

Sorry but you are not the one to tell me what I can and what I cant say.

Sorry if that came out as patronising or agressive, I get that now that I am reading my post again. It is difficult to convey the right tone for a written message - my aim was to stay polite, which I might have failed.

Just trying to make a point about the importance of the topic that you choose to have a conversation on.

Since when saying that looting/vandalism is not right equals supporting far right? Its just having common sense.

I was trying to convey this connection in a more nuanced way. I am not saying that you are supporting the far right per se, but that steering the conversation towards this looting problem fits perfectly their agenda. And that this problem is a marginal one compared to the actual social and political issues that these protests are about.

In any case, I do not want to turn this into a fight by no means. I will be more careful regarding the tone of my posts the next time.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ These “material” destructions— collateral damage, you speak of, is someone’s livelihood, someone’s lifeline and someone’s very life— not some designer bag or coat: The very same important life that the protest is meant to stand up for. One life is as important as the other.

The wanton violence/destruction/deaths that have resulted with these hateful riots that do not represent the urgency and ideals of the protests is a part of the conversation. Learn from Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, and Aung San Suu Kyi and how they peacefully but forcefully protested. And if somehow being critical and preserving common sense means being a “Far Right” LOL— then I couldn’t care less how I’m labelled. Editing the conversation to your ideal is censorship and worse.

My parents fled a communist regime that produced the deaths of many innocents. But they also were grateful to those few that were a part of the communists that also aided them. And as horrible and destructive as the communists were, my parents acknowledged that there were those few that contributed to saving their lives— and that doesn’t take away anything from the importance of the conversation of how the communist party failed a country and were responsible for the deaths of millions of lives. Just like my BFF identifies as Muslim and her parents also fled an extremist theocracy, but she is passionately critical of Islam's many harmful, misogynist and anti-humanitarian doctrines that’s still commonly practiced today— and sees the hijab as an offensive and oppressive symbol. Along with the good, the bad also needs to be addressed and brought to light in any conversation. Otherwise, it’s just a wankiest.

 

[MulletProof]

^ but, isn't implying your point of view is "critical and preserving common sense" also your own editing, assigning a not so modest role to your ideals juxtaposed with the rest in this discussion?.. you care about labelling, and about where you land in a debate, but you need choice about where and how you do this and that's not realistic, because it comes down to perception and that's related to someone else's own thoughts, experiences and education.

Conflicts hardly come down to a sole leader, or a rationalized idea of a solution based on minimal cost and wise strategy. It comes down to conditions (social, political, historical.. survival capacity). That's why some conflicts unfold in an extreme level of brutality and violence that centuries later you still wonder if all of it was really necessary (France in the 18th century) or with some inexplicable simplicity that will never represent the profound destruction inflicted on entire populations (the demise of the British Empire, aka. the knee on people's necks in many areas around the world).

The thing about the US is that it's so easy to judge from outside.. even those who've never set foot in the US feel confident to argue why things are the way they are, why people feel a certain way and what's the best way to act on their experiences. Do we feel this way about favela violence in Brazil? if, in some 15 years, those who are kids in Kashgar right now, grow up, experience one more kidnapping and decide to set entire non-Muslim towns on fire on behalf of concentration camps happening right now, could we blame them? should we really single out each business, the livelihood of those who have worked hard, surrendered and rebuilt themselves up in a regime (the effect) while overlooking the cause? isn't it a bit Machiavellian to claim it's an attack against other innocent citizens when it's pure anger towards a system that has destroyed the right to live of many, taken fathers/brothers/husbands away, etc?

I do believe you can riot without looting and I really feel so awful for some of these people.. many of them (the ones in DTLA for example) don't even have documents, they've been through hell leaving oppressive regimes and violence to get there, build something, go through this pandemic (without any stimulus or small business support because they don't qualify for obvious reasons) and suddenly, all hope is reduced to nothing. But, a part of me also knows that comes with a conflict. There is no other country so barbaric in their understanding of capitalism as the US is. In the name of capitalism they have played with the right to shelter, food, health, life and if you live in a country far away and get distracted, surprise, they will try to do that there, too. So I find the image of a looted Starbucks or any of these major chains empowering if anything.

I feel fortunate in a way that my formation did not take place in one of the safest countries in the world, that conflict, an oppressive and scary government has never been something I heard from my relatives, I lived through it, and yet, I am also familiar with privilege because, for things I had nothing to do with, I am "grouped" this way in my country.. I don't claim to know both sides of the coin in depth but am familiar.. and when people clutch their pearls about looting, or mask their disdain for protesting by labeling it as 'looting'.. it comes from privilege, from a lack of interest to make that extra effort and wonder what it took to do that. Growing up I saw the military uprising of a minority.. I was too young and the little I learned came from surrounding adults, with that pathetic middle class/bourgeois mentality of 'quit complaining, if you work as hard I have, you'll get it too!'.. so I learned to laugh at them, to see them as 'interesting-looking' rebels with no capacity to even state what they want, hence 'let's riot!'.. it was only a few years ago, after a Netflix documentary of all places, that I learned what that was all about.. and it still weighs on me heavily, we all had the moral debt to get fully informed as citizens not just on how your country serves you and how you serve back, but the cost of that, and if it doesn't sit well with your values, if it hurts others, if they dare to say enough and riot to demand opportunities because somehow flames create the echo words don't, I think people should at least listen. And this doesn't just stop at citizens rioting against their own government... many developing countries, every single day, pay a high cost for the stability and oh so sacred "livelihood" and joie de vivre of places like, France, Canada. But yeah, no flames you'll ever see in a nearby corner for that..

 

[dsamg]

Bazaar Italia posted this a few hours ago. Surely takes the prize for most tone deaf caption of the week, or year.Source: Bazaar Italia Instagram

 

[Summer Day]

On a side note, is Mario Testino trying to slowly get back after his #metoo accusations? Just a feeling.

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I wonder if this is from the V editorial that Carine styled. I believe all the girls were styled as Elizabeth Taylor. I remember Anais and Aymeline being in the ed. I think Candice and Carolyn as well, but can't quite remember.

 

[Yohji]

I think we can all agree that the Diet Prada duo can't wait for someone in the fashion industry to have a slip-up nowadays so they can blow it up, get a pat on the back and gain a few new followers. It feels like educating people has sadly taken a backseat to creating drama and leaving it at that.

But at least the likes of Refinery29, Man Repeller, Ferragamo and Reformation are rightfully getting dragged for the way they treat their employees.

 

[Benn98]

But at least the likes of Refinery29, Man Repeller, Ferragamo and Reformation are rightfully getting dragged for the way they treat their employees.

Add Paper to that list as well, although in this instance both were at fault. At least imo.

Bazaar Italia posted this a few hours ago. Surely takes the prize for most tone deaf caption of the week, or year.

Not only tone deaf for their choice of words but to exploit the crisis to sell luxury clothing? Despicable!
And I refuse to believe they weren't thinking of the protest when that post was set up, because the choice of a black model is telling enough.

Also, what is the 'fabric' that they're referring to? Because 'white' is not a fabric, it's a colour, social media manager of a high fashion magazine!

 

[Yohji]

Add Paper to that list as well, although in this instance both were at fault. At least imo.

Wait, what happened at Paper?

 

[Benn98]

Wait, what happened at Paper?

See below. One can be on the fence about this situation if this was the only case, but numerous other staff members came forward to explain why they really left. Plus the social media manager still working there responded from Paper's official Twitter page in support of these claims....

 

[Benn98]

Estee Lauder Workers Demand Heir Ouster Over Trump Support

By Kim Bhasin and Gerald Porter Jr.
5 June 2020, 01:55 GMT+2 Updated on 5 June 2020, 06:12 GMT+2

Employees of Estee Lauder Cos. criticized the beauty company’s response to the protests against police violence and called for the ouster of board member Ronald Lauder, a family heir, over his support for President Donald Trump.

In a letter to Chairman William Lauder that was reviewed by Bloomberg News, more than 100 employees and staff asked for the removal of Ronald Lauder over his political donations and concerns about his impact on race relations within the company.

“Ronald Lauder’s involvement with the Estee Lauder Companies is damaging to our corporate values, our relationship with the Black community, our relationship with this company’s Black employees, and this company’s legacy,” the letter said.

Nearly all of the world’s 50 largest companies, from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Apple Inc., have issued public statements in support of black Americans as of Wednesday. More than $1 billion has been pledged to the NAACP, Black Lives Matter and other organizations.

Town Hall
Many of Estee Lauder’s brands, including Clinique, La Mer and its namesake label, have released short statements on racial inequality in the U.S. without mentioning the ongoing protests. Employees said it’s not enough.

Ronald Lauder couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Estee Lauder said the organization respects everyone’s right to make their own political decisions and that his views don’t represent that of the company.

“This week, several employees asked whether a single member of the Lauder family and our board, represents the views of our company,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “The answer is no.”

In an internal memo dated June 1, William Lauder and Chief Executive Officer Fabrizio Freda told employees the organization would speak out against racial injustice and provide funding to community groups. On Thursday, Estee Lauder told staff it would donate $1 million in support of the black community. In the letter, employees ask for Estee Lauder to increase this to $5 million.

The company held a town hall meeting on Thursday that left many workers disgusted and dissatisfied, according to two employees who attended. A number sent emails to senior management, including William Lauder, who spoke at the event, to express dismay that his talk seemed scripted and didn’t address the political contributions.

Several employees told executives that Ronald Lauder’s involvement with the company was damaging its relationship with the black community and its own black workers, according to emails seen by Bloomberg. That was followed by the decision to send management a more formal statement.

Bloomberg

 

[MissMagAddict]

Estee Lauder Workers Demand Heir Ouster Over Trump Support

More bad news for Klossy. Lol

 

[Benn98]

More bad news for Klossy. Lol

She just can't catch a break, Check the comments.

 

[MissMagAddict]

She just can't catch a break, Check the comments.

“No longer white guilt, now she has Jewish guilt.”

That’s perf.

 

[readings]

Man Repeller

what happened there?

 

[sixtdaily]

what happened there?

They fired all the BIPOC staff in the beginning of the covid crisis so readers and former staff have been calling Leandra out when she pretended to care. The comment section of this article is... insightful:
I Owe You Better: A Commitment to the Future - Man Repeller

 

[lucy92]

I never read Man Repeller - as i find that "look at me!" personal style of Medine insufferable...

How many staff members did they lay off and did they cut off all their freelancers?

I'm sure that Man Repeller's ad revenue is way down - after all Google and Facebook ate all of it - but if Medine has a 5 million $ net worth can't she afford to float her employees through the crisis?

 

[Benn98]

I never read Man Repeller - as i find that "look at me!" personal style of Medine insufferable...

Ugh, same here!!

I don't even know why people think it's an issue to be argued, the matter of well-heeled owners having to dip into their own pockets to keep staff afloat. Imo it should be a given.

 

[MissMagAddict]

I never read Man Repeller - as i find that "look at me!" personal style of Medine insufferable...