Photo: Kelly Taub/WWD via Getty Images
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.
Are brand employees the new influencers?
Rather than hiring external influencers and talent to be the face of their online content, luxury brands are beginning to put their in-house employees to work. Instead of an unrelated-to-the-brand face holding up a product and explaining why they love it, companies are calling upon the tailors, craftsmen and other experts to explain the process behind their designs. “People don’t just want to see the final product; they want to know who made it, how it’s made and why it matters. That’s a story best told by the people behind the scenes,” Thomas Walters, Europe CEO and co-founder of influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy explained in an interview with Vogue business. {Vogue Business}
Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack Foundation partner with the Fashion Scholarship Fund
In collaboration with the Fashion Scholarship Fund, Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack Foundation are launching the “Cactus Jack Design Ethos 101” program, an online initiative made to “immerse students in the world that shaped Travis Scott’s journey to building his iconic Cactus Jack brand,” according to a press release. The program’s curriculum will also include a competition, where multiple winners will receive $10,000 scholarships each. {Fashionista inbox}
DEI could get better than ever
Despite the White House’s many executive orders and threats targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across American businesses and institutions, Daphne Howland, a senior reporter at Retail Dive, argues that these pressures could lead to better, more opportunistic outcomes for DEI programs. “I think it’s prompting a much deeper reflection within companies, not just on what is strictly legal or illegal in what we’re doing, but on what has been working and what has not been working,” said David Glasgow, executive director of New York University’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. “I think the moment that we’re living in now could be a helpful reset moment for the field.” {Retail Dive}
Three graffiti artists take legal action against Vivienne Westwood and Farfetch
On Wednesday, three U.K.-based graffiti and street artists (Cole Smith, Reece Deardon and Harry Matthews) filed a complaint against Vivienne Westwood and Farfetch for allegedly copy-and-pasting their work onto multiple for-sale products. The claim says the fashion label “inexplicably, and without notice, let alone consent, prominently splashed the artists’ work across their apparel in a transparent effort to lend credibility and an aura of urban cool to their apparel by co-opting the plaintiffs’ special combination of graffiti style and street art.” The artists are seeking a juried trial and an unnamed amount in damages, according to WWD. Vivienne Westwood representatives could not be reached for comment by the publication. A spokesperson for Farfetch declined to comment. {WWD}
Photo: Courtesy of Cocokind
Cocokind and Dauphinette release Lunar New Year collaboration
Skin-care brand Cocokind (founded by Priscilla Tsai) and fashion label Dauphinette (founded by Olivia Cheng) have launched a limited-edition set inspired by their AAPI heritage and in celebration of the Lunar New Year. The kit includes Cocokind’s new Ceramide Lip Blur Balm alongside a compact mirror featuring Cheng’s signature pressed-floral designs in bright pink. Shop the $12 collaboration now on cocokind.com while supplies last.
The Ordinary launches in China
TikTok-viral, Estée Lauder Companies-owned skin-care brand The Ordinary is entering the Chinese beauty market. “China is the second-largest beauty market in the world behind the U.S., and it took time to make sure we were big enough to get to that level, and we’re launching with a very strong assortment in China with some adaptation of the products and some new ones as well,” said Deciem’s global brand president Jesper Rasmussen to WWD. One of the products reformulated to meet regulatory requirements is the Glycolic Acid Toner. {WWD/paywalled}
Atelier Victoria’s Secret x Altuzarra. Photo: Courtesy of Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret launches designer collaboration with Altuzarra
After Victoria’s Secret announced Joseph Altuzarra as its first “atelier designer in residence” back in October 2024, the intimates brand and luxury label have officially launched their first limited-edition collection together. Closet staples like blazers, slip dresses and pants make up the 11-piece capsule, all maintaining the ‘sharp, tailored silhouettes” of Altuzarra while heavily pulling inspiration from vintage lingerie, according to a press release. “I focused on pieces that felt effortless and sensual, and imbued them with subtle elements of discovery — classic wardrobe styles, but always with a twist,” said the designer. The collection — available to shop now at victoriassecret.com — ranges in size from XS to XL and in price from $95 to $500. {Fashionista inbox}
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Source: Fashionista.com
