In a school group this week, we talked about degendering fashion. There needs to be some sort of “degendering” of the fashion world. There is so much good happening in the fashion industry with men and women wearing the same clothing and gender norms breaking left and right. While there is some good, there is still a lot of work left to be done such as ending “men’s fashion week” and “women’s fashion week.” There should just be “fashion week” for everyone to express their creativity no matter what gender they identify as. My hope one day for the fashion industry is that gender norms will exist no longer. People should be free and feel free to wear whatever they want. If a women wants to only wear suits, that is awesome. If a guy feels comfortable wearing dresses, more power to him. In the end, it does not affect anyone but themselves.

COVID has affected the fashion industry tremendously. While the industry itself was on a decline already, the pandemic made it come to a scary halt. March 12 was the day that came to mind of Irina Aleksander. That was the day that the world quite literally shut down. People were returning or cancelling orders and many stores were filing for bankruptcy. No one wanted to buy clothes anymore because they knew that they were going to be staying inside for a long time. Sales went down for so many companies that they couldn’t even afford to pay rent for their stores. Brands like J. Crew, Gap, or JC Penny we’re affected greatly by this. The fashion calendar as well as fashion week will never be the same. Designers will start making and releasing their own collections on their own time. They now realize that they can put out a Fall line in the Fall. They do not have to do it two seasons early. Brands that specialize in athleisure or lounge wear are doing exceptionally well during this time. Although clothing sales have rebounded, they are still nowhere near how they were in years past. I think we will see the effects that COVID had on the fashion industry for a long time.

I chose this article by the Business of Fashion called, “The Truth About Entry Level Jobs in Fashion.” It talks about how, as time progresses, entry level positions are are requiring more responsibilities and allowing more creative control. While this is a good thing for exposure and experience, it puts more pressure on those entering into the industry to be perfect.

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This week I chose an article written for the Business of Fashion about an internship position they’re holding for up-and-coming Black journalists. It’s a paid internship to empower Black writers and reporters of any age. I think this is a really great opportunity to amplify and diversify the voices helping to write stories for BoF. It is a 6 month program that starts Spring 2021 and the intern is expected to write one story a month.

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The article I chose was posted on Vogue Business. It talks about how luxury brands such as Dolce and Gabbana and Versace are starting to include plus-size models in their fashion shows. While this inclusivity is a step in the right directions, many brands are not expanding their sizes in stores. Many brands sizing does not go over a US 16 even though research says the majority of women in the US are above a size US 12. Because of the pandemic, clothing sales for luxury brands have gone down tremendously. We can see patterns in fast fashion brands that show that the bigger the size range the brand has, the more sales it produces. For example, H&M has widen their size range and their sales have spiked up. For these luxury brands, widening their size range can quote literally save their company. I think it is important for brands to be inclusive for everyone not just the “ideal” body type. I thought this article was interesting because I was excited to see brands such as Versace have models walk in their runway that represent the plus-size movement. It was also interesting to see how much room for improvement the fashion industry has to go.

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The article I chose was written on the Business of Fashion website. It’s about how we’re soon entering into the season of summer and things are starting to open up. As more and more things open up and events start to take place, there is going to be a greater need for nicer clothing. People are going to ditch their loungewear and sweatpants for cocktail dresses and business attire. US retailers are starting to see a surge in their sales of dresses and bright colors. People are still leaning to loose fitting and comfy clothes but in the shape of fancy wear. https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/fashion-retailers-bet-bras-with-wires-and-a-splash-of-colour-will-sell-this-spring

I decided to write about Harris Reed. He was noticed while he was still a student by Alessandro Michele at Gucci. He ended up designing for Harry Styles for his world wide tour. He is a big risk taker in the fashion industry. He advocates for gender fluidity and de-sexualizing clothes. He pushes the limits with low cuts, see through fabrics, and dresses for both men and women. He designed a dress for Harry Styles to wear for American Vogue’s first cover to feature just a male. It definitely cause some controversy but it made Harris Reed that more famous. He tries to be resourceful with his designs using local fabrics and charity shops. Harris Reed is trying to break the mold of what men and women should/shouldn’t wear.