Fasshinnovation started the conversation. How Do We Add To it?
Los Angeles is a fashion and media hub with great power and influence, but does it’s headline industry (mainstream media) accurately reflect and represent the people or cultures that it was built on? When companies, brands, and agencies create projects around cultures, it’s generally with the intent to sell instead of educating. When this happens, the information, while seemingly inspirational, likely fails to create a deeper understanding of culture. To authentically portray and celebrate these cultures, customs, designs, arts, and beliefs, the foundation of any cultural adoption from marginalized groups should be with the intent to spread knowledge. From knowledge, transformation is possible. We must open up the floor and create spaces for these voices that have been muted.
Fashinnovation held its second digital summit after massive success from its first at the peak of global quarantine, with over 100,000 viewers in two days featuring fashion icons like Diane von Furstenberg and Kenneth Cole. This time around, held at peak pandemic and the largest civil rights movement the world has ever seen, “Fashinnovation’s 2nd Worldwide Talks 2020” opened the conversation about making real change within the fashion industry when it comes to culture through several different panels. Here are a few takeaways to open up conversations and insight change, whatever your role in media, maybe!
Fashion is Culture via Design
The name of this panel says it all. If fashion is the channel we use to share culture, make sure it’s done right. This means if your designs are from or even inspired by a culture, it is your duty to make sure it is accurate and represented correctly every time. This should be a collaborative process with the culture, and not just some cause you throw money at afterward.
“Where I’m from in my country, we don’t want handouts or donations; we just want opportunities,” said Farai Simoy, Founder The Narativ.
Fashion Is “ Sharing, Protecting Cultural & Creative Legacies”
Do your research. Look at your infrastructure and have conversations with the people around you. If it’s a survey group or peers, we must do everything we can to be sure we are not taking from these groups and not giving back properly.
Fashion Is “Social Impact, Positivity & Inclusivity”
Work on yourself first and develop empathy, to take the time, and to understand why social impact is important. Fashion has the power to shape the way we think and act, so when creating designs, we must be actively asking ourselves how we continue to move forward and create a place for everyone. True transformation begins with the work you put into yourself.
Catch the full replay of Fashinnovation World Wide Talks, by Jordana Guimarães HERE
Featured Panelists Pictured Above:
Blakely Thornton C1V1L Co-Founder & CEO Blakely Thornton
Eji Benson Founder & Creative Director, ENNUI NEW YORK INC
Helen Chukwu CEO & Creative Director, HELEN Couture
Alexis Rai Hernandez Director of Digital Strategy & Partnerships, African Fashion Foundation
Farai Simoyi Founder, The Narativ
Guest Post by:
Daniel Curtis, Passion to Paycheck, multi-media brand & company, Artistic Director.
