June 9, 2020 George Floyd Buried in Houston | June 10, 2020 Samira Nasr Now Leads Harper's Bazaar US

June 9, 2020 George Floyd Buried in Houston | June 10, 2020 Samira Nasr Now Leads Harper's Bazaar US

On this day June 10, 2020, you might think that the landing page of Harper’s Bazaar US has left the fashion business. I considered posting an old Temptations song ‘Ball of Confusion’ but what we are actually seeing is a ‘Ball of Clarity’.

Somebody needs to write a new song to describe this moment in America and the fashion industry. What does fashion even mean at this point?

One answer is the escapist route of the Chanel Cruise show, an effort that “totally ignored the cataclysmic context in which they would be worn. It was more like a return to some of high fashion’s escapist failings of the past rather than a meaningful step toward the future,” wrote Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times.

If this is how a fashion house “adapts” to the changing world — if these are the clothes that are the response, if escapism is presented as an answer, if photographs and video simply attempt to mimic what once was, as opposed to reframing what could be, if a statement from a designer can’t even acknowledge the pain and complications of her consumers, even the rich ones — then, pretty as the products may be, it is not doing its job.

In the pain and promise of our global fashion moment, voices matter. Who steps up? Who stands down?The fashion gods have delivered a new voice to the dialogue.

The new editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar US, Samira Nasr now carries a bigger megaphone. Talk about an epic moment for a fashion editor to take the reins of a major US fashion magazine.

Vogue Italia Honors Naija: A New Generation of Nigerian Creatives

Vogue Italia Honors Naija: A New Generation of Nigerian Creatives

Naija is an African term to describe the new generation in Nigeria, the pride of the nation. Across the world — AND FOR GOOD REASON — young people are on the move in America, too. And most agree that not since 1968, have we seen this degree of activism.

It’s time to put Africa on the fashion map once and for all. The creative energy coming out of Lagos is now full throttle and must be given respect. This Vogue Italia editorial Naija: spring summer 2020 of Nigerian talents is superb.

The editorial was shot by Spanish photographer Eva Losada during GTBank Fashion Weekend and features all Nigerian fashion from spring 2020 collections. Moses Ebite styles models Gilchrist Emeremgini and Olaniyan Olamijuwon. Brands include Viviers studio; Three as Four, NKWO and more.

See Vogue Italia for more commentary and full credits and a lot more backstory.

Tory Burch's 'Walk the Walk' Campaign Needs to Take Luxury in a New Direction

Tory Burch's 'Walk the Walk' Campaign Needs to Take Luxury in a New Direction

Tory Burch’s Spring Summer 2020 campaign celebrates Ambition with Purpose. Mikael Jansson photographed Anok Yai and Natalia Vodianova, who talk about the positive side of ambition in Tory Burch’s 2020 ‘Walk The Walk’ campaign.

The successful fashion business leader has been a champion of women and girls — and especially as entrepreneurs — for a decade through The Tory Burch Foundation.

The fashion industry entered late May, immersed in deep conversation about changes long overdue in our business sector. Now we add America total crisis over racism and inequality. Tory Burch is among the luxury brands who has learned some lessons on the topic of racism and cultural appropriation. We have every expectation that she will rise as a leader on the future of luxury brands and the fashion calendar — but even more critical now, the status and social/economic obligations in an American society who is saying “enough is enough”.

Put the anarchists and looters aside. Many want to destroy Tory Burch and every other luxury company on the planet. Across this land, tens of millions of Americans — and especially young Americans — cannot live any longer in a world so totally out of whack between the so-called 1% and everybody else.

Major rethinks are required, and Tory Burch’s voice, anchored as well by her marriage to  Pierre-Yves Roussel, a former LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton executive, has a perspective that will be critical as we consider how best to move forward.

Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

The Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 collab is one of the Spring 2020 beauties lost in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following on the success of her Fall 2019 collection for H&M, Ortiz returned for spring. Describing the designer, H&M wrote:

If you don’t know that Johanna Ortiz hails from the birthplace of salsa, her energetic designs will give you some immediate pointers. Dramatic, luscious, extravagant — Johanna Ortiz’s dresses are the kind of pieces you’ll want to throw on and start dancing in. They tap their own beat, and demand the wearer does the same.

It’s not only fashion lovers who feel the rhythm of Ortiz’s collections. There’s an irresistible sense of joy and power at the heart of the Colombian designer’s work that has the world’s most powerful women smitten. Michelle Obama opted for Johanna Ortiz during her book tour, at parties, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Alexa Chung and Jessica Biel count Ortiz’s designs as must-haves. Olivia Palermo wears Ortiz to set her style agenda, and when it came to serving a major look at Jennifer Lawrence’s wedding, it was Johanna Ortiz that Sienna Miller favored. 

H&M Magazine then interviewed Ortiz about her frankly-feminine, design vision that resonates deeply with so many women leaders.

Aria Asakawa by Takashi Murata in 'Circle of Life' for Blanc Magazine #10

Aria Asakawa by Takashi Murata in 'Circle of Life' for Blanc Magazine #10

Blanc Magazine shares more content from its FOR THE FUTURE ISSUE 10. In a beautiful, poetic editorial ‘Circle of Life’, model Aria Asakawa is styled by Sohei Yoshida in images by Takashi Murata.