August 2020
The Wardrobe Crisis
Founded by Lindsay Peoples Wagner, EIC of Teen Vogue, and Sandrine Charles, a PR expert, the Black in Fashion Council is a new US-based organization on a mission to fight for systemic change in the fashion industry - which for too long has failed on diversity and inclusion.
The BIFC launched in late June; just one month later, 38 companies, among them the top names in fashion and beauty, have signed on.
BIFC says, “By organizing a resilient group of editors, models, stylists, media executives, assistants, freelance creatives, and industry stakeholders, we aim to build a new foundation for inclusivity. For this change to occur, non-Black brands, publications, and people of influence have to carefully examine the roles they’ve played in either helping or hurting Black people who work in these spaces.” (The executive board includes academic Kimberly Jenkins and stylist Shibon Kennedy - listen to them on the Wardrobe Crisis podcast here and here).
Following a major outpouring of support in the fashion community for Black Lives Matter - and subsequent backlash as many former employees and consumers pointed to certain brands being all talk and little action - companies across the board must do the work of making real change.
BIFC’s foundational mission is to evolve fashion’s inclusivity beyond call-out culture and to work to make measurable change for employees at all levels.
The companies announced this week as BIFC partners include talent agencies, media, fashion and beauty brands, among them L’Oréal and Condé Nast - both have been in the news for racist corporate culture in the wake of BLM.
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