Tory Burch Asks Forbes Summit Why The Debate Around Equal Pay For Women Continues

Tory Burch Asks Forbes Summit Why The Debate Around Equal Pay For Women Continues

Forbes considers Tory Burch to be one of America’s richest self-made women, estimating her net worth at $850 million. Judged today by her competence, strategic thinking and brand positioning, Tory Burch, who previously worked at Ralph Lauren and Vera Wang, says that when she launched her lifestyle brand in 2004, she wan’t taken very seriously.

Burch joined ultimate equal-pay activist Lilly Ledbetter to discuss the impact of the gender pay gap in a Forbes Women’s Summit discussion moderated by Cosmopolitan editor Jessica Pels. Ledbetter is known as the Alabama area manager at a Goodyear plant who learned through an anonymous note that she was paid 35%-40% less than men in her same position.

Ledbetter’s case wound its way through the US court system, until the Supreme Court in 2007 overturned a $3 million verdict in her favor, ruling that pay discrimination lawsuits must filed within 180 days of her first unequal paycheck. President Obama effectively nullified the court’s decision in 2009, making the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first new law of his administration. Obama stipulated that the statute of limitations for filing equal-pay lawsuits based on pay discrimination resets with each new paycheck that is part of the discriminatory act.

Diet Prada Dishes With British Vogue On Using Their Instagram Account For Fashion Industry Changes

Diet Prada Dishes With British Vogue On Using Their Instagram Account For Fashion Industry Changes

British Vogue informs us about the lineage of Diet Prada's infamous Instagram account by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler launched in December 2014. The duo was outed in October 2017 by The Fashion Law but silence reigned. 

“The time was going to come that we’d need to own it, eventually,” Schuyler told the Business of Fashion in May 2018, during Diet Prada’s official unmasking. Their quest for authority, and to establish themselves as two people with an opinion that matters, has granted Vogue an email interview with “DP” in between their day jobs and the industry events that their exposed identities now affords them.

“We weren't at the point then that we are now,” DP explains of playing down the hype around the account – an amalgam of two fashion addictions: Miuccia Prada and Diet Coke – a year ago. “Now that our work is having a real impact that's often positive, we're excited to own it.”

Owning it involves using Diet Prada as a platform for conscientious conversation around topics like diversity, equality and cultural appropriation. 

Will Fashion Hold Tight To Its Embrace Of Black Model Beauty? Here's Hoping

Will Fashion Hold Tight To Its Embrace Of Black Model Beauty? Here's Hoping

Tiya Miles is a professor of American culture and history at the University of Michigan, as a member of the Program in American Culture, Center for Afro-American and African Studies and Native American Studies Program.  In 2011 Miles won a five-year grant MacArthur Fellowship for her intellectual prowess -- which is to say that Tiya Miles knows that's going on in her world.  

When the topic is models, Miles believes that Hollywood, fashion and beauty businesses are responding to the popular public movements demanding change. The changes are worldwide, but when the subject is fashion models, the lens centers on New York, London, Milan and Paris. Striking an ironic note, Miles sees our growing consciousness of the "importance of visibility and voclaity for people of color, particularly black people" as a positive outcome of the threatening rise of white nationalist identity across America and Europe.

“It is no coincidence that this runway model trend and movies like 'Black Panther' "have arrived at the same time," Prof. Miles told the New York Times after the Fall 2018 fashion shows. "The two are interlocked, as both have been incubating in what feels a like a growing crusade with many of the hallmarks of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They are part of a pushback against the dominant pressures of European and American white centrality.”

Denials Say Anna Wintour Is Going Nowhere As AOC Reflects On Edward Enninful's May 2018 New Fashion Army

These rumors are not true, a Vogue representative told the Cut. "There's zero truth to the story." Condé Nast also denied that Anna Wintour will be leaving the company.

I read the Page Six story before the denials. The source of this stunning rumor about a fashion industry executive, the grand high priestess whose influence cannot be overstated, is a report published on “Page Six” titled, “Is Anna Wintour Out at Vogue?”  The publication reportedly spoke to a number of sources who said Wintour is going to exit her role this summer after her daughter’s Bee Schaffer's wedding Francesco Carrozzini, son of former Italian Vogue Editor Franca Sozzani, in July. The report also speculated who would replace Wintour were she to leave Vogue, who might be encouraging her to exit, as well as what other opportunities might the 68 year old want to pursue.

Longtime Condé chairman Si Newhouse, who died in October 2017, was Anna Wintour's biggest cheerleader. In the Anna is leaving narrative, his presumed successor is Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of  Condé Nast International, currently living in London running the company's international media. According to Page Six, Jonathan "doesn't like (the amount of power) Anna has" and favors Enninful." This assertion comes from a single source.

Under Wintour’s watch as artistic director, Condé has closed the print editions of Teen Vogue, Self and Details and it has fought to compete online after closing down Style.com. Sources told The Post that the company is about $100 million a year in red ink.

So 'informed' is the Page Six story that it says there's even buzz that Wintour's exit interview has already been arranged and granted to the New York Times. 

Edward Enninful: Ghanaian Immigrant

Besides being as stunned as everyone else with this Page Six Story about Anna Wintour leaving Condé Nast, I couldn't help thinking about a short piece from yesterday about Edward Enninful's May 2018 British Vogue cover.

For additional context, Enningful is originally from Ghana and I had just watched the superb Netflix documentary 'Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise."  There is a scene in the film featuring Maya Angelou living in Ghana for a time immediately after independence. Of course I was captivated as Angelou was surrounded by global activists and intelligentsia including Malcolm X.

I made a joke to myself that any moment Queen Elizabeth II would appear, dancing a foxtrot with Ghana's new president Kwame Nkrumah. This episode from 'The Crown' and my commentary on it has become a tried and true daily read on AOC. With that Queen EIizabeth appeared with Nkrumah, leaving me smiling and wanting to know more about Edward Enninful's parents. Were they activists? Because Enninful has spoken truth to power on the need for diversity in fashion his entire life. 

This was the backdrop of my own Sunday thoughts on Enninful's May 2018 Vogue UK cover. We have a long way to go here before Edward Enninful replaces Anna Wintour at American Vogue. 

Edward Enninful's New Day Fashion Army

As We 'March for Our Lives' Edward Enninful Covers British Vogue May 2018 With A Different Fashion Army

DFR 3.1.18 Riccardo Tisci Joins Burberry As Chief Creative Director | More Daily News

DFR 3.1.18 Riccardo Tisci Joins Burberry As Chief Creative Director

Riccardo Tisci Joins Burberry!

Riccardo Tisci is a man who loves women, growing up in a female-centric family in Italy. AOC loves Tisci and always has, and we're THRILLED that Tisci is headed to Burberry as its chief creative officer. Tisci will be responsible for all of the brand's women's and men's wear collections, accessories, store design and advertising/marketing campaigns, with his launch date March 12.

Tisci will replace Christopher Bailey, who left Burberry after 17 years during February's London Fashion Week. 

“I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry. He is one of the most talented designers of our time,” Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s chief executive, said in a statement following the appointment. “His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today’s luxury consumer. Riccardo’s creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury.”

Cindy Crawford Honors Gianni Versace, A True Lover Of Lady Boss, Smart Sensuality Women

Cindy Crawford Honors Gianni Versace, A True Lover Of Lady Boss, Smart Sensuality Women

Supermodel Cindy Crawford is styled by Karla Welch in 'Versace, Versace, Versace', lensed by Carter Smith for InStyle Magazine March 2018.

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It has long been my contention that the mostly male designers, coupled with women editors, male photographers and male-dominated business interests felt a strong need to metaphorically cut the original supermodels down to size. These women were size 4-6 US Amazonian women who were powerful, sexual and exuded a confidence that the catwalk had never seen. At the time 25% of notoriously overweight American women could achieve a supermodel body with exercise and healthy eating. In recent years, the percentage is 6. 

Twenty-five years after the second wave of feminism culminated in a fiery display of supermodel prowess  -- accused photographer David Bellemere, who seemed to agree with white nationalist Steve Bannon that feminism will destroy 10,000 years of civilization -- broke new ground last week, arguing 50-years later that feminism threatens to pull Western civilization back to the Dark Ages. I do not exaggerate.  

Interviewed in 1990 about the ways in which she and a few other models were calling the shots and changing the game, Linda Evangelista made her infamous, regrettable, sarcastic waking up for 10,000 dollar-bills comment. Still, the spirit of her comment was true. The supers didn't get bossed around much. I doubt that stylists were ever accused of ripping off panties without permission with that 90's goddesses posse. 

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Gianni Versace celebrated strong, Amazonian women whose obvious sensuality was part of their glorious DNA. He was not afraid of female power and influence. In this era of #MeToo, the question of why the fashion industry supported a takedown of the original supermodels is worth considering again. The main argument is that the pendulum of change swung in the direction of the equally wonderful Kate Moss and heroin chic. Change is good, the industry argues. End of the conversation.

It's not at all clear that the fashion industry is as on fire with #MeToo as Hollywood is. How many fashion industry people agree with David Bellemere that #MeToo is taking our celestial, pinnacle-reaching, male-dominated civilization back to the Dark Ages? Exactly why the fashion industry is so far behind Hollywood in embracing #MeToo issues is a question worth asking. What is the industry's relationship with powerful women, whether they are models or brand managers? ~ Anne

Boston Globe Writes Fashion Industry Sexual Expose On Patrick Demarchelier, Greg Kadel, David Bellemere, Karl Templer & More Model Aggression

Boston Globe Writes Fashion Industry Sexual Expose On Patrick Demarchelier, Greg Kadel, David Bellemere, Karl Templer & More Model Aggression

In what is becoming a fashion industry #MeToo moment, The Boston Globe released their investigation of sexual assault and misconduct accusations against at least 25 photographers, agents, stylists, and casting directors including Patrick Demarchelier, David Bellemere, Greg Kadel, Seth Sabal, Karl Templer and more. 

Models offering testimony include Abbey Lee, RJ King, Myla Dalbesio, Chloe Hayward and more prominent names in the industry. 

One of the industry's most prominent voices Coco Rocha told the Globe's Spotlight team that when she refused to get naked on the set at age 16, the photographer replaced her with a girl younger and more obedient. Months later, another famous photographer simulated an orgasm as he took her picture.

On her first test shoot at age 15, Dasha Alexander said the photographer held the camera in one hand and digitally penetrated her with his other. The move would make the pictures more "raw" and "sensual". I find this move laughable because a woman's sensuality is much more innate. If anything, the photographer would inspire raw fear -- unless the model was in full agreement with the gesture. If the photographer didn't ask her in advance about this digital penetration, he is guilty of sexual assault. 

Eye | Kate Upton Details Specific Allegations Against Guess Co-Founder Paul Marciano

Eye | Kate Upton Details Specific Allegations Against Guess Co-Founder Paul Marciano

On Jan. 31, top model and talent Kate Upton wrote a Tweet that sent the value of GUESS stock into a nosedive. Upton wrote:  “It’s disappointing that such an iconic women’s brand @Guess is still empowering Paul Marciano as their creative director #metoo.” At the time, Kate said  nothing further about the details of her allegations against Marciano. 

Kate Upton has now detailed her allegations against Marciano, while addressing the larger issues around body shaming and harassment in the fashion industry, in an interview with TIME magazine. Photographer Yu Tsai has corroborated details of Upton's allegations, as a witness of her interaction with Marciano. 

TIME: What happened with Paul Marciano?

Kate Upton: "After the first day of shooting the Guess Lingerie campaign [on July 25, 2010], Paul Marciano said he wanted to meet with me. As soon as I walked in with photographer Yu Tsai, Paul came straight up to me, forcibly grabbed my breasts and started feeling them — playing with them actually. After I pushed him away, he said, “I’m making sure they’re real.”

Model Alliance Moves to End Backstage Harassment At NYFW, Now Offers Private Changing Spaces

Model Alliance Moves to End Backstage Harassment At NYFW, Now Offers Private Changing Spaces

As New York Fashion Week moves into full swing, Model Alliance cofounder and executive director Sara Ziff talks with Vogue about the impact of the #MeToo moment on the industry. “Models have been dealing with these issues for decades, and this behavior has been an open secret, and now we finally have permission not only to talk about it but to act,” shared Ziff on the phone from the Model Alliance’s New York office. “I think a lot of people in our business want to do the right thing, but they haven’t had adequate support; we need to create the infrastructure and enact change so that there is accountability across the board.”

One of the first changes involves private dressing rooms for models backstage during the shows. Announced yesterday, the collaboration between the Model Alliance and Council of Fashion Designers of America adds a new layer of privacy behind the scenes. Previously, models changed backstage, often in view of photographers. 

Photographer Terry Richardson Banned By Condé Nast Writes Daily Telegraph London

Photographer Terry Richardson Banned By Condé Nast Writes Daily Telegraph London

The first thought that went through my mind in the Harvey Weinstein case was wondering if celebrity photographer Terry Richardson would get his just desserts. Richardson has proudly been the fashion industry's photographer playboy with strong suggestions that a quick fling with Richardson's ample c#ck was the price for a photoshoot with "Uncle Terry". 

AOC is unaware of any new allegations against Richardson in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal -- and so many more that we've lost count now. But The Telegraph in London dropped the story that an email they've seen was circulated on Monday at the media group Condé Nast International.  According to The Daily Telegraph, the company will no longer work with Terry Richardson. 

The message was sent by James Woolhouse, the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, to “country presidents” at the firm at 8.14am on Monday. Condé Nast International publishes Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, and GQ, among other well-known titles.

Mr Woolhouse wrote: “I am writing to you on an important matter. Condé Nast would like to no longer work with the photographer Terry Richardson.

“Any shoots that have been commission[ed] or any shoots that have been completed but not yet published, should be killed and substituted with other material.

“Please could you confirm that this policy will be actioned in your market effective immediately. Thank you for your support in this matter.”

Brigitte Macron's Elle France September 2017 Cover Has Best Sales In A Decade

Brigitte Macron's Elle France September 2017 Cover Has Best Sales In A Decade

Brigitte Macron covers the September issue of Elle France, giving her first interview since her husband Emmanuel Macron became president. Once again, Brigitte Macron is forced to talk about the 25-year age difference between her and her husband -- a topic the media is obsessed with. The subject is starting to feel like Hillary Clinton's missing emails. 

We've told the Brigitte Macron story before on AOC. What's noteworthy this morning is the success of putting Mrs. Macron on Elle France's September 2017 cover, lensed by Mark Seliger.

Reports are that Macron's September cover issue is the best selling French Elle issue in the last 10 years. In the first week, the magazine already sold 3 million copies, including subscriptions. The monthly average for Elle France in 2017 was 313 525 copies.

Macron wears a cream-colored Dior blazer on her cover shot and faded Saint Laurent jeans. As always, her signature point-toe stilettos are part of her typically casual, never overdone look. 

When asked if she prefers not to be asked about her style, Mrs. Macron quips, "Why not, if it does some good for the French fashion industry? I'm really into fashion, and there's this fascination the world over around this idea of the French woman."

Ebonee Davis & The Virgin Artiste Explore Fashion & Culture's Projections Around Women of Color

Ebonee Davis & The Virgin Artiste Explore Fashion & Culture's Projections Around Women of Color

The relentless killings of African Americans by America's police officers has prompted the fashion industry to speak out about being black and brown in America and viewed through an often tight cultural lens. Calvin Klein model Ebonee Davis issued a specific call to action in an essay for Harper's Bazaar, written the day after Alton Sterling was murdered in Baton Rouge. Davis implored fashion professionals to "neutralize the phobias surrounding black culture" as well as to produce "positive, accurate and inclusive imagery."

"As artists in the fashion industry, we are the embodiment of free speech," she wrote. "We set the tone for society through the stories we tell—fashion, the gatekeeper of cool, decides and dictates what is beautiful and acceptable. And let me tell you, it is no longer acceptable for us to revel in black culture with no regard for the struggles facing the black community," Davis wrote for W Magazine. 

Edward Enninful Names Venetia Scott Fashion Director Of British Vogue

Incoming Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful announced Wednesday that Venetia Scott will become Fashion Director of British Vogue as of July 10th.  Conde Nast writes:

Venetia began her career at British Vogue as assistant to Grace Coddington, before cementing her status as a stylist working with magazines including British Vogue,Vogue Italia, AnOther Magazine, Self Service, The Face, Arena, i-D and Nova, where she was appointed Fashion Director. In 1997, Venetia began consulting for Marc Jacobs, becoming Creative Director in 2001, responsible for directing the Marc by Marc Jacobs line and associated accessories from launch. A move into photography began in 2005, with commissions from British Vogue, American Vogue, Vogue Paris, W, Self Service, AnOther Magazine, Dazed & Confused, POP, i-D, Document Journal, and Purple.

Venetia Scott will replace Lucinda Chambers, who is leaving the magazine after 36 years with the magazine, lastly as Fashion Director. 

CFDA Honors Gloria Steinem As Trump Moves To Curtail Women's Right To Birth Control, Bowing To Religious Forces

CFDA Honors Gloria Steinem As Trump Moves To Curtail Women's Right To Birth Control, Bowing To Religious Forces

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem arrived on the national stage with her 1962 essay 'The Moral Disarmament of Betty Coed'. In 1963, Steinem famously used her good looks and socially-perceived 'hot bod' to work undercover at the Playboy Club, penning her experiences in an essay called 'A Bunny's Tale'. Feeling the backlash, in 2969 Steinem explained why men shouldn't fear feminists in 'After Black Power, Women's Liberation'. 

In 2017, many American women wonder why we can't cement our equality in 21st century America, where anti-feminist forces are perhaps more formidable than ever. Surrounded by pundits who argued that Hillary Clinton should drop the allegation that misogyny played any role in the 2016 election, former RNC chairman Michael Steele agreed that misogyny DID play a role, describing America as a very provincial nation with traditional views about women's roles. 

In the aftermath of Clinton's loss, the fashion industry is galvanized around women's issues, having taken a Clinton win for granted. On June 5, Steinem will receive the CFDA Board of Directors' Tribute for her endless legacy of work within the women's movement, in an honor presented by her close friend Diane von Furstenberg, a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. 

Gabriela Hearst Launches Luxury Sweater Worth $50,000 To Planned Parenthood

Designer Gabriela Hearst is standing with Planned Parenthood, launching pre-sales on a merino wool sweater intarsia'd that unifies a ram's head and ovaries. Vogue explains that Hearst originally conceived the sweater as her entry into the Woolmark Prize competition, which took place in Paris on January 21, the same day as global Women's Marches. Note that Hearst won the prize. 

Hearst developed her Planned Parenthood support strategy when she realized the outline of a ram's head looks remarkably similar to a woman's reproductive system. “I liked that they’re both symbols of strength,” Hearst said.

“Planned Parenthood right now needs all the help it can get, and all the attention it can get,” Hearst told Vogue. For me, it’s not only about my body my choice, it’s about our overall health. They take care of our cancer screenings. They take care of so many things. And when the government is making a direct attack on women’s health… first of all, it’s appalling. And we have to do something.”

$500 of each $699 sweater will go to Planned Parenthood, and Hearst is making 100 of them. “That’s $50,000,” she underscores, with a plea for women of financial means to get out their wallets.

Hearst’s relationship with the organization is not a new one. She’s designing a dress for Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s President, for next month’s CFDA Awards, where Richards will be honored with the Board of Directors’ Tribute alongside Gloria Steinem and Janelle Monae.

I've been in the fashion industry for decades and have never seen us all so mobilized on any issue. Supporting progressive causes is implanted in our brains, but the Trump administration's assault on women's rights and Planned Parenthood is a new chapter for us all. ~ Anne

Coach Acquires Kate Spade For $2.4 Billion

Coach will buy handbag and accessories brand Kate Spade for $2.5 billion, an acquisition already approved by both boards of directors. 

Coach CEO Victor Luis said he planned to "unlock Kate Spade's largely untapped global growth potential" and that the acquisition provides "an additional vehicle for driving long-term, sustainable growth.” The purchase also gives Coach a prestige brand with a strong Millennial following and potential to capitalize on recent success expanding into lifestyle categories like home furnishings. 

Coach is also focused on its own brand, with a strategy of running fewer promotions and pulling out of discounting department stores like Macy's and Lord & Taylor. The company will employ the same strategy with Kate Spade by reducing online flash sales and its wholesale presence.

Kate Spade is the second major acquisition by Coach, who bought designer shoe brand Stuart Weitzman in 2015.

Givenchy Launches Kids Collection Under Clare Waight Keller

Givenchy Launches Kids Collection Under Clare Waight Keller

Givenchy's new creative director Clare Waight Keller has made an immediate impact on tomorrow's Givenchy brand with the launch of its first children's collection. The line reinterprets the house’s classic designs – from bomber jacket and jogging pants to logo T-shirts -- with two collections per year, each with over 100 pieces. Designed for kids up to age 12, the snaps show a lot of heart in tomorrow's Givenchy under the 21st century woman, motherly eye of Keller. 

Edward Enninful Becomes Editor-in-Chief Of British Vogue

Edward Enninful has been confirmed as the new editor of British Vogue. Condé Nast International chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse announced Alexandra Shulman's successor this morning, calling Enninful "an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music which shape the cultural zeitgeist", adding that "by virtue of his talent and experience, Edward is supremely prepared to assume the responsibility of British Vogue."

Enninful assumes his new position from one as fashion and creative director at W Magazine, where he's worked since 2011. The Ghanaian-born Enninful will start his new role on August 1. British Vogue writes:

While the fashion industry has long recognised his talent (he was awarded the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator at the 2014 British Fashion Awards, one of many plaudits), the British monarchy has also acknowledged his contribution to fashion, making him OBE - Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - last October. “Today is one of the most special days of my life. It is wonderful to be honoured by my country while surrounded by my family and closest friends,” said Enninful, who brought close friend Naomi Campbell as his companion to the event.

Jenna Lyons Leaves J Crew After 26 Years, Replaced By Somsack Sikhounmuong

Jenna Lyons, creative director and president of J.Crew, is parting ways with the brand after 26 years. Somsack Sikhounmuong, head of women's design at J. Crew will take the new position. When he returned to J Crew after being head of design for sister brand Madewell, it represented a homecoming for the creative who designed accessories and then apparel for 12 years at J.Crew before his Madewell promotion.

When Sikhounmuong returned to J.Crew from Madewell, the New York Times wondered, “Can a New Designer (Not Jenna Lyons) Fix J.Crew?” Not so far: During fiscal 2016, sales decreased 6 percent to $2 billion, having dropped 7 percent the year before that.

J.Crew has struggled for several seasons with dissatisfied shoppers, and Lyons’s departure is the biggest signal possible that it’s aiming to get back on track.

Bee Shaffer, Daughter of Anna Wintour, Engaged To Francesco Carrozzini, Son Of Franca Sozzani

Wedding bells are in Anna Wintour's future with the announcement of the engagement of her daughter Bee Shaffer to Francesco Carrozzini, son of late Vogue Italy editor-in-chief and dear friend of Anna Wintour -- Franca Sozzani. 

The couple has been dating for an extended period of time but went public when Shaffer attended a screening of Carrozzini's documentary about his mother, "Franca: Chaos & Creation." 

Shaffer works as a segment producer at Late Night with Seth Meyers, while Carrozzini is a film director and photographer who has directed music videos for Beyoncé, A$AP Rocky and Nicki Minaj and worked on advertisements with a number of fashion brands including Roberto Cavalli, Ermenegildo Zegna and Salvatore Ferragamo.

The only child of the legendary Sozzani, Carrozzini lost his mother in late December following a year-long illness. Wintour wrote a moving tribute to her dear friend, that included:

“After she became ill, I began visiting her at her home in Milan,” Wintour wrote. “Her mind and spirit were undiminished as we discussed every topic under the sun, from the fall of Matteo Renzi, to her amazing work with women in Ghana, to our children’s miraculous love affair.”