Fashion labels are trying to be 'woke', but is it just a trend?

Miami-based label Chromat
debuted a new line of swimwear
made from recycled plastics.CREDIT:

New York Fashion Week finished on Wednesday and there were two things of note: Tom Ford, king of unapologetically sexy, hard-edged glamour showed a more relaxed collection because he felt in today’s political climate “clothing right now should be non-aggressive”, and Miami-based label Chromat debuted a new line of swimwear made from recycled plastics that was worn by models diverse in age, race and body shape.

Elsewhere in fashion news, Italian fashion house Prada has announced film director Ava DuVernay and artist and activist Theaster Gates as co-chairs of a new Prada Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, with the purpose to “elevate voices of colour within the company and the fashion industry at-large”. The council has been formed in response to controversy surrounding a monkey bag-charm the brand released before Christmas, which was subsequently deemed racist and pulled off shelves.

Prada is not alone in courting controversy. Accusations of blackface were also levelled at Gucci this month for its "balaclava" turtleneck jumper, and last week pop star Katy Perry faced the same accusation for a pair of shoes in her collection. Gucci, which accounted for 63 per cent of its parent company Kering’s sales and 78 per cent of its operating profit in 2018, has since pledged to actively improve its cultural sensitivity. Perry pulled the offending shoes.

Read the story from The Age by Annie Brown - “Fashion labels are trying to be 'woke', but is it just a trend?”