Everyone thinks the industry needs to change. They don't yet agree on how
Tracy Reese, the vice chairwoman of the CFDA and its longest-serving black board member, at her studio in Detroit, Aug. 13, 2019. “This is a white industry, and unless you are black within it, you can’t begin to understand what that is like,” Reese said. “If we are going to make meaningful progress, there has to be a joint effort, not a factional effort — or 20 different efforts.” (Brittany Greeson/The New York Times)
On June 1, Tom Ford, the chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, sent a letter to the board about its meeting the next day. He wanted the board to address the Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice, he said, and systemic racism in the fashion industry.
Almost everyone Zoomed in: Michael Kors, Virgil Abloh, Prabal Gurung and Vera Wang among them. It was, said someone who was there, an “animated” but not angry discussion. The group agreed that a statement would be released and an action plan written. Everybody was invited to email their thoughts.
Two days later, the statement appeared.
“Having a clear voice and speaking out against racial injustice, bigotry and hatred is the first step, but this is not enough,” it read, listing four initiatives to follow. Those included an employment program charged with placing Black talent in all sectors of the fashion business to help achieve a racially balanced industry.
But not every idea that had been submitted was included. And not everyone liked the result.
©2019 New York Times News Service