There has been a lot of mixed feelings directed towards popular fashion brands and celebrities in the fashion world since the murder of George Floyd. Some prominent names in the fashion industry have shown clear support to the Black Lives Matter protests; one of them, Marc Jacobs, even went a step further in his show of support and stated that property was replaceable but human lives weren’t.
Other influential names in fashion like Virgil Abloh, decided not to fully support the protests, claiming that they led to the destruction of property and businesses of people who worked very hard to get where they were. Mr. Abloh, the owner of Off-White and Louis Vuitton artistic director went a step farther to donate a mere $50 towards Black Lives Matter, a move that earned him a lot of backlash from the black online community. Amid all the commotion and confusion, many fashion brands have decided to take this opportunity to support Black Lives Matter and do a bit of PR on the down-low. Let’s take a look how some fashion brand’s reacted to the death of George Floyd:
Nike’s Reaction
Nike sent out one of the most powerful messages out there. Upon the death of George Floyd, the company released a one-minute ad asking people to strive to” be part of the change.” Being part of the change meant that people should stop pretending there was no problem in America. Nike went on to tell people to not accept innocent lives to be taken from the society and also encouraged people to be part of the change. This message was set to reach over 110 million online Nike followers. Nike’s campaign, “for once, don’t do it.” has so far gained a lot of traction and will hopefully encourage more people to give donations to Black Lives Matter and institutions that support equality.
Glossier’s Reaction
The skincare company, Glossier announced that they will be donating a total of $500K to the following institutions and movements; the first one being Black Lives Matter, the Equal Justice Initiative, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, We The Protesters and The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Glossier also promised to show continued support to the African-American community by giving an additional $500K in the form of grants to beauty businesses that are black-owned. Glossier made this announcement in a social media post:
@glossier
L’Oréal Paris’ Reaction
L’Oréal Paris posted a message on IG that said, “Speaking Out Is Worth It”. The brand also promised to show monetary support by donating $150K to the NAACP upon the wake of George Floyd’s death. L’Oréal’s support was quickly slammed by one Munroe Bergdorf, a former model at the company. Munroe, like the lady she is, first excused her language and then went on to give L’Oréal a big ‘FUCK YOU’. In the same tweet, the British model explained her bitter reaction towards L’Oréal, claiming she was fired from the company back in 2017 for speaking out against racial inequality. She thought L’Oréal’s support wasn’t genuine because it contradicted the company’s actions. This statement made a lot of people question the sincerity of L’Oréal Paris’s support for George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. People are questioning whether wonder if the L’Oréal issued the statement just to keep up with the trends.
Kanye West’s Reaction
Kanye West (God bless his soul) announced that he will be donating $2M to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor’s families. TMZ reported that the newly announced billionaire will also be setting up a college fund for George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter. Kanye West also joined protesters in his native home town of Chicago:
#KanyeWest arriving at a protest tonight in Chicago ‼️ pic.twitter.com/0O3bBrunfk
— aGOODoutfit (@aGOODoutfit) June 5, 2020
With both fashion brands and fashion designers stepping up to support both the families of the victims of racial injustices and the movements that promote equality, fans can’t help but ask themselves if the brands and celebrities’ support is genuine.
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