representation matters
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I Dream a World: Mattel Offers Its 1st Nonbinary Fashion Dolls With ‘Creatable World’
The brand Barbie made world-famous is branching out beyond the binary, offering a new world full of options for a society increasingly living beyond labels. On Wednesday, Mattel unveiled Creatable World™, a customizable line of dolls that come with “extensive wardrobe options, accessories and wigs [which] allow kids to style the doll with short or…
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Our Lives, Our Style: Acclaimed Lifestyle Brand AphroChic Launches a Magazine for Us, by Us
They’ve been lauded by Elle Decor, launched a web series with HGTV, spoken at Harvard, published a book, designed homes for celebs, developed their own luxury home furnishings line, and are respected by some of the biggest names in interior design. Now, Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, the husband-and-wife design team behind the popular lifestyle…
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From Jackie Aina to the CROWN Coalition, Black Women Lead Glamour’s List of Women Changing the Beauty Industry
It’s our turn. That’s the message Glamour magazine is giving black women, with the release of its “Women of the Year All Year” list honoring the biggest influencers in beauty. Of the 12 women the magazine profiled for 2019, eight are black, indicating that our influence is finally moving beyond being fodder for appropriation to…
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Making Good on Its Promise to Make Change, Gucci Announces a Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion—and It’s a Woman of Color
Representation matters. It matters at the ballot box, at the box office, and most importantly, in the boardroom. And as Gucci and any number of fashion brands have discovered, it matters when it comes to the bottom line. After weathering a media firestorm and celebrity-proposed boycott when a sweater eerily resembling blackface hit the shelves,…
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A Pose for Pride: Indya Moore Gets Revealing in Calvin Klein’s Latest Underwear Campaign
Pose changed the landscape of television last year, debuting with the largest cast and crew of trans talent in television history, both on and behind the scenes. And it’s proven a game changer for breakout star Indya Moore (purported preferred pronouns they/them/their), who has not only won hearts with their portrayal of vulnerable ballroom beauty…
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New Balenciaga Scholarship Gives Free Tuition to Black and Latinx Students at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute in New York City is world famous for its programs in architecture, art and design. Now Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Balenciaga, is helping students of color afford tuition. Tuesday night at Pratt’s annual Celebration of the Creative Spirit scholarship benefit, Gvasalia received the Creative Spirit Award. According to Highsnobiety, Gvasalia was unable…
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Is Off-White Too White? Virgil Abloh Criticized for Lacking Diversity on His Staff
He has been hailed as a gamechanger in the fashion world, but is Virgil Abloh really changing the game for other black talents? That was the question raised by a now-deleted Instagram story published by Abloh on Tuesday, chronicling a dinner party thrown for his Milan, Italy-based staff. Screenshots shared by Abloh of both his…
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The Big Reveal: Singer Jorja Smith Is the Newest Face of Dior Makeup
Best New Artist Grammy nominee Jorja Smith’s star may just be rising on this side of the Atlantic, but in her native United Kingdom, the singer-songwriter is winning big—including a recent Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist. Now, Smith has more to celebrate, joining Dior Makeup as their newest ambassador, which was announced on…
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Engaged, But Still Single: Rachel Lindsay Says It's 'Sad' She's Still the Only Bachelorette of Color
Rachel Lindsay found love in 2017 as the first black Bachelorette in ABC’s long-running romantic reality show. But while filming an upcoming reunion special with host Chris Harrison and 11 other past Bachelorettes, the lawyer-turned-media personality expressed disappointment that the franchise hadn’t become more diverse in the seasons since. “It was sad for me to…
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'We Would Not Have All Been White': Cynthia Nixon Reflects on Sex and the City's White Feminism Problem
It’s been 15 years since Sex and the City set the standard for what it meant to be a successful working woman in New York City, with four white actresses (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristen Davis) providing a weekly dose of humor, friendship, fashion, and yes, sex to devoted viewers from…