DECOLONISING AFRO AESTHETICS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
Deep social transformations have re-occurred these past few weeks and months, since the unfortunate murder of George Floyd. Not that police brutality is a new phenomenon. It has happened several times in the past without necessarily being shown or filmed. The violence and injustice towards Black communities existed prior to those events. Today, the question around institutionalised racism has made its return in the public space and it is hard to ignore the social racial issues it brings to light. - OP-ED BY KOURA ROSY-KANE
FASHION AS THERAPY
Using fashion as a medium to discuss mental health is not a new phenomenon. At the beginning of 2000, Alexander McQueen, tied between addictions, mental disorders and anxiety, used his shows to translate his inner thoughts to the world. His suicide at the end of this decade rattled the industry. This dramatic event shed light on the necessity to talk about mental health in the field. However, we would need to wait until the mid-2010 to deeply tackle this issue and bring it to the mainstream.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL CLOTHING AS THE FUTURE OF CONSCIOUS FASHION: IN CONVERSATION WITH DESIGNER IRINA DZHUS
DZHUS is a conceptual womenswear brand I discovered in 2015 when I was invited to Ukraine Fashion Week as a speaker. Launched in 2010 by Ukrainian designer and stylist Irina Dzhus, the namesake label strikes as avant-garde and fundamentally utilitarian. DZHUS is known for its innovative cuts, multifunctional and experimental garments underpinned by an austere and industrialist aesthetic. The brand’s ideology stands for consciousness and humanity and is ethically manufactured using cruelty-free and vegetarian-friendly materials.