3 Really Big Fashion Moments in January 2022
Let's take a moment to look at the good.
It's only a month into the new year, but since we’re often talking about the downsides of fashion in this newsletter, I want to make sure we’re also taking some time to discuss some of the good things. And there are plenty of them! So, without further ado, the top 3 fashion moments of 2022.
The Valentino Haute Couture Show in Paris
Haute couture is like the fashion Olympics, where some of the best fashion houses show off expertly-made custom designs. While the word is often used to signify something very high end, it’s actually a very specific type of fashion. Business of Fashion explains, “To qualify as an official Haute Couture house, members must design made-to-order clothes for private clients, with more than one fitting, using an atelier (workshop) that employs at least fifteen fulltime staff. They must also have twenty fulltime technical workers in one of their workshops. Finally, Haute Couture houses must present a collection of no less than 50 original designs — both day and evening garments — to the public every season, in January and July.”
You might ask yourself, who are these people wearing custom luxury designs in a pandemic? To that I say, I’m not totally sure. However, I would like to thank them for giving us, in my humble opinion, some of the best fashion we’ve seen on the runway in a long time.
This season, my favorite collection was Valentino. The creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, sent exquisitely designed colorful gowns and suits down the runway, worn by models in tight buns and heavy eye makeup. It just felt so glamorous. As fashion editor, Jessica Andrews, said to me in a DM, "The tailoring! The colors! Chartreuse!”
Canada Goose Garment Workers Unionize
On January 13, 86% of all workers making Canada Goose jackets voted to join IndustriALL affiliate, Workers United Canada Council. This means 1,200 workers will now have union representation. It’s a huge win for the workers, who have said the piece-rate system used at the factory was not being used to compensate them fairly. It’s also a win for the industry as a whole, as efforts to gain better control of the supply chain have been slow at best.
In a press release, Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary said, “Organizing in the garment supply chain is a priority for IndustriALL and this great union win is a testament to our affiliates’ continuous efforts to fight for workers’ rights.”
New York State Introduces the Fashion Act
After the initial announcement of New York State’s proposed Fashion Act in early January, activists from organizations like Remake and Fashion Revolution responded with an open letter asking for some changes to be added. “While we welcome any legislation that regulates the impacts of the fashion industry, the language of this proposal falls short in explicitly protecting garment workers or the environment. Across the world, there remains a lack of liability on brands for the violations they profit from,” Fashion Revoltion wrote in a social media post.
The letter, while probably not the immediate endorsement Senators were hoping for, indicates a real shift in how activists and government officials are seeking to make changes in fashion. We’ve seen how self-regulation can and cannot work. Combining efforts could potentially result in real enforcement.
*This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.*