There's a Mountain of Unsold Clothing in the Chilean Desert and Other News to Know This Week
Your mid-week fashion news digest is here.
This is the Wednesday NEWSletter where I break down a few fashion news stories you should know about this week and why. The fashion industry has a lot of news and not all of it makes it to the masses with the assumption that it’s too “insidery,” which is bullshit. Fashion often tells one side of a larger story, and usually, it impacts us all.
An Italian girl from New York at the House of Gucci premiere.
The premiere of House of Gucci has arrived, and you know what that means: another iconically batshit fashion-focused press tour for Lady Gaga. I’m serious when I say I have been looking forward to this part of the whole thing since the day it was announced. After her performance during the A Star Is Born promo, I knew we would be in for a ride, and that is proving to be correct. At the Los Angeles premiere, Gaga wore a purple Gucci gown from the Love Parade collection, along with fishnets and boots. Honestly, it was pretty tame compared to what I was expecting. Sure, drama with some voluminous sleeves is fine, but I want “Italian girl from New York who just got back from her first time abroad in Italy” type of drama. I WILL be watching.
YouTube Shopping is coming for Holiday 2021.
Once again, another social media platform is making shopping easier. YouTube announced that they will be rolling out in-app shopping for the 2021 holidays. It makes sense in a lot of ways (and almost feels unbelievably late?). For years, creators have added long lists of links to the descriptions of their videos that take viewers off the app and onto a different site. In the next few weeks, some select YouTubers will be using shoppable video to sell their own merchandise as well as select brands, according to Bloomberg.
While anyone can appreciate creating a better user experience, sometimes shopping updates can do more harm than good. Having that one step barrier between your content and your purchase can be helpful in reducing consumption. But since it’s coming whether we like it or not, here are some tips for taking a step back before you buy.
The Tiffany and Supreme collaboration is here.
LVMH, which now owns Tiffany, saw the success of a Supreme collaboration when they launched one with Louis Vuitton in 2018. Now, they are testing it again with none other than their newest and very shiny brand. Of course, no one does logomania like Supreme, so just like every other Supreme collaboration, this one is expectedly Tiffany silver jewelry with Supreme logos. It’s called “Return to Tiffany®” and it’s inspired by pieces launched in the 1960s. The collection launches on Supreme’s website on November 11.
While Audrey Hepburn on hypebeast mode may seem like a weird match up, collaborations are often a way for brands to expand their audiences and create buzz. Check out this brief history of fashion collaborations for some context.
There is a desert in Chile piling up with clothing.
A desert in Chile has turned into a “mountain” of unsold fast fashion clothing. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, some 39,000 tons per year are being brought from the port in Chile to the Atacama, the driest desert in the world. Most of these clothes aren’t accepted by municipal landfills because they cannot break down quickly, and have certain toxic chemicals.
Of course, we can all take individual action and buy less. That’s important. However, so much of this is unsold clothing. Fast fashion makes large quantities of each style which keeps production costs lower, and they do it often. This practice is what has to stop, and there needs to be regulations on how much they can produce and what they can do with any excess product.