Ugly Big Decision?
Discussing Naomi Campbell's latest fashion industry decision and recommending Adrian Edmondson as a pervert!
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Ugly Big Decision?
Naomi Campbell’s recent business venture has been on my mind for a while now. I’m baffled by her decision and desperately want to make sense of it.
Top Supermodel. THE Supermodel some might say. Millionaire. Fashion Icon. Activist. Trailblazer. Legend….has designed a collection with PrettyLittleThing.
{Long Pause}
I just….I….
{Long Pause again}
In short, for those who don’t know, Naomi Campbell is all of the aforementioned.
She is also a woman who has been at the forefront of fashion for the past 30 plus years. She has spoken loudly and without fear about racism within the fashion industry. Yes, She’s faulted a few times {the phone throwing, those ‘dirty stones’, walking in Kanye’s ‘White Lives Matter’ show} but she’s still here.
She’s still going strong having recently graced the cover of Vogue with her original supermodel contemporaries. She also recently became a mother for the second time whilst in her 50’s {Don’t worry, she’s not beyond science ~ they were by surrogate}
So this phenomenal woman has a formidable past and most definitely has an interesting future. An even longer one now that she’s bought tiny people into this world.
So why on earth has she teamed up with PrettyLittleThing? A fast fashion label that is known for exploiting its workers, ripping off other brand’s designs and contributing to the never ending well of damage fashion is inflicting on our planet?
Really? I just can’t seem to get my head round it.
With fashion month coming to a close next week this stylish juggernaut is slowly ~ and I mean INCREDIBLY slowly ~ starting to make changes. Designers are reducing the number of collections they put out each year, buy less but buy better quality {as coined by our dearly departed Queen Viv} is banded around more often and sustainable fashion {or responsible fashion wordage that designers feel has more meaning} is a conversation everyone is forced to have.
Campbell has been a part of that. Is still a part of that. She is at the epicentre of a global conversation about how an industry can, and needs, to move forward.
But she has chosen to work with a brand that is churning out cheap, low quality designs at an alarming rate ~ Over 100 garments are uploaded on their site per day. A brand owned by the BooHoo group who are known for notoriously bad working conditions and ethics.
In November 2022, after an undercover operation, The Times produced a report which included claims of racism and sexual harassment at their Burley depot
Staff at the warehouse label themselves “slaves” and have complained of racism, sexual harassment, exhausting targets, inadequate training, high staff turnover, and ill-fitting safety equipment. The harsh conditions have led to workers collapsing, with an ambulance called to the site once a month on average.
The backlash was swift and sharp. Campbell said it was racist to attack her choices. She responded by saying that when white women had collaborated with PLT they had been praised. When talking on The Guardian’s Pop Culture podcast with Chanté Joseph journalist Chloe McDonald pointed out that when Kourtney Kardashian was named as a sustainability advisor it came with it’s fair share of scrutiny and Molly Mae Hague was heavily criticised over her collection with PLT.
According to Campbell her main priority in business at this very moment is elevating the voices of marginalised designers of colour. What about elevating the voices of marginalised workers of colour?
• Staff complained they are treated as “fodder”, with managers timing bathroom breaks and no allowances made for injuries suffered as a result of work.
• Pakistani workers were reportedly told by a white marshal to work in the hottest area of the warehouse while white staff were sent to a cooler area.
In an interview with W magazine, when asked about the backlash, she said ‘I haven’t really seen it. I haven’t had time. I’ve got two kids, two babies, to take care of’ Well, Sadly your kids will see it, Naomi. They’re going to be living through your choices and the long term effects are not going to be pretty or little.
So, What’s the bigger issue to confront? The people making the clothes or the people designing the clothes? Do we attempt to change working conditions and try to make amends for the damage that’s being done to the environment for future generations? Or do we give a helping hand to marginalised groups who are not getting the opportunities they deserve?
Campbell said one of her strengths is connecting people and connecting deals.
Surely there are a plethora of designers of colour* who have sustainability at the forefront of their mission statements and would love to get connected? Designers who could be remembered for quality pieces that will stand the test of time, working conditions that don’t fall below basic human rights and would revel in an opportunity that elevates them to a position of positive influence as well as culture change?
Somerset House’s current exhibition The Missing Thread: Untold stories of Black British Fashion showcases designers and style makers from the 70’s to present day who have had a ‘profound influence on British culture and continue to be referenced to great effect, often without acknowledgment’ It shines a light on creatives who have been lost, overlooked or been denied access to the fashion industry.
‘….The Missing Thread addresses the historical invisibility of Black women behind the camera and in the design studio; their pioneering narratives are often missing from the story of UK fashion”
I see the nucleus of Campbell’s decision I just think her choice of platform to raise unheard voices to be ignorant.
Bianca Saunders | The Missing Thread Exhibition | London | September 2023
On a very basic level it also feels uncool.
Will we still be talking about her legacy as a collaborator with PLT in a few years time? Will she be saving archival pieces for her kids to wear when they’re 18?
At the end of her W magazine interview she was asked about attending Beyonce’s concert. If you’ve seen social media recently you’ll know that Beyonce wanted fans to wear silver to her Virgo concerts {Really not a great call as I’m sure a very high percentage of those fans bought something new from a fast fashion brand that they’ll never wear again}
Naomi said she wore Gucci one night and Fendi the next.
I wonder why she didn’t make the decision to promote her latest venture and wear PrettyLittleThing’s silver sequin high neck backless bodycon dress for £35 in 95% polyester……
Maybe it just wasn’t pretty enough.
*NB The two designers she has chosen to collaborate with are men ~ Victor Anate and Edvin Thompson. I also find it strange that, in an industry dominated by men, she didn’t help promote a woman of colour.
So what say you, Gang? What do you think of Naomi’s decision to collaborate with a fast fashion label? Are her reasons for the collaboration understandable?
If there’s anyone you know who might have something to say about it too then do share this piece….As always would love to hear different opinions.
Further reading if you’re interested:
My previous thoughts on the fashion industry ~ Change needs to come
More in-depth conversations on Naomi Campbell’s collaboration and how to produce a label that is more akin with ‘slow fashion’ ~ Naomi Campbell, PLT and fast fashion – Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph podcast
Tiffanie Drake attempts to buy 5 things a year ~ The new rule of five
Madrid | July 2017
The Contents of My Consumption
~ Watching 📺~
Tiny Beautiful Things | Disney +
Oh I just loved this so much. As a fan of Cheryl Strayed’s writing {Author of Wild} as well as Kathryn Hahn’s acting this is MY show. If you’ve seen or read Wild then you’ll know that Strayed has lived a hard life. Wild saw her trek the West Coast of America after the death of her Mother and the subsequent breakdown of her marriage whereas Tiny Beautiful Things is based on her, initially anonymous, advice column called Dear Sugar. It flashes back to her relationship with her Mother as well as the life advice she gave through her column for years. It’s funny as well as sad ~ My favourite combination for a TV show.
Based on Cash Carraway’s book Skint Estate Rain Dogs is a fun and brutally honest look at a working class, single Mum refusing to give up her dreams of becoming a writer. Daisy May Cooper is so likeable as writer Costello, even when her and her best friend Selby {played by Jack Farthing} are insanely vile to each other. Ade Edmondson is great in it too as…..well, as a big old pervert! An exciting and different voice that I can’t wait to hear more from.
~ Listening 🎧 ~
Book Chat: 8. Bridget Jones’ Diary and High Fidelity | Apple podcasts
One of the reasons why I started The Contents of my Consumption is because I just love discussing books! What better podcast than one called Book Chat? Hosted by journalist Pandora Sykes and author Bobby Palmer this monthly podcast sees them read two books that they’ve each chosen {The books have to be more than 2 years old} and then they discuss them. Simple as. This episode had SO much nostalgia talking about two books from the mid 90s. It took me right back to being 17 and all the excitement I felt when I started reading a book my Mother thought I might like about a woman called Bridget….
~ Reading 📖 ~
The nasty noughties: Russell Brand and the era of sadistic misogny | The Guardian
I read a lot last week about all the allegations against Russell Brand. I probably read too much as I felt sad and anxious for a large part of the week. This article by Zoe Williams in The Guardian really stuck with me. It looks at the rise of lad culture in the 90s and how it used to be about humour however something shifted in the noughties when the humour was lost. Another nostalgic piece that I found super interesting.
But the conversations we had then were whether or not it was feminist to wear fishnets. There was never any subtext of violence against women. By the late 00s, lad-mag controversies were of a completely different nature. Danny Dyer had an agony uncle column in Zoo that he used to advise a reader to cut his ex’s face to stop anyone else wanting her. Other advice was to set fire to a readers’s girlfriend’s pubic hair that he didn’t like.
I subscribe to Sari Botton on Substack and love dipping into her articles about older people. This interview, with former New York Times columnist and Author, Joyce Wadler, had me giggling away. A much needed tonic for the articles I’ve been reading recently.
My ass has disappeared. I first noticed this in the last week September 28, 2013. I’m certain of the date because I wrote a humor column for The New York Times called “Do These Pants Make My Rear-End Look Flat?” If I had the power, I’d make it a national day of mourning. I think there are still a few guys alive who remember it. (My ass, I mean, not the column.)
Budapest | September 2017