California Apparel News

Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection and chief executive officer of the Off-White fashion label, announced July 9 that he had raised $1 million for scholarships for Black students. The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund will be managed in partnership with the New York–headquartered Fashion Scholarship Fund. Abloh named the initiative “Post-Modern” because recipients will not only receive funds but will also be given career support services and mentoring. “I’ve always been passionate about giving the next generation of students the same foundation for success that was given to me,” Abloh said. “That’s why I’m excited to launch this fund in partnership with the FSF, which has an outstanding track record of helping college students achieve successful careers.”

Informa Markets Fashion recently announced that it would cancel several of its in-person trade shows scheduled to run in New York City in September due to continuing concerns over COVID-19. Among the in-person shows canceled are Project New York’s Sept. 22–24 run and the Coterie trade show, which was also scheduled to run concurrently. The Coterie cancellation includes trade events Fame, Sole Commerce and Moda, said Nancy Walsh, president of Informa Markets Fashion. The Coterie team will produce a digital trade show scheduled for Sept. 1.

Supima, the nonprofit that represents U.S.-grown American Pima cotton, announced July 9 the final line-up of designers for its 13th Annual Supima Cotton Design Competition. The competition calls for student designers to create capsule collections by using fabrics made from Supima cotton. The student collections will be presented and judged in a digital runway show in September. Student designers selected to compete are Amanda Forastieri of Drexel University, Sakura Mizutani of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Jenny Feng of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Jennie Nguyen of Kent State University, Terrence Zhou of the Parsons School of Design and Koa Buenviaje of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Boohoo, a prominent United Kingdom fast-fashion retailer, has been accused of wage theft. The British newspaper The Sunday Times investigated Boohoo and alleged that the retailer was paying sewers the U.S. equivalent of $4.40 per hour, well below the UK’s minimum wage. On July 8, Boohoo’s board released a statement that it has requested an independent investigator to review its supply chain.

Sanuk, a footwear division of the Deckers Brand, headquartered in Goleta, Calif., released its SustainaSole collection of vegan footwear on July 9. Sanuk said the SustainaSole is the most eco-friendly offering in the brand’s 23-year-history. In the past, chemical foams to provide comfort and foot support were heavily used by the industry. Sanuk partnered with foam-sole manufacturer Blumaka to integrate its recycled-foam technology into the SustainaSole collection. It features slip-on silhouettes such as the woman’s Donna and Chiba. Both styles retail for $65.