Harlem's Fashion Row featuring Johnathan Hayden at NYFW

Harlem's Fashion Row, HFR, kicked off NYFW with four runway collections including The Art Institutes' Ai Dallas alumnus, Johnathan Hayden with his SS22 womenswear line. Ai LIVE's E. Vincent Martinez caught up with Johnathan after the runway for his reaction. Also featured, view the runway collections from designers, Harbison, June 79, Tier NYC and a cameo by Vogue's Anna Wintour.

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Givenchy Dresses The Weeknd For 55th Super Bowl Halftime Show

Creative Director Matthew M. Williams designed custom pieces especially for the superstar's performance.  

During the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, The Weeknd wore a fully hand-embroidered jacket with crystals, realized by the Givenchy Haute Couture atelier in Paris. A feat of savoir-faire, it required four embroiderers and more than 250 hours to complete. This jacket was worn over a black cotton poplin shirt and wool trousers accessorized with black leather tie, and gloves, as well as black and white derbies.  While made especially for this performance, The Weeknd's outfit reflects the sharp tailoring, minimalism and intense contrast Mr. Williams brought to his debut collection for the House of Givenchy.

"It's truly an honor to have dressed The Weeknd for his incredible Super Bowl show," said Matthew M. Williams. "To me, fashion is all about infusing what you wear with a unique personality, and The Weeknd brought his look to life with his energy, character and sense of style."

The Weeknd's cinematic Super Bowl LV performance was followed by an estimated audience of more than 100 million viewers who tuned in to watch the NFL championship game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

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UNIQLO Debuts at China Import Expo with The Art and Science of LifeWear

Japanese global apparel retailer UNIQLO confirmed that it has successfully concluded its debut at the annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) held this year from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai. The event also marked the first time UNIQLO hosted The Art and Science of LifeWear, a LifeWear global brand exhibition, in China, following similar events in New York, Paris and London in previous years.

At 1,500 square meters The Art and Science of LifeWear was the largest exhibition space in the customer goods category of the CIIE. The space, known as "Museum of Tomorrow," showcased the innovation and technologies behind iconic UNIQLO products, the craftsmanship that goes into creating high-quality clothing, sustainability initiatives, as well as the first public exhibition of the upcoming +J collection in collaboration with legendary designer Jil Sander.

Additionally, with the upcoming of Double 11, or Singles' Day Sales, the world's largest online shopping festival, UNIQLO demonstrated its seamless online-offline integration by inviting customers to visit the Museum of Tomorrow through a simultaneous online exhibition on the UNIQLO Digital Flagship Store.

Jalin Wu, Group Executive Officer of Fast Retailing and Chief Marketing Officer of UNIQLO Greater China, said, "UNIQLO is pleased to have introduced The Art and Science of LifeWear and its product and services innovations to consumers in China, and around the world, through the CIIE platform. We hope that with our participation we could inspire a better future life, and new lifestyles, for people everywhere. UNIQLO is full of confidence about the Chinese market and consumers going forward, and the company plans to continue to deepen its roots into low tiered cities in China."

The Museum of Tomorrow attracted more than 300 domestic and foreign media, as well as more than 200,000 visitors to experience the exhibition and understand the technology behind the products.

One media representative said that for the first time he saw the technology behind Ultra Light Down, and through technology experiments featuring AIRism and HEATTECH, he realized how many innovations of science and design actually go into a piece of clothing that allows people to switch freely between different life scenarios more efficiently, comfortably, and stylishly.

"UNIQLO's booth was very big and impressive. It is hard to believe that UNIQLO staged such an amazing performance for its first time at the exhibition. Whether it was the giant Ultra Light Down jackets or various lab devices, you could feel the brand's dedication and attention to details," said Yang from Shanghai.

Museum of Tomorrow Inspired Future Lifestyles with Clothing of Tomorrow

CIIE also saw the world first public exhibition of the +J Fall/Winter 2020 collection, which will be available in UNIQLO stores and online starting November 13. The collection marks the return of UNIQLO's collaboration with Ms. Sander, who brings her signature modern style to this exceptional line for women and men.

Greeting visitors to the Museum of Tomorrow were Giant versions of Ultra Light Down jackets hanging in the air. The actual Ultra Light Down jackets sold at UNIQLO feature a fabric made of a durable and light ultrafine fiber that is treated to eliminate down packs, combining warmth and lightness while being compact enough to easily fold into an accompanying pouch.

Showcasing UNIQLO innerwear offerings, the Museum of Tomorrow featured three experiments to demonstrate how the various functions of AIRism regulate the air under clothing, releasing heat and humidity to provide a comfy dryness. Another station highlighted the bio-warming technology found in HEATTECH innerwear, loved around the world since its inception in 2003.

Publicly displaying a knitting machine using WHOLEGARMENT technology in China for the first time, UNIQLO showed the art of the revolutionary 3D seamless knitting, which fits the body perfectly and brings a new wearing experience of stylish comfort. The space also featured a BLOCKTECH lab, where experiments clearly demonstrated the high-tech utility outer's windproof, waterproof and breathable functions, which provide comfortable protection against the cold.

UTs (UNIQLO T-shirts), which offer an array of authentic pop culture and art graphics from around the world, allowing the wearer to express their individuality, were also exhibited at the Museum of Tomorrow as a focal point of the world's cultural and creative influences. At the UNIQLO Masterpiece Studio display, UNIQLO highlighted the quality created through persistent craftmanship, refined cutting and fabric selection, which defines the value of clothing.

In addition, UNIQLO's global sustainable development and innovation efforts, which use the power of clothing to help protect the earth and care for people and communities, were also on display. CIIE also marked the world debut of BlueCycle, a rebranding of innovative UNIQLO water-saving technology that allows for significantly less water use in the jeans production process. This technology from the company's Jeans Innovation Center, established in Los Angeles in 2016, was part of a wider exhibit highlighting the history and evolution of UNIQLO jeans and the six types of UNIQLO jeans fabrics.

LifeWear Exhibition Beyond CIIE

Fast Retailing is committed to becoming the world's number one Digital Retail Consumer company. With this in mind, UNIQLO continues to turn information into products by understanding its customer needs and integrating online and offline functions to provide customers a seamless shopping experiences. During CIIE customers were also invited to visit the Museum of Tomorrow through a simultaneous online exhibition in the cloud through the UNIQLO Digital Flagship Store and get an up-close virtual experience of The Art and Science of LifeWear through the 10 innovative exhibition areas.

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Virgil Abloh Raises $1 Million Dollars to Support the Next Generation of Black Fashion Industry Leaders

Designer Virgil Abloh announced today that he has raised $1 million to benefit scholarships for Black students through the Virgil Abloh™️ "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund, which will be managed in partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF), the foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit in the U.S.  Quotes from Virgil Abloh and Peter Arnold, FSF's Executive Director, are available below.

The Abloh Fund's mission is to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to students of academic promise of Black, African-American, or African descent. Mr. Abloh named the fund "Post Modern" to represent that recipients will not only receive funds, but will also be given access to vital career support services and mentoring. In addition to his own donation, Abloh raised funds from his partners evian, Farfetch, Louis Vuitton, and New Guards Group, with more partners to be announced in the future as the Fund continues to work for long-term change.

In connection with the launch of the Fund, Mr. Abloh has entered into a long-term partnership with FSF to help enhance their internship, mentorship, and networking offerings.

Peter Arnold, FSF Executive Director, said: “At the heart of the FSF’s mission is elevating the voices and creative visions of talented youth from underrepresented backgrounds who are the future leaders of our industry. Virgil is a trailblazer and a game-changer, leveraging his considerable influence to effect change from within. We are grateful to have this opportunity to partner with him and his partners to impact the lives of so many deserving young people."

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New York Fashion Week's Drive-In with Pyer Moss

The future of the fashion show, at least as we know it, seems increasingly uncertain. Amid the global pandemic, fashion weeks around the world have moved to digital-only format, starting with the men’s shows that were scheduled to kick off next month in Milan, Paris, and London. Whether this trend will continue into the fall remains unclear. Saint Laurent is the first major brand to announce it would be moving off the 2020 schedule entirely, and it’s likely that others will follow suit.

With his announcement today, Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss is proposing an alternative to a virtual experience that is primed for age of social-distancing: a drive-in fashion happening. Set to take place during New York fashion week this September, the event will play host to a premiere of American, Also, a feature film documenting the two years leading up to the boundary-pushing Pyer Moss spectacular that took place last September at Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn. A trailer for the forthcoming film was uploaded to the designer’s personal Instagram account earlier this month. In it, behind-the-scene footage from the show at the historic New York landmark is spliced with archival clips of the neighborhood as the designer narrates. “So many of us, when we get opportunities and huge platforms, the first thing we do is leave,” says Jean-Raymond over a soundtrack of choral music. “Slowly but surely, I’ve been finding my way back… now we’re finally home.”

The New York premiere will be followed by a series of drive-in screenings in multiple cities across the country, exact details for which are to be released later this summer. Though Jean-Raymond is not planning to show a new collection, there will be a drop of clothing to coincide with the event. As with previous Pyer Moss events, the guestlist will be a combination of invited press and friends of the brand, with a percentage of tickets available to the public.

“It’s always been our mission to show the amount of thinking and laboring that goes behind putting together a collection—we’ve been slowing down the speed of how much we produce and improving the quality of what we produce throughout the years,” said Jean-Raymond via email. “This film aims to show the love and care our entire company puts into every single moment we create and will show that we appreciate fashion as an art form and communication tool that we’ve used to embolden a community around us.”

With only a soft blueprint in place for the re-opening of New York City, the fate of fashion week still hangs in the balance. Regardless of what governmental measures will be in place at the time, the logistics of Jean-Raymond’s concept will be complicated to say the least, starting with the location. Save for one much-buzzed about diner-turned-movie-theater in Queens, there are no drive-in venues in the city. And that’s not to mention the issue of transportation. That said, Jean-Raymond has always been the kind of designer to think big. With an audience of three thousand and a choir of 70-plus voices, his last show set a new precedent for fashion experiences, one that reverberated along social media channels for weeks after.

If Jean-Raymond can pull this off, he’ll be leading the way at a time when the fashion world is in desperate need of solutions.

Source: Vogue.com

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CR Runway with amfAR AGAINST COVID-19: FASHION UNITES

The industry’s most powerful names will come together to bring an uplifting moment for everyone doing their part to stay home and to raise awareness for an important cause. ⁣

Join the second annual CR Runway as Carine Roitfeld and amfAR unite the world through creativity in a first-of-its-kind virtual fashion show event to support COVID-19 research.

This 30-minute streaming event will feature fashion-world celebrities from around the globe. The fashion show will be styled from the wardrobe of each top model by Carine Roitfeld and her team.

For a front row seat, please visit YouTube.com/fashion or stay right here on crrunwayxamfar.org to view the show. We invite you to support by simply staying home and enjoying the show. Join us as we help to end COVID-19.

You can make a difference by supporting the amfAR Fund to Fight Covid-19

A Note from Carine:

I hope this note finds you safe and well. As you may know, last June I began a dream that I’ve long had: to launch my very own runway show, CR Runway.

We would like to use our runway to create a platform to benefit research on and the fight against COVID-19. This year’s CR Runway will be entirely digital. CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 will debut online on Friday, May 1 as the world’s first fashion show of its kind. With safety as our foremost concern, CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 will be created remotely from all around the world. My team and I will collaborate directly with each talent on everything from fashion to hair, makeup, nails, and choreography direction so that every model can film herself “walking” from the comfort of her own home. These videos will be edited together to form a complete digital runway show which will be streamed on Friday, May 1.

In these times of uncertainty, our support for one another has never been so crucial. We must do what we can to help—not only in material efforts but also with our platforms and through our actions. I’ve always believed in the power of inspiration — it’s one of the founding reasons behind CR Fashion Book— and I know that we can use the runway to really make a difference. I look forward to your participation in CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19 and your help in bringing hope and inspiration to the hard-working scientists and others engaged in this fight.

Sincerely,

Carine

Derek Blasberg will host the world’s first virtual fashion show which airs on YouTube this Friday, May 1, 2020 at 1:00 PM Los Angeles / 4:00 PM New York / 9:00 PM London / 10:00 PM Paris. ⁣

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Fashion Nova Launches Fashion Nova Cares With Cardi B To Giveaway $1 Million Dollars Directly To People Impacted By COVID-19

Fashion Nova, a leading online fashion lifestyle brand, and cultural icon, Cardi B announced Fashion Nova Cares with Cardi B, a philanthropic initiative focused on helping people in need. Beginning now until May 20, 2020, Fashion Nova Cares will give away $1,000 dollars every hour, for a total of $1,000,000.

"People are struggling to pay rent, buy food, medicine and other essentials for themselves and their families. We all feel compassion and concern for those affected by the Coronavirus," said Richard Saghian, Founder and CEO of Fashion Nova. "Fashion Nova Cares with Cardi B will provide people with necessary relief to help them get through this crisis. As a community-driven brand, we are inspired by the kindness and generosity of others and we wanted to do our part to help those in need."

"Everyone has been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic," said Cardi B. "Fashion Nova Cares and I have come with a way to help the many families in need."

To qualify, those in need can visit fashionnova.com/cares to share their stories and information. Fashion Nova Cares will choose 24 people each day for the duration of the program.  Fashion Nova will then distribute individual checks in the amount of $1,000.

"All of us have to play a part in supporting the communities that we serve," added Richard Saghian. "Our Fashion Nova Cares initiative will continue beyond the current challenges of Covid-19 with additional endeavors and programs that will further help make a positive impact in people's lives."

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