![]() ![]() Their team is admittedly quite diverse but Kilner recognizes, “we can and must do better in our senior positions.” They have also committed to being more intentional in their hiring practices and succession planning to increase the number of Black voices within their leadership. They’ve created a diversity and inclusion board to give employees direct access for feedback and discussion to senior leadership. The company offers their teams paid days off to read, learn, listen, educate themselves and join protests if they wish. “We committed to doing better and knew this movement was not just a moment, but a time for meaningful and impactful change,” CEO and co-founder Nicola Kilner told me over email. Since then, they’ve continued collaborating and donating to local Black grassroots projects. They launched their “ Beauty is Using Your Voice” campaign just before #BlackoutTuesday in the midst of the summer’s protests occurring across North America. Fashion Nova did not respond to our request for comment.īrands like FashionNova can take leadership from Deciem, The Abnormal Beauty Company (most known for their ‘The Ordinary’ line). Even if there is groundbreaking work happening to address anti-Blackness behind the scenes, why have they not made that transparent to their consumers? From the outside, it looks like just another case of wanting to capitalize on Blackness until it’s time to show up for Black people. There’s something to be said about a company that has not publicly shared anything related to Black Lives Matter in eight months while they make millions off our communities. ![]() Profiting off of Black women’s bodies without addressing the systems that violate our bodies is inherently part of the problem. Their popularity has hinged on using Black celebrities or curvier models who reflect diverse body types, but they’re still mostly selling one (read: light) kind of Blackness. We are their target market, but the brand seemingly can’t be bothered to represent us in all our plurality. After all, Cardi B’s 2019 collaboration with the fashion brand made $1 million USD in 24 hours, while Megan Thee Stallion’s line made $1.2 million USD in 24 hours. Their senior executive team seemingly also does not include any Black people.įashion Nova is a brand that relies on the Black woman’s dollar, and consistently profits from our support as consumers and cultural brand ambassadors. If you glance at Fashion Nova’s Instagram account and its over 500 pictures since June 2, there hasn’t been a single mention of anti-Black racism. In announcing their donations, Fashion Nova stated, “our actions speak louder than our words.” In the months since this announcement, it doesn’t seem they have continued their words, let alone actions. While donating to movements and organizations is necessary, anti-Black racism is not a problem that will go away by solely throwing money at it. They participated in the day after mounds of public pressure and have since released statements disclosing their donations to the Know Your Rights Camps, Black Lives Matter and the NAACP Defense and Education funds. Fashion Nova was particularly called out many times for their absence in the conversation for hours. The most frustrating part of #BlackoutTuesday was watching brands, especially those that rely on Black consumers stay glaringly silent throughout the day. On any given morning, I would see at least five people on my morning commute wearing buttons plastered with the mantra calling for Black liberation. But by June, non-Black people were cashing in their ally cookies just for saying they believe Black people deserve justice and life. I remember when saying “Black Lives Matter” was a controversial statement, one organizers and activists like me had to defend over and over. When I was an organizer with BLM Toronto, I remember the years where the media couldn’t even wrap their mind around saying “anti-Black” on camera. Companies, brands, influencers, and corporations that weren’t committed to fighting anti-Black racism prior to George Floyd’s killing were suddenly releasing Black Lives Matter statements. Our community was under attack once again, and while our resilience and uprising was expected, the response from non-Black people was something new. The string of videos and incidents of police brutality against Black people in the summer of 2020 was devastating. ![]()
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