Why Fashion Seems Tone Deaf #BlackLivesMatter

Any comment to do with race, inequality or culturally sensitive issues can be charged. First and foremost this is an objective discussion, and it is never my intention to offend anyone.

Several brands over the past week (the LVMH group in particular) have been targeted for not doing enough, not seeming enough, not donating enough, and not giving enough to the Black Lives Matter movement. As tensions spill over to an almost breaking point in the US (I would know, I am currently near several BLM protests in West Palm FL), many brands have been criticized for their seemingly hollow responses to the movement.

Movements like this are difficult, because if you don’t voice pure agreement, then that can be read as disagreement. If you keep silent, you seem against the movement. In actuality, there are a lot of gray areas. For instance, you can support BLM, but not be in agreement with the violence of the protests. This is all shades of gray, and it goes without saying that as functioning adults we can all agree that valuing another’s life and rights below your own because of the color of their skin is wrong.

But where do brands stand in all this? And what is their responsibility in social movements like this? This is honestly what I find tough. As a business and a brand, you are adhering to strict brand codes, and for most brands, politics don’t fit into those codes. Recently I’ve noticed the pressure to become more political online, as if it is somewhat unacceptable to not show complete agreement with the social movements of the moment, and any lack of agreement (as I mentioned) implies disagreement.

For one, I keep my social and political views private, and I tend to put my money where my mouth is. Instead of posting on social media surrounded by friends of different races (ahem Taylor Swift), I am there for my true friends when it matters (whether they are of colour or not). I can’t say I can pretend to understand each individual’s struggles or pain, but I do know that I’m a good friend to the people that need me, when they need me.

And here is the problem. Where does this all stop for brands? Brands like Prada have openly shown their support for BLM, and LVMH posted a video of a black man astride a horse with the caption “Make a change. Freedom from racism towards peace together. #BlackLivesMatter.”- which was received extremely badly. For these brands, voicing support doesn’t seem like enough to many. LVMH was further criticized for not donating to the movement, but for giving 200 million euros to help fund the rebuild of Notre Dame.

I would actually (don’t kill me) question why this is wrong. From a business perspective, brands should be independent actors. They are not individuals, and their actions support their brand codes and brand DNA. In other words, the causes that matter to them are decidedly ‘on brand’. LVMH is a French luxury conglomerate- so it makes sense that they would support the rebuilding of one of the great institutions of the Western cultural world. To add to this, Glossier’s $1m donation to the BLM movement is extremely moving, but I hate to say it, it is also extremely ‘on brand’. From this perspective, I would argue that it is not all brands’ responsibility to donate to and support every single social movement, because there are and will be many, and at what point does it end?

But then what is to be done? What level of responsibility should brands have as large, wealthy, global and socially relevant institutions? It is also not right to say that each should just take care of their own and ignore all other races and cultures.

From my personal standpoint, I have always prioritized actions over words. For me, brands should do the same. Brands should be showing up everyday, and not just once in a blue moon. These companies hold the levers over what media is produced and consumed, who is represented, and what positions are given within firms and to whom. While I don’t think that this is fashion’s direct battle to fight, I do think that fashion is an arena where great change can be made in support of the movement. It is not merely enough to jump on the Instagram bandwagon with hashtags and rainbows, but change needs to be made and keep being made at the ground level. It is only in this way that equality and diversity can truly win.