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Fashion Nova responds to report of clothing being produced by underpaid factory workers - Fox News

RebeccaChamalet Mayıs 14, 2021

Fashion Nova responds to report of clothing being produced by underpaid factory workers - Fox News

Fashion Nova responds to report of clothing being produced by underpaid factory workers - Fox News

Posted: 17 Dec 2019 08:48 AM PST

Fashion Nova is infamous for its skimpy styles, but a new report claims the workers that make its clothing are being paid skimpy wages.

The online retailer — purveyor of such items as the "Here For Fun" bodysuit and the "Buckle Up Mock Neck Romper" — is accused of working with Los Angeles factories that pay their employees less than minimum wage, according to an exposé published by The New York Times on Monday.

SEE IT: TWITTER IS CONVINCED THAT FASHION NOVA IS TROLLING KIM KARDASHIAN

Citing internal documents from the U.S. Department of Labor, which conducted investigations in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, The Times revealed that "dozens of factories" making Fashion Nova's clothing had owed a total of $3.8 million to its workers in back wages. The report also alleged that some of Fashion Nova's contractors were paying employees as little as $2.77 per hour.

"There were cockroaches. There were rats," Mercedes Cortes, 56, told The Times of working in a Vernon, Calif., factory. "The conditions weren't good."

Fashion Nova didn't work directly with the factories or employees, but rather by purchasing materials and having them sent to the sewing contractors, some of whom allegedly employed the underpaid workers.

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Fashion Nova has since responded to The Times' investigation on Twitter.

"Any suggestion that Fashion Nova is responsible for underpaying anyone working on our brand is categorically false," the company wrote.

Fashion Nova's lawyer said the company is addressing the matter.

"We have already had a highly productive and positive meeting with the Department of Labor in which we discussed our ongoing commitment to ensuring that all workers involved with the Fashion Nova brand are appropriately compensated for the work they do," Erica Meierhans, Fashion Nova's general counsel, told the Times.

On Twitter, Fashion Nova further defended its brand and claimed that anyone found to be in violation of California law would be temporarily removed as a contractor.

"Furthermore, we have written agreements with all of our more than 700 vendors in which they commit to pay their employees and sub-contractors in strict alignment with California law. Any vendor found to not be in compliance is immediately put on a six-month probationary period. A second violation results in a suspension of all agreements with that vendor."

A representative for the fast-fashion retailer was not immediately available to comment.

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This isn't the first time Fashion Nova has found itself in hot water. The company was recently slapped with a lawsuit by Versace, which accused the retailer of copying the famous Versace gown work by Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammy Awards.

Rethinking Fashion E-Commerce: The Extraordinary World of Collagerie - Forbes

Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:09 PM PST

The modern online retail experience can be summarized as follows: an overload of information and choice, mindlessness that enables the endless scroll on websites, or, in the words of former long-time Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers, that all-too-relatable moment "when you're looking for a black T-shirt and the next thing you know you have eight tabs open and have found a cute lampshade. And then probably bought it."

Enter Collagerie, a multi-label online retailer offering a tight edit of curated lifestyle essentials (including the likes of both black tees and lampshades) sourced everywhere from mass-market brands on the high street to luxury labels and lesser-known independent designers. The website — launched less than a month ago — is the brainchild of Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood, who spent five years working together at Vogue. Chambers was Fashion Director at the title for 25 years and Hood was Executive Fashion Director: first at American, and then at British Vogue.

Eighteen months ago, the two reconnected and sought to streamline the fragmented user journey of e-commerce shopping by creating a platform to showcase high street and luxury in tandem, at a range of price points. "It feels reflective of how modern women dress," Hood says of Collagerie's varied offering, inspired by the pair's highly curatorial approach to their former jobs of selecting pieces to feature in the esteemed pages of Vogue.

Collagerie operates with affiliate partnerships through Skimlinks, a middle-man used by influencers and other websites that pays anywhere from 5-20% of an item's price in commission fees to the startup. Not every brand on the website is a partner, but according to the co-founders, that's not the whole point. "We showcase products regardless of whether we're making a commission, because it's about sharing what we really love," says Hood, albeit noting that as Collagerie grows and scales, trying to bring more brands under the affiliate umbrella "will be part of our job from a business perspective".

"We're not growing in a crazy way, but in a methodical and businesslike way," says Chambers. "It's manageable but exciting, and feels like we've built a solid foundation". Within months, the team outgrew its original cupboard-sized space and moved to a larger West London office, where there is room to shoot new editorials for the website.

Besides the two co-founders, Collagerie currently employs three staff members, a full-time executive editor, a digital content designer and a part-time digital marketing website manager, with new positions to be advertised in the next few months. The pair are not disclosing figures, but Hood shared that Collagerie raised a seed round of investment with five angel investors a year ago. Future investment plans are currently being evaluated with the company's board, although they declined to name the board members.

Despite only launching the platform recently, the pair are thinking ahead to next steps. Hood highlights Collagerie's strategic priorities as brand partnerships, in-store/retail events with partners, and "having a physical touchpoint of our digital world" to bring Collagerie to life in the flesh, the same way she created sellout events for Vogue. Looking to 2020, Collagerie has signed up with retailers to collaborate on product design, talks and events, with a view to extending these partnerships to the website's content curation arm. The pair hint at upcoming Collagerie-branded product collaborations, and there's even a podcast series in the works.

These are two incredibly well-connected women with the weight of Vogue and all it entails at their fingertips, but their new foray into the tech sector showed them a world far different to the elusive exclusivity of fashion; fellow entrepreneurs and startup founders were generous with their contacts, expertise and knowledge. "It's this extraordinary, advice-giving world where people want you to succeed and no one feels like you're treading on their patch", says Chambers.

The pristine website of tightly curated essentials and luxuries feels almost like shopping the affiliate product links to a fashion blogger's look, but instead with the informed taste of two former fashion directors — packaged in thoughtful editorials rather than repetitive street style shots. Collagerie's editorial-driven concept bears slight resemblance to the QR codes and shortened links that pepper fashion magazines attempting to convert readers to shoppers through their smartphones  — but this feels more seamless and way less gimmicky.

Underlying the co-founders' enthusiasm for sharing their startup story with me is a genuine belief in the resilience of retail. "Women love shopping, they want to buy clothes," says Hood. "The statistics show retail sales will double in the next five years but a huge destination for this will be online shopping, and online sales will only get bigger". It doesn't matter that their USP — an online destination for curated high-low fashion and lifestyle pieces — sounds a little unconvincing. One look at their website shows that the duo have the expertise and eye for visual flair to bring their idea to life — and bring in sales: Collagerie's undisclosed target for its first month was reached in just ten days. "We're giving women a beautiful experience," says Chambers. "It's as simple as that."

It's a hard one to pinpoint, but the editors seem to be repurposing their industry expertise and gravitas for — to use their words — an "extraordinary and uplifting shopping experience". With thoughtful editorial accompaniments and fashion-forward selections united on one flawless platform, Collagerie is the face-lift online fashion has long been waiting for.
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