Workplace & Talent / Diversity & Inclusion

Following the ICE raids and a week of protests, the city’s fashion employers continue to fret about what’s to come as the White House continues its deportation campaign.

As immigration raids in Los Angeles spur large-scale protests, the fashion industry has remained largely silent. The Debrief explores the reasons behind the muted response and the tangible actions brands can take to support vulnerable workers.

In 2020, fashion pledged solidarity and systemic change. Now, as political tides have turned, only a few brands are willing to speak up — or follow through.

DEI workers are repositioning and rebranding to get contracts and retain remaining staff positions, distancing themselves from conversations around race and gender and instead prioritising their leadership expertise.

For all the body positive movement’s strides, ‘90s thinness has returned, in part due to weight-loss injections like Wegovy — and plus-size models’ careers are stalling.

Sinking brand valuations, a shaky economy, and the rollback of DEI initiatives are pressuring women founders in fashion and beauty — but a new playbook is helping them navigate the storm.

Felita Harris, RaiseFashion’s executive director and co-founder, Rachel Scott, founder and creative director of Diotima, and Mercy Amankwe, senior director of brand marketing and partnerships at Standard International, joined BoF’s Shenel Wickramaratne at The Standard, East Village to discuss how to uphold inclusion, empower underrepresented talent and drive meaningful change amid industry-wide row backs on diversity, equity and inclusion commitments.

Brands, retailers and their employees are negotiating a new approach to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the Trump era — and that often means avoiding the term itself.