Must Read: The 2019 'Vanity Fair' Hollywood Issue Is Here, Are Watchdog Instagram Accounts Doing Any Good?
Plus, four ways the sneaker resale market will change in 2019.
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.
The 2019 Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue is here
To celebrate its 25th annual Hollywood Issue, Vanity Fair teamed up with Academy Award-winning cinematographer Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki to capture a cast of game-changing film stars. The issue features 11 actors and actresses — from newcomer Henry Golding to industry vet Regina King — dressed in red carpet-approved gowns and sharp tuxedos, all styled by Samira Nasr. You can see the first panel of the cover, starring Chadwick Boseman, Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, above. {Vanity Fair}
Are watchdog accounts actually doing any good?
The success of Diet Prada has inspired a full-blown watchdog movement on Instagram, but how much good are these accounts actually doing? On one hand, they call attention to numerous copycat designs and bring up issues such as inclusivity and race, and they do so in a manner that will go viral much quicker than in a magazine or website. The downside, however, is that these one or two-person operations lack the checks and balances of traditional media organizations and can spread false information very quickly as a result. {Business of Fashion}
Four ways sneaker resale will change in 2019
The global sneaker resale market — currently valued at $6 billion — is experiencing a meteoric rise. And yet, sneaker and streetwear brands are still the ones that hold the power when it comes to the supply of coveted product, not the resellers, like Grailed and StockX. So, will the sneaker resale bubble continue growing or is it about to burst? From extending their horizons geographically to working directly with brands, Highsnobiety predicts the four ways sneaker resale platforms will change in 2019. {Highsnobiety}
Can The RealReal save retail?
In a new profile on The RealReal CEO Julie Wainwright, Alexandra Jacobs of The New York Times spotlights the Silicon Valley survivor, who has managed to make luxury seem accessible and is figuring out how to save retail along the way. Wainwright founded the online resale shop in 2011 (after a series of failed endeavors) with the mission of simplifying the consignment of luxury goods and changing the way we shop. Her goal, Jacobs writes, is to convince customers to renounce "fast fashion, buy less frequently but better-quality, and maintain those purchases carefully before joining this sisterhood and brotherhood of the traveling pants and purses." {The New York Times}
How to combat fashion's water issue
The clothing that we make and wear has contributed to 35 percent of the micro-plastics in the oceans today, and if we keep this up, there will be more plastic (by weight) in the ocean than fish by 2050. To make matters worse, the printing and dyeing of textiles is responsible for 20 percent of all freshwater pollution worldwide. Thankfully companies are fishing for solutions and there are plenty of ways we, as consumers, can help. For starters, we should choose natural fibers, purchase fewer articles of higher-quality apparel and wash our clothing less frequently. {WWD}
Unilever debuts reusable packaging innovations
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Unilever unveiled its latest sustainability initiative: Reusable packaging innovations across nine of its brands, including four new product formats. Unilever brands testing new reusable and refillable packaging include Ren Clean Skincare, Love Beauty and Planet, Love Home and Planet, Seventh Generation, Dove, Rexona, Axe and Hellmann's. {WWD}
The MAGA hat is a declaration of identity
"Has there been in recent memory any other item of clothing — so specific in design and color — that pits neighbors against each other, causes classroom altercations, sparks both rage and fear, and ultimately alludes to little more than a mirage?" writes Robin Givhan about the bright red Make America Great Again baseball cap that was a part of Donald Trump's political merch. She argues the hat is not a statement of policy, but rather a declaration of identity: "The hat has become a symbol of us versus them, of exclusion and suspicion, of garrulous narcissism, of white male privilege, of violence and hate." {The Washington Post}