Must Read: Estée Lauder Announces Amanda Gorman Partnership, Publicists Are the New Street-Style Stars

Plus, how fast fashion's thirst for change could be fueling a human rights crisis.

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.

Estée Lauder announces three-year partnership with Amanda Gorman
Estée Lauder has added new talent to its roster of beautiful faces: The brand inked a three-year integrated partnership with Amanda Gorman. As a part of this partnership, the Estée Lauder companies will contribute over $3 million to support Writing Change, an initiative to advance literacy as a pathway to equality. Additionally, the award-winning poet will bring her voice to the brand through its Spring 2022 campaigns. In an interview with Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times, Gorman made it clear that this brand ambassadorship is staying true to her purpose of driving positive social change: "I'm never just lending my body or my face,” Gorman said. "They are getting my spirit, my breath, my brain." {Fashionista inbox}

Publicists are the new street style stars
Publicists are made to blend in during fashion week, often clad an all-black uniform, but there are a select few that rise above the dark sea to make a bold statement. Vogue spotlights eight publicists who do just that: From the PR director at Moschino to the Brand Communications Director of R13, these very important people bring their own personal style to the job, giving those seated in the front row something to talk about. {Vogue}

How fast fashion's thirst for change could be fueling a human rights crisis
In an piece for Vox, writer Sofi Thanhauser lifts the curtain on the dark truth about fast fashion: Garments stitched by imprisoned Uyghurs have been "quietly entering the American wardrobe through myriad avenues — much of it, it would soon be revealed, made from cotton harvested by enslaved people." Brands that have been called into question for profiting from these human rights crimes in Xinjiang include Zara, Uniqlo, Skechers and SMCP (owner of Sandro and Maje). "The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region is calling on brands to make public commitments to disengage from the region, but many brands have said they'd rather exit quietly because they fear losing Chinese market share if they pull out of Xinjiang openly," Thanhauser writes. "They're afraid the Chinese government and nationalist consumers there will interpret any criticism of its conduct in Xinjiang as an open threat and retaliate." {Vox}

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