The lawsuit prompted a string of unflattering press hits, which overwhelmingly highlighted the existing fashion brand’s side of the story, at Bieber’s expense. Bieber’s case highlights two principles of crisis management that we champion.

Be prepared and proactive

If you don’t tell your story, others will tell it for you ― including the good, the bad, and the ugly. We advise companies and individuals to get in front of the news cycle with a clear, compelling, and honest narrative.

Bieber could have made a strong case for calling her skin care line Rhode. It’s her middle name, after all. She had previously sought to secure the name Bieber Beauty but was rejected due to potential confusion with trademarks registered by her husband, Justin Bieber.

She was undoubtedly aware of the potential for conflict over the Rhode name, too: Bieber attempted to purchase the naming rights from the fashion brand years earlier and was turned down. By proactively telling her story ahead of the brand’s launch, Bieber could have preempted some of the public backlash in the crucial early days of her new company. 

The communications landscape is shifting 

We believe that traditional PR is dead. The media environment is rapidly changing; anyone with access to a smartphone can be a publisher, reaching millions of viewers across the globe with just a few clicks. Online forums like Twitter have diluted the ability of powerful companies and individuals to leverage their influence among major media platforms to quash threats to their business or reputation. 

Upstarts understand that there is currency in conflict, and they can leverage the public spotlight surrounding celebrities like Bieber to boost their own brands. Consultants and lawyers are more likely to join their cause, seeking the star power that now comes with taking on and defeating an established brand.

In this new environment, half-hearted PR efforts don’t cut it. Bieber appeared unprepared for the burst of attention that played out across social media platforms following the June lawsuit. The founders of the fashion startup were able to frame the dispute as a powerful celebrity swooping in and trampling on their hard-earned brand.

Bieber’s side of the story was notably absent from prominent coverage of the lawsuit, with several articles noting that her team did not respond to a request for comment.

These major missteps could have been avoided with a better understanding of the new communications landscape, in which big players can no longer appear to steamroll their smaller competitors without consequence.

The post How Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s Brand, Should Have Handled Her PR Crisis appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Spree3d has delivered the first Hyperreal Avatar Platform called MyDubble allowing users to create and share their avatar adventures as hyperreal videos. Their first mobile app built on the platform, MyDubble, targets the fashion industry and offers an entirely new way to experience lifelike fashion. Creating your first MyDubble video is as easy as 1-2-3. 1) scan to create your dubble 2) pick your fashion 3) pick your scene. That’s all it takes to see yourself in a fantastical fashion video, starring your dubble.

By digitizing humans, apparel, and experiences, MyDubble also offers a unique metaverse building opportunity for partners. Rapidly propagate fandoms with hyperreal doubles that can instantly experience your fashion as content in their personalized videos. A “dubbled” fan base offers a radically new engagement and merchandise opportunity. We spoke with Eric Rubin, Chief Operating Officer at Spree3D about the new app.

GRIT DAILY: What motivated you to join the Spree3D team and what excited you most about this technology and business?

I come from a background in technology platforms, largely in business development roles. There were two things that got me excited about the Spree opportunity 1) being on the leading edge of a paradigm shift- metaverse/W3. I’ve been fortunate to have been on the leading edge of several paradigm shifts in computing- web platforms in the mid-’90s, and an early mover in SaaS and Cloud computing in the early 2000s. 2) The Business development opportunities of onboarding partners into this paradigm shift are boundless.

GRIT DAILY: Why did Spree3D choose to debut MyDubble as its first project? What were some of the challenges involved in bringing this project to fruition?

Starting with the challenges: We have solved a very complicated technology problem- the auto-creation of a lifelike digital version of you (which we call your dubble), that can exist in fantastical experiences. To do this we had to blend competencies in machine learning, 3D, apparel virtualization, and CGI- into a single pipeline. We have pulled together a rock star team, with technology leaders from Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, Blizzard Entertainment, and Apple.

GRIT DAILY: Why did you choose to focus on hyper-real versus animated avatars? What are the current capabilities of the app?

The idea for the app came from one of our founders, Lisa Park, a very talented fashion designer. Her vision was to allow anyone to see themselves in beautiful fashion, breaking down all of the barriers to access. To deliver this vision we rooted our technology in photoreal avatars with lifelike animation. However, this is just a foundation as digital gives you the opportunity to blend fantastical with IRL experiences. Hyperreal experiences give your digital-self superpowers – garments have fluid colorways, dubbles are not constrained by gravity, etc. This is extremely important, as it gives creators entirely new ways to express their fashion, and themselves- starting with the foundation of IRL experiences and then layering it with the limitless fantastical elements that digital allows.

The simplest way to think about our first app, MyDubble, is that it allows users to create avatar movies that star your personalized avatar (your dubble). In three simple steps, you can create your first hyperreal fashion movie 1) scan yourself from your phone to create your dubble 2) pick your garment from a catalog of digital fashion, and 3) pick your scene from a catalog of fantastical scenes. Start to finish is under 5 minutes, and the output is a 15-second fantasy video.

GRIT DAILY: Where do you see the future of this technology going for Spree3D? What are some general AR/VR predictions you have for the industry in the next 5 years?

I’m not an AR expert, however, our platform agenda in the near term is to allow dubbles to exist in multiple environments. Currently, we virtualize users to exist in our video creation environment. To accomplish this requires a state-of-the-art W3 technology stack. A dubble, however, is a blended 3D object, so existing in AR environments with interactive experiences is an obvious future capability for us.

If you add virtualized humans to the metaverse stack in your question, there are obvious beachheads for our platform. At the surface we have a simple value proposition to the industry- our platform automates social content creation around your brand via a movie maker for personalized avatar experiences.

Our initial target is fashion, and metaverse platforms can revolutionize the fashion industry. We provide an entirely new way for brands to engage with digital natives. We can boost a brand partner’s social content, by virtualizing physical garments that then become content in avatar movies. So customers can now have a digital-first experience with a brand’s apparel in a novel social content platform. We can also boost promotions with digital f/x added to apparel as well as the user. For example, a garment could have virtual textures that morph, without losing the essence of the foundational garment.

This also allows partners to boost sustainability initiatives with pure digital collections. For example, we can convert carbon burning “wear once” trends (e.g. wardrobing) into a green marketing promotion.

All of these initiatives, by the way, require photorealism as the foundation to be effective.

The next phase for us is to move into adjacent markets. Simply put, our sausage machine allows users to create any personalized hyperreal experience. So sports is another potential beachhead. For example, your avatar could star in a hyperreal NBA video with insane slam dunks.

Finally, the next level of value to brands and creators is in community building around your brand with the automatic creation of digital fandoms. Dubbles eliminate any friction in activating your brand. Where it gets really interesting is that your fans are encouraged to create social content featuring your brand. So we enable a viral flywheel with engageable content.

GRIT DAILY: Where can our readers go to learn more about Spree3D and MyDubble?

We are just coming out of stealth mode, and have started an early access program, accessible from our website mydubble.io. The best way to learn about us is to explore our app, which we will be continually updating with new content as we get close to general availability.

The post Eric Rubin, COO of Spree3D, Discusses MyDubble, the first Hyperreal Avatar Platform appeared first on Grit Daily News.

What you might not be aware of is that shapewear can be used for medical reasons, as it’s used by many post-surgery patients either those recovering from BBL or other plastic surgery procedures.

In general, fashion companies are recognizing the benefits of having a powerful branding strategy especially as more customers align themselves with brands that champion diversity and inclusion. Examples of great comebacks include brands like Victoria’s Secret as well as emerging brands like Skims by Kim Kardashian.

One company that has made its first footstep into America, is deploying its methodology and values to close the gap between shapewear and fashion. Tributo is the first fajas (girdle) company that makes colorful and customizable fajas as well as other shapewear. Originated from Columbia which has an epicenter for plastic surgery clinics, they have managed to partner with some of the largest clinics and surgeons in both Columbia and America. Their brand champions partnerships that are in full alignment with what they believe in: diversity, inclusivity, and innovation.

This movement pertains to more than just positive ROI and brand trust, but its vision stretches to impact customers of all backgrounds and sizes globally, as well as pioneering ethical employment practices. 

Here’s how functional fajas are taking a storm on the shapewear market.

Customization is key to embracing all types of bodies

Traditional fashion follows standardized protocols for sizing. This may leave people frustrated when trying to feel good in clothes because they’re unable to find clothes that are tailored to their body type and curves. It can become an expensive endeavor tailoring every piece of clothing they have, or time-consuming trying to look for the perfect fit in stores.

Here’s how customization can be powerful. When a company is based on customizing their clothing to fit the person instead of the other way around, it exemplifies to the customer that they truly come first. Tributo introduced a seamless online shopping experience for their customers who want customization but don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for it.

Their products are not only aesthetically pleasing, but the hallmark is their bright colors that customers want to show off, instead of hiding. The material is designed to provide compression to snatch the silhouette. By being custom made, the faja is able to only give compression in the areas needed like the abdominal area. The compression helps shape people’s curves, flatten the stomach, and improve posture. It’s also extremely suitable for people recovering from surgical procedures. Viviana says, ”By creating custom garments, we send the message that there is no such thing as a standard body or standard beauty.”

Another demographic that is underserved is people who identify as non-binary and desire to achieve the hourglass shape. Through Tributo, non-binary clients can receive exceptional service and customization to their needs. This was so important to the company, that they recently released the Ken Doll collection to honor this specific community and want to be the first ones to bring it to the mainstream. 

Living by the same Values: Inclusion, Innovation, and Quality

Fashion has been around for centuries yet it’s not known for being the most inclusive nor ethical. Only recently have brands and advertising companies intentionally woven diversity and ethical practices into their marketing. The pivot to more inclusive fashion campaigns by brands such as Vogue, Victoria’s Secret, and the Gap, shows a cultural paradigm shift in fashion and values.

For Tributo, the quality of its product has as much to do with the quality of the company’s values as anything. The founder and CEO, Viviana Millán, takes care of her sixty and growing employees, treating it as an investment, rather than an expense. Besides refusing to open factories and restoring calm and beautiful houses for her employees to work in, she is mindful to negate the biases of gender or age from Tributo’s hiring process. Today, Tributo is a predominantly women-run company, with several single moms and immigrants in the workforce. 

As it comes to branding, Tributo generally tries to employ regular people in their campaigns and partners with real fajas-loving customers of all orientations and body types. Most recently, their Hot Pink Campaign featured a bionic model Marsha Elle. This served as an amazing opportunity to showcase their brand’s values of inclusivity, as Millan puts it, “Having Marsha represents a bold statement for inclusion since she has a prosthetic leg, and it is not common in the shapewear industry to display people with disabilities.”

The constant iteration and improvement of the fajas speak to Viviana’s innovative mind. “It’s programmed into my hard drive to always look for ways to improve,” Millán says. In part what makes the company successful, is its unwavering dedication to using the best quality for the fajas and their practice of ethical fashion standards.

Conclusion

The story of customizable fajas started small and humble in Columbia, but as word spread, it’s on track to becoming a fashion staple. Not only so, but it’s supporting a broader cultural shift for people of all gender and body sizes in fashion. Utility, a distinct brand message, and loyal communities are indications of a timeless brand in the making.

The post A Tribute to Adversity: Functional Yet Fashionable Fajas appeared first on Grit Daily News.

I recently sat down with Elyse Kaye, founder of Bloom Bras and an experienced product development executive who has spent decades working with factories across the globe on behalf of companies like Procter and Gamble, Black & Decker, and Nine West. One thing that was key for Kaye in launching Bloom Bras, an activewear line for curvy women, was ensuring that the factory where her line was being manufactured have a sustainable focus. Finding a more environmentally-friendly solution that matched her values became a top priority. 

It was imperative to find a match to my brand values in quality, sustainability, and excellence. Additionally important, a partner, with great communications and a vast knowledge of the world of technical sports bras.

Elyse Kaye, Founder Bloom Bras

Obstacles Along the Way

Building a sustainable fashion brand at an affordable price is no easy feat and the fashion industry is well aware of the conundrum. Recently, The Sustainable Apparel Coalition has set a target of 45 percent emissions reductions by 2030 for its members. Unfortunately, that has not slowed the pressure from consumers and retailers alike on pricing. China is still the leader in manufacturing for fashion, and in getting ready to launch, Kaye knew she had to start there. She went through a grueling process of interviewing over 50 mostly Chinese factories, to produce a highly-technical, size-inclusive sports bra line, but she ran into a ton of obstacles. 

Most were not able to meet her specifications, wanted to charge more for larger sizes or did not meet Kaye’s ethical standards. A good majority of factories would not work with startups no matter how great the idea, many wanted to charge extra for using more materials on larger sizes or refused to produce them at all. Finally, Kaye was connected to a factory through a high-profile colleague, she then spent a year prototyping, experimenting with materials and testing the bras on hundreds of women. 

Kaye was finally set to launch Bloom Bras, having ordered the bras in November and expecting the product to ship by March. Three nights before her shipment date, she got the call from the owner of the factory explaining that there was a problem. They would not be producing the order. In fact, they had not even ordered the approved materials and never had any intention of moving forward. Kaye’s order had been shoved aside for larger orders that had come in. She had two options – breakdown and give up on her dream or start fresh and find an alternative solution.

She went back to the drawing board to restart her search for an ethical manufacturing partner. Building a sustainable brand for Kaye meant more than just meeting responsible environmental standards, it also meant ethical working conditions and wages. What’s incredible to realize is that 93 percent of the brands surveyed by Fashion Checker aren’t paying their garment workers a living wage.  

A New Location Brings the Answer

Kaye’s restart brought her to an unexpected location, Sri Lanka, where she learned that a thriving garment industry was gaining traction in the areas she most needed, experience in the development of technical sportswear. Sri Lanka met Kaye’s quality standards with a workforce that was skilled at complex seams, technical sportswear structure, with strong communication skills, and access to sustainably sourced materials.

Kaye came across a group of industry experts who were establishing a new facility on a mountain in Sri Lanka that embodied what she had been searching for. The workforce was sourced from the neighboring villages so that employees could walk to work and still be with their families in the evenings. There was plentiful spring mountain water from the river that ran behind the property and abundant sources of fruits, vegetables and rice grown on the property.  Kaye decided that the only way to follow through with her dream of building a responsible and sustainable brand, would be to build her own factory. She joined forces to lead the build out of the factory and shaped the vision to include energy power from wind and solar panels, and the sourcing of materials locally in order to support and build up the community.  Kaye and her team spent the better part of a year walking through every detail meticulously.

“Selecting the proper materials has been the most difficult part of the design process. Each detail from the seams riding along the bone structure in the back, to my insistence that any material that touches the body be soft, comfortable and free of certain nasty chemicals was non-negotiable.,” Kaye continued, “I was particularly insistent on having a zipper in the front.”  It takes 38 different parts to make up a Bloom Bra, from threads to zippers and hooks, to the proprietary materials used. Each of these different components come from different factories. One of the key challenges with sustainable manufacturing is shipping. The shipping industry is responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants so Kaye wanted to reduce the many links in her supply chain by sourcing as much locally as possible. Kaye spent much of her time directly speaking with and evaluating each vendor of every component and material of the product to ensure not only their quality, but also location. She consolidated sources and ensured that each vendor was as close to her facility as possible in order to reduce the practice of double shipping which is so harmful to the environment.

Overproduction and overconsumption are crippling the planet. Over the past twenty years, clothing production and consumption have doubled with an astonishing 100 billion clothing items produced annually.  Brands like Bloom Bras are focusing on changing that from bottom up.

The post Building a Sustainable Fashion and Lifestyle Brand appeared first on Grit Daily News.

How Lindsey Mallon Got Her Start

Lindsey Mallon attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and worked to receive her degree in apparel design. During her senior year, American fashion magazine V Magazine featured her senior thesis collection in one of its issues; the publication also called Mallon “a designer to watch.”

Following graduation, she first moved to New York City and worked in almost every part of the industry, ranging from design and development to production; she did so in hopes that she would thoroughly understand each process, how they work together, and how to manage them.

Mallon later moved to Los Angeles, where she launched her first business, Nadjarina, in 2018; she described the company as “a conscious luxury brand focused on setting better labor standards in the clothing industry.”

“My career has always been focused on sustainable commerce with an emphasis on labor standards and doing my best to humanize the business landscape,” she said.

That same year, Mallon joined forces with Cyrus Taghehchian to launch Splyt Core. As she described it, it’s a cryptocurrency company that crosses the bridge between the existing infrastructures and the progressive practices and mindsets that we all want to see. As CMO and CPO, Mallon conveys to brands how the solutions that Splyt resolves connect to fashion and e-commerce.

How Do the Fashion and Cryptocurrency Worlds Come Together?

You may never have thought of fashion and cryptocurrency ever working together, but Mallon explained that the two industries have a way of intersecting with each other.

“Cryptocurrency is currency—a form of currency that has grown the wealth of many. Luxury and fashion rather organically fit into the lifestyle so for me, that feels rather intuitive. Crypto injects more money into circulation and consequently our economy,” she said.

Mallon added that the blockchain technology within Splyt helps enable the eNFT, or e-commerce non-fungible token, to help streamline sales in fashion, luxury, and all other e-commerce marketplaces.

“Many people today are familiar with NFTs due to the recent hype around digital art NFTs and other novelty or experimental use cases. We’ve created the eNFT, the e-commerce NFT,” she said.

“This eNFT acts as a digital ID assigned to each item which doubles as a certificate of authenticity to guard against knock-offs. It also helps coordinate inventory across multiple marketplaces because everyone is accessing the same NFT from the blockchain instead of relaying information about inventory back and forth.”

With this, Mallon was able to start MaisonDu last year. Described as “The New Wholesale and Finance for Luxury Fashion Markets,” it’s a marketplace built on top of Splyt’s platform; it focuses on streamlining the luxury market and universalizing the use of NFTs.

“Crypto and blockchain push fashion and luxury retail into the future. Although the cryptocurrency industry is pushing 2 trillion in market cap, no one in the industry supports a proper shopping experience yet” she said. “Maison Du is the first multi-brand luxury e-commerce store built on a decentralized platform like Splyt. For me, it’s a rather intuitive fit.”

The post Lindsey Mallon Sees Fashion as the Next Obvious Opportunity for Cryptocurrency Fanatics appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Emhoff arrived at the inauguration to watch her stepmother take the oath of office in an embellished houndstooth Miu Miu coat with a bold Peter Pan style white collar. Underneath, she wore an ankle length Batsheva gown. The gown featured an empire waist, a puffed sleeve, and a jewel-toned burgundy hue. The gown perfectly matched the unofficial fashion theme of the event. Emhoff collaborated with the designer to create the one of a kind piece.

Emhoff told Vogue in a joint interview with Batsheva, “My mood board was very “little girl,” in a sense, a lot of scalloped collars and big silhouette shoulders and small buttons. I was going for something girlier, to embrace my feminine side—especially after that suit that I felt so great in—because, like, how many times do you prepare yourself to attend an inauguration? This momentous of an event deserves a momentous outfit.”

Lots of observers lauded Emhoff as a style icon in the making. Commenters on Twitter noted her artsy-girl style and praised her expressive eyebrows.

The 2021 inauguration was, predictably, a defining moment for the Biden-Harris administration’s fashion. Emhoff, Harris, and Dr. Biden set the stage for a high-fashion administration, something that Emhoff acknowledged.

Emhoff’s Instagram also shows off her unique style and her own design creations. Emhoff specializes in knitwear, and you can find photos of her work all over her social media pages.

When Vogue asked if we can expect a knitwear collaboration between Emhoff and Batsheva in the future, the pair responded “Yes!” in unison. So it looks like we have a lot to look forward to when it comes to everyone’s favorite new fashion icon Ella Emhoff.

The post Ella Emhoff Stole The Spotlight At The Inauguration appeared first on Grit Daily News.

While many artists have pivoted this year, raising money for health, homelessness relief, and COVID-related struggles, New York-based painter Emerald Rose Whipple has been interested in the philanthropic elements of the art world for a while, and she’s recently dedicated several efforts to children in need through her work.

In November, Whipple launched two prints to benefit Orange Babies, a South African organization dedicated to helping pregnant women with HIV and babies born with the harrowing virus. Later that month, she also collaborated with UNICEF USA, launching a print to support their mission to provide aid to children around the world who’ve been negatively affected by COVID-19. 100% of her proceeds will be going to each organization.

“Advocacy for child rights has always been important to me,” Whipple said. “Children rarely have a say in their circumstances, and their voices are rarely heard. As someone who was adopted at a young age, my philanthropic focus is on adopted and abandoned children, as well as children in vulnerable and emergency situations. I feel very fortunate to work with both Orange Babies and UNICEF, and to shine a light on the beautiful work they are doing.”

Other than helping children in need, Whipple’s motivation for these pieces was accessible collaboration. Her series of paintings, titled “The Voice of a Generation” and featured in Dazed a few years ago, was based on photographs of her friends. For the UNICEF and Orange Babies projects, Whipple wanted to create a body of work that friends or young collectors could participate in.

Taylor Engle: Why did you decide to collaborate with the Orange Babies Foundation?

Emerald Whipple: I was introduced to Orange Babies last Fall through my agent who felt the partnership would be a good fit considering the work they do. We held the EXHALE event last November, a fundraising exhibition for Orange Babies in collaboration with the World of McIntosh. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the work that Orange Babies is doing and also to bring attention to an activation that was supposed to happen in Zambia Summer 2020. With restrictions from the pandemic, a lot of Orange Babies projects and partnerships have been postponed or canceled. The Exhale print arose out of the desire to provide continued support during this time.

TE: That’s amazing. What drew you to collaborate with UNICEF?

EW: I have always admired the work that UNICEF does to advocate for the rights of all children. As an agency of the United Nations, and working in over 190 countries and territories, UNICEF is uniquely poised to attend to the needs of vulnerable children around the world. I have been wanting to work with them for some time.

TE: What has it been like working as an artist/creator in 2020 during a pandemic?

EW: There is an added level of uncertainty. I feel that we are all hyper-aware of our mortality and that of our loved ones.

I find value in creative expression and bringing beauty into the world. But the more I learned about the impact the pandemic has had on people, particularly those in marginalized communities, the more I felt the need to do something that benefits people on a larger scale then simply creating paintings. My work is very labor-intensive and a painting can take several months to produce. During this period, I’ve felt the pressure of time, and I wanted to do something that had an immediate impact. I have a new body of work I have been developing which I put on hold to oversee the creation and production of the collaborations with Orange Babies & UNICEF.

Aside from completing several commissions, I spent most of this year doing administrative work and learning about the effects of the pandemic on marginalized countries, particularly the impact of children and refugee children on the move.

TE: What inspires you?

EW: Nature, philosophy, impermanence, time, friends, art, and photography.

TE: What is your favorite art medium to work with and why?

EW: I love the immediacy of photography and the ability to capture a moment in an instant, as well as the archival nature of it. The sentiment to capture and hold a memory. At the time I started painting, images felt almost disposable, especially through the lens of social media. I have always loved painting as a process of creation, working with oil paint and bringing an image into form. I felt that the paintings give weight to the photographs I love and moments I cherish.

TE: How would you describe your work as a whole?

EW: My work as a whole deals with perception, both visual and psychological.

The paintings are meant to be experienced in person. The pointillism viewed up close becomes this very abstracted field of color. Yet the further back the viewer is from the work, the clearer the picture. My work is about widening our gaze to see the big picture, similarly widening our gaze to see outside of ourselves.

The work is heavily rooted in philosophy. The paintings act as a reminder to look deeply at the world, to not take things at first glance. For me, they are about Interbeing, the interconnected nature of all life. When we look at a flower, or a painting of a flower, to see all the components of it, the sun, the earth, the rain, without them the flower could not exist. It’s really about slowing down and taking in life for the gift that it is. Despite what is on the surface, especially with the portraits, which can be viewed as almost superficial, the subjects act as an allegory or symbol for certain philanthropic truths.

TE: You grew up in California, but are now based in New York. How did your upbringing influence your work, vs. your current life in the City?

My work is heavily influenced by both, the subject matter is a blending of both worlds, almost like balancing both sides of myself. I was born in California, but actually spent most of my childhood in Hawaii. It is the perfect place to grow up, embraced by nature and the spiritual culture of the Islands. I meditate before painting, to try to capture the energy and feeling of being there, the ease and reverence for life. I try to cultivate that feeling and express it throughout my work.

I live and work in New York, which I love, but there is definitely a longing for the West. I miss California, but Hawaii is the last place my mom lived. I feel a sense of home and sanctuary in Hawaii. The subject matter of my landscapes are deeply influenced by the West Coast, like a love letter to those places. But I do love living in New York. There is this undeniable energy to the City, constant forward motion. New York embraces everyone for all their differences. It feels like this place of allowance. There is so much diversity here and so many people from different walks of life. It’s a place of coexistence and harmony.

The figurative works are paintings of my friends here in the City. They have a carefree downtown energy to them and are highly influenced by my time working in the Fashion Industry.

TE: What is next for you as a creator?

EW: It’s hard to know what is to come, especially with the nature of the pandemic. I had several exhibitions and projects in Europe this year which were postponed. So, I’m definitely looking forward to those when traveling and exhibiting becomes a possibility again.

I’m also working on a new collection of paintings, at a much slower pace. I’m working on staying present during the process rather than moving towards the final image. The result is allowing for a more expressive style than I’m used to.

Emerald Rose Whipple’s prints to benefit UNICEF and Orange Babies are available on her website here and here. 

Editor’s note: If art for a good cause gets you going I urge you to read our feature on the multi-media artist Akshita Gandhi who donates a part of her artwork sales proceeds to support underprivileged groups in Mumbai. Oh, and did I mention that she was named one of Art Basel’s Top Artists in 2019?

The post From Fashion to Philantrophy: Painter Emerald Rose Whipple Releases Prints with UNICEF and Orange Babies to Support Children in Need appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Here are some of our favorite winter clothes picks.

1. Century Star Womens Fuzzy Hoodies Pullover – $24.99

This cozy pullover is an ultra-soft pile fleece that will keep you warm and fashionable at the same time. It provides a zipped turtleneck with a cozy oversize fit, along with a pullover design with a kangaroo pocket on the front. Fashion tip: wear the pullover with jeans and boots to look extra stylish.

2. Acelitt Women’s Cozy Oversize Fluffy Fleece Sweatshirt Pullover Outwear – $29.99

This new in Soft Fleece Hooded is perfect in soft fleece fabrication with a zipper neckline and ribbed finishes on the sleeves. The hood and front pockets are sure to keep you warm in this fall staple. The draped neckline gives this piece a relaxed fit, perfect for chilly nights. It’s also great for Casual Daily, Work, Sports, School, Valentine’s Day, Streetwear, Vacation, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

3. Columbia Women’s Ice Maiden II Boot – $79.95

This boot is a sure-footed, lightweight, and ready for winter’s worst. The women’s ice maiden boot lets you storm the snow in style thanks to 200G toasty insulation, a waterproof construction, and a lux, feminine look.

4. Wrangler Authentics Men’s Long Sleeve Quilted Lined Flannel Shirt Jacket With Hood – $25.05

This brushed flannel provides a diamond back quilted lining and cotton/polyester blend hood with a two-button front dual chest pockets and two side seam pockets. A perfect hoodie for men!

5. Yeokou Women’s Warm Sherpa Lined Athletic Sweatpants Jogger Fleece Pants – $35.99

These sweats are the perfect gift for your friends, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, girlfriend, or any other special lady in your life. They’re suitable for any occasion such as lounging at home, school, work, vacation, travel, and more.

6. Hudson Baby Unisex Baby Fleece Jumpsuit – $11.99

These baby fleece overalls are perfect for chilly day outings. There are ribbed cuffs that stretch to help stay on baby’s hands and ankles. These include an adorable pocket to keep little one’s hands extra warm! With snaps on crotch and legs and chest zipper, these suits make for a no fuss, easy dressing experience to get outside!

7. Dokotoo Women Solid Turtleneck Balloon Long Sleeve Sweaters Pullover Outerwear – $36.98

This sweater is perfect for any causal pants or skirt as it comes in a variety of different colors.

8. REDESS Baby Kids Winter Warm Fleece Lined Hats – $19.99

These baby winter hats will protect your baby from the cold winter. It’s made of high quality materials and well designed to fit babies at 0-24 Months. With adjustable rubber band built inside perfect adjustability is available. The neat knitting pattern and furry hairball could catch babies’ eyes and allow them to look cute in the hat.

9. Columbia Women’s Benton Springs Full Zip Fleece Jacket – $81.51

This Columbia Women’s Benton Springs Full Zip fleece is crafted of soft 100% polyester MTR filament fleece for ultimate warmth. It features two side zippered security pockets to keep your small items secure, and with a collared neck and zippered closure, this jacket is designed to give you ultimate comfort during cold winter days.

10. GRACE KARIN Womens Hooded Warm Winter Thicken Fleece Lined Parkas Long Coat – $82.99

This warm winter coat features a fixed hood with faux fur trim along with a main body lined with fleece and padded with silk-wadding. It has a thicken design with a waistline with drawstring and two open pockets in the front, along with a zipper & press-button fastening front.

11. Jessica Simpson Women’s Comfy Faux Fur House Slipper Scuff Memory Foam Slip – $24.99

These slippers are anti-slip with an indoor/outdoor sole. It also provides memory foam cushion and a fun, fashionable style with luxurious faux fur.

12. Hudson Baby Unisex Cozy Fleece Booties – $15.99

These Hudson Baby fleece booties are comfortable and are made with fleece material that will keep your little one’s feet warm and comfortable. The booties wrap around your baby’s foot and fasten in the front with a velcro closure, so they are easy to put on, fasten and stay on. They also feature non-skid soles to prevent your baby from slipping and falling when they start to walk and run.

13. Columbia Women’s Benton Springs Soft Fleece Vest – $67.56

Layer up with this modern-classic, crafted from durable fleece. This fleece layer is a must for any winter wardrobe and can be worn on its own for cool chilly days, or as mid layer with an outer shell for the ultimate in cold weather protection.

14. Chicwish Women’s Turn Down Shawl Collar Earth Tone Check Coat – $93.90

This fashionable coat provides a great selection for work, beach, vacation, dating, and casual look. We suggest pairing with jeans or shorts for a easy-going also elegant look.

15. KIRUNDO Winter Women’s Turtleneck Knit Sweater – $33.99

This sweater represents an unconventional side. It consists of ribbed contrasting cuffs on the turtleneck, sleeves and hem complement the design and add trendy accents. The Casual loose plaid turtleneck chunky sweater also includes a long sleeve, knitted pullover jumper, which provides a casual loose fit for women juniors.

16. Simple Joys by Carter’s Baby Hooded Sweater Jacket with Sherpa Lining – $16

This soft and cozy baby sweater will help your little ones stay warm on chilly days.

17. Wantdo Women’s Mountain Waterproof Ski Jacket Windproof Rain Jacket Winter Warm Snow Coat – $79.89

This waterproof ski jacket is made from 75D*150D Polyester, which is waterproof, windproof, durable, and stain repellent. It provides a special high-density fabric and coating, film composite process to obstruct the air intrusion effectively and works well on windproof.

18. GRECERELLE Women’s Loose Open Front Long Sleeve Solid Color Knit Cardigan Sweater Blouse with Pockets – $33.99

This sweater easily fits in for a casual fall or winter day.

19. GEMYSE Men’s Mountain Waterproof Ski Snow Jacket Winter Windproof Rain Jacket – $66.98

This mountain coat is an essential and relaxed-fit outdoor insulated jacket. It’s perfect for downhill skiing, snowboarding, snow sports, hiking, mountaineering, and more.

20. IceUnicorn Boys Girls Snow Boots – $29.99

These boots provide a soft plush faux fur lining that keeps feet toasty warm and comfortable all day in cold weather.

We hope you enjoy these winter clothes products! But keep in mind, Grit Daily might take a small commission on the items recommended here—but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in them. We only recommend products that we would buy or use ourselves, so don’t be wary of our suggestions. 

The post Winter Clothes We Can’t Live Without This Holiday appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Good Art is the vanguard of cultural (r)evolution, moving around and over conservative bulwarks in a way that is fluid, rapid, dizzying. As time marches on, culture shifts — it bends — through time like a river of collective taste, fashion, aesthetics, cutting down and through the bedrock of staid everyday living. Sometimes art can be an installation of a memory, serving to put its shoulder against the river’s flow and resist that change, to make its own stand against the effluent. But installing conservative art that is backwards looking in nostalgic romanticism does NOT create classical masterpieces — you don’t create award-winning material by trying to recreate other winning pieces. “Classics” are created across the zeitgeist of many moments, and reach classic status only later as the impact of that work emerges in the world, rising slow-motion like a supermodel with slicked-back hair out of a pristine summer pool, and it is the passage of time that bleeds details from our recollection of that raging cultural river until it becomes a hazy yet perfect [Pool with Two Figures] that could even permit perfectly coiffed hair on its strident mermaids. Genius emerges — there is no “instant Classic” — but it emerges from the turbidity of the constant innovation of the art world.

Art is about exploration, discovery, awe — the endorphin rush of surprise. Real art is risk. It is vision. It is an understanding of Reality that establishes new sightlines and guideposts into a new Space. And it is memorable, like a trauma, because that is when our new view of the World supplants the old one that we can never return to, making us an orphan to that old Reality, but a proud and bold explorer in the New.

Art as Precursor to Memory and Dialectics

But let’s turn to “memory” for a second. John O’Keefe won the Nobel Prize in 2014 in medicine for establishing that the hippocampus in the brain is the situs of BOTH (a) our understanding of space — of place — AND (b) memories. Our relation to our space helps us form memories. When you combine place with genius art — with discovery, surprise, delight — that experience creates the best kind of memories. Indelible on the space as physical graffiti, and indelible on the audience’s perception of Reality as psychological evolution.

Part II

“Reality is our canvas; digital is our brush.”

This is a new mantra we’re trying on for our team. What does it mean?

In the mixed reality (“MR”) art world, we see “reality” as a spectrum. But this is not “reality” in the psychic, mind-bending-substance kind of spectrum that separates sanity from insanity. Rather, the MR spectrum was first outlined academically by Paul Milgram as the “Reality-Virtuality Continuum.” One far edge of the spectrum described Descartes’ IRL (In Real Life )Reality: blood-and-meat space; analog; Biblical times. The other end of the spectrum described the purely digital built environment that replaces everything you see, hear taste, etc.; VR headsets; virtual worlds; the Matrix Reality.

In between exists Augmented Reality, where our view of the IRL is modified, added to, augmented, by digital artifacts. This can be on mobile phones, looking through the camera as if you were video recording the world, and seeing (in near-real-time, 60 fps) new digital creatures, new pathways, new people even, appearing in your view of meatspace and maybe even interacting with the IRL objects like trees, chairs, or doorways. In the near future, this “performance” happens on AR glasses so that our fatiguing and waning arm muscles don’t get stressed by the ever smaller and thinner mobile devices we call our personal assistants, née iPhones.

“Reality as canvas”

Using Augmented Reality technologies, we superimpose digital constructs into a particular view of the IRL World. Reality is the stage upon which we draw our scene. It is the canvas on which we draw our pixels.

Typically, this is done in specific locations. For instance, in an upcoming launch with JW Marriott in Anaheim California, we have built 3 steel sculptures and installed them on the West Garden Deck of the hotel. The 3 sculptures represent the 3 stages of the life of a plant — seed, sapling, tree. You need not be a guest of the hotel to experience the performance — if in the area, please visit and look for our installation Shimé. But remember, the sculptures are just Phase 1 (the built artifacts) of this experience.

Using the dedicated Shimé mobile app on your iPhone, if you point your camera at the sculptures, previously static and rigid steel becomes fluid moving flora. In each of the 3 stages of the narrative, the audience member can interact with the digital experience to ultimately create their own unique digital tree to live amongst the garden. And as long as the guest returns over time to nurture their tree (by performing their unique meditation), their tree will continue to grow there. This is all done digitally, superimposed on the guest’s view of our sculptures through their phone’s camera. This is Phase 2 of our experience — the interactions by the audience to generate new art that is dynamic, evolving over time as more people contribute their digital trees to our digital forest.

Phase 3 is when the guest discovers that by interacting with the art — by generating their own personal digital tree to live on the JW Marriott deck — they have actually participated in a performative meditation. KARMA SEED requires calm focus, to hover over a seed of your choosing, floating in the center of the ouroboros. From the negative space of the eternal (the ring of the sculpture), we draw a singular experience to be embodied into. VITARKA SAPLING requires studied learning, like the figurative right hand of the Buddha pinching the lotus blossom. This edification happens with attentive exploration of the digital flower, and requires the student to choose the mantra that resonates with them. Finally, in PIPAL PORTAL, the guest physically walks through the sculpture of the tree; the portal is in the shape of a woman doing yoga’s tree pose and becoming the tree. By participating in our meditative installation, the guest has digitally created a tree that embodies not just their interactions, but is a figurative embodiment of their experience. This is a transformative meditation living in a zen garden in Anaheim. This is Reality as a canvas. But our real art is our audience, and can we transform them, augment them, by simply encouraging them to step into our river?

This is not a commercial for a pending launch. We simply outline the components here to explain how IRL Reality is the setting for our art and how we view interactive art living in the real world. Our next installation is a digital performance in mid-town Manhattan. Previous ones occurred in Moscow, Geneva, Perth, Miami, St Louis, San Diego, San Francisco — quite literally, “All the World’s a Stage” and we draw our quill via Unity3D.

Related: How AR Will Elevate Fandom into the Next Dimension

The article Where Do AR and Art Converge? by Chris Nunes first appeared on AR Insider.

The post Where Do AR and Art Converge? appeared first on Grit Daily News.

• Adidas
• Spank
• Savage X Fenty
• Jordan 
• Cos Stores

But of course, many were quick to come back with receipts of those who claim they support black lives matter, but show differently in their actions. In a recent article by PBS on the subject, transgender model Munroe Bergdorf spoke her truth when the famous makeup brand L’Oréal posted to their Instagram about the movement. 

L’Oréal is not the only brand coming into heat with touchy subjects like this and trust me when I say that other brands have faced the same heat.

In February of last year Burberry came under fire when one of their models walked down the runway sporting a hoodie with a noose around her neck. Yes, a noose around the neck. This garment didn’t just kind of look like one. It was a full-on noose around this model’s neck. The company later apologized for the insensitive move, but many argued that it was too late—it could and should have been avoided in the first place. The model who wore the hoodie was deeply upset about the garment and wrote on an Instagram that she was “ashamed to have been a part of the show.” 

But it doesn’t seem like most fashion brands are catching on to this memo of “hey this might be racist and offensive to some let’s no do this.” Along with Burberry Gucci and Prada also received some backlash over releasing products that have a striking resemblance to blackface. Gucci had a black turtle neck with its mouth cut out and outlined in red to resemble lips while Prada had a character named Otto, a black creature with huge lips. Even Dolls Kill, a popular alternative fashion retailer, came under fire in recent years for selling a shirt that said “Goth is White.”

Oh wait, there’s more Dolce and Gabbana earned some heat in 2016 when they came out with a pair of sandals and named them “slave sandals.” I mean honestly, it just seems like this is a joke to them sometimes.

This isn’t just happening with clothing but models as well. Models of color are not getting equal opportunities and pay while their other counterparts are getting global recognition year after year. For a black model to succeed in the way that someone like Kendall Jenner has, they need to have a unique enough look to be memorable in an industry that consistently chooses white mediocrity over diverse casting.

Famous Model Naomi Campbell talks in an article about how some of her ads don’t run in certain countries because of the color of her skin. Just let that sink in for a moment. That somewhere in the world, your beauty and grace aren’t displayed because of your skin color.

The question I want to ask designers is whether they research their designs to make sure they’re not being culturally insensitive, or whether they consider that at all. The things that these fashion brands are getting trouble for aren’t topics that we haven’t heard before. It’s been heard and seen worldwide for years, so why would they think it’s permissible as a fashion trend? 

The fashion industry needs the wake-up and get their act together, because this isn’t funny anymore, nor is it socially acceptable to commit faux pas after faux pas with little accountability.  

The post Are Fashion Brands Mocking Sensitive Racial Topics? appeared first on Grit Daily News.