Balenciaga makes a bad move worse, Raf ends his label’s run, and COP27 mostly disappoints

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First, we have to talk about Balenciaga. If you type “Balenciaga child porn” into Google right now, you get 2.6 million hits. That is not good and they have only themselves to blame for an ad campaign that posed toddlers with bondage-themed plushie bear handbags and booze glasses, like they’d walked in on the tail end of of a sex-fueled all-nighter. For the time being, the CEO, Cedric Charbis, and designer Demna Gvasalia have managed to avoid taking direct responsibility for this blunder, which is a real mess. The brand issued an apology using the royal “we.”

We also take a look back on Raf Simons’ career as he shutters his label after a 27-year run, and then wonder what happened behind the scenes at Gucci that led to them parting ways with Alessandro Michele. 

COP27 ended with a whimper, so we brought on our Executive Producer, Scott Clavenna, to give us his takes on what was accomplished and what was left to next year’s delegates to address.

Then we take a quick look at the holiday season for retail this year, and it’s not all bad. There are some bright spots for resale, and hopefully less bright for fast fashion. And speaking of fast fashion, luxury resale powerhouse Vestiaire Collective announced they’re banning fast fashion from their platform. And H&M released an ambitious carbon reduction plan. 

Have a question for Christina, Rachel and Shilla? Give us a call at (508) 622-5361.‬ We might feature your voicemail in an upcoming episode.

Resources:  

• WWD on Raf Simons
• Vogue Business on COP27 and fashion
• The Fashion Law on the rise of resale this holiday season
• Vogue Business on Balenciaga making a series of “grievous errors”
• Sourcing Journal on H&M’s decarbonization plan

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

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