Hot Buttons

Hot Buttons

Hot Buttons is a show about the future of fashion and culture on a changing planet. Each week, Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker unwind the breaking news, industry moves, cultural trends, and tech breakthroughs that are shaping sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Can we change it?

  1. 15/12/2022

    Charles Conn, Board Chair of Patagonia, on the company’s past and future

    This week, Charles Conn, Chair of the Board of Directors at Patagonia joins us to share his story of how the company made the landmark decision to “make Earth its only shareholder.” This was news not just in the apparel industry, but everywhere. Patagonia had been private its entire existence, and as its founder Yvon Chouinard looked to step away, he opted for something entirely unique: give all the company to a 501(c)(4) and a perpetual purpose trust designed to put the profits to work exclusively for the planet.  The market is still digesting this move: will it signal a new path for purpose-driven companies? Will it alter the course of late-stage capitalism? Charles Conn had an insider’s view on the process of coming to the decision to embrace this unique model, and continues to be actively involved in bringing it to fruition. Patagonia is an apparel company, too, so we talk about how they approach sustainability, from measuring their emissions throughout their supply chain, sourcing all their textiles and materials, and participating in resale and circularity.  And finally, Yvon Chouinard was recently given the outstanding achievement award at the British Fashion Awards, and Charles was there to accept it on his behalf. So, we had to ask what he wore. 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:   Charles Conn in Fortune Magazine on Patagonia’s evolution WWD on Patagonia’s transformation  Inc. naming Patagonia company of the year WWD on Yvon Chouinard receiving the outstanding achievement award at the Fashion Awards in London Full transcript of this podcast here 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min
  2. 08/12/2022

    DressX has designs on fashion's digital future

    We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. This week, we’re setting our news feeds aside and spending our time with Natalia Modenova of DressX, a multi-brand retailer and innovator for Web3. If you’ve followed digital fashion at all lately, you’ve definitely heard of DressX. Since 2019 they’ve been in every conversation about what fashion in the metaverse could be. They’ve created a retail ecosystem for digital fashion that works as well as any e-commerce platform. And they’ve partnered with brands, designers, influencers and bloggers to bring digital fashion to the masses.   We have so many questions!! What are the business models? What keeps brands from competing versus collaborating? Are digital fashion items usable across all metaverse platforms? How is the digital design ecosystem different from traditional ones? Is there evidence that this reduces demand from real clothes and leads to sustainable consumption? Will users always feel a bit seasick wearing digital fashion in the metaverse?? Natalia brings us the answers. And....we're still talking about Denma. 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:   DressX official website L’Officiel interview with DressX WWD on DressX fundraise Vogue Business on Meta, Avatars, and DressX Click here for a full transcript. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min
  3. 01/12/2022

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

    We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min

About

Hot Buttons is a show about the future of fashion and culture on a changing planet. Each week, Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker unwind the breaking news, industry moves, cultural trends, and tech breakthroughs that are shaping sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Can we change it?

More From Latitude Media

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada