Pharrell Williams & Adidas Attack Racism
How Pharrell Williams & Adidas Are Trying to End Racial Barriers: Hu — a new fashion project created by Williams with Adidas Originals aims to chip away at color barriers by creating more diversity among us all. “Hu is about the recognition and celebration of different colors, spirituality and cultures,” the musician and fashion entrepreneur said in an interview. “I think the point is to highlight the differences so people can realize that despite all those differences, we are all basically the same”, says Williams. Williams is so dedicated to this project, that when asked where the name came from, he literally decided to call it Hu, short for humans. Hu was first launched in July with limited edition Adidas sneakers featuring bright colors and a different lacing system than ever before. Today, he has decided to layer on a 14 piece apparel collection and five new styles of shoes. Each shoe features its signature bright colors and some bear the words “human being.”
Williams has been actively working on collaborations since 2004, when he teamed with Reebok on a collection. He also has partnered with Louis Vuitton on jewelry and eyewear, Moynat on leather items, Moncler on a capsule collection, a lineup for Uniqlo, Timberland on boots, Comme des Garçons on a fragrance and footwear for Adidas.
Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2017 Collection: Marc Jacobs’s Use of Faux Locs At the spring 2017 show during NYFW, Marc Jacobs debuted faux locs on the each of the models strutting the latest designs down the runway. Marc Jacobs had the honor of closing out fashion week with a show that provoked so much talk, though not many people favored the seven-inch platforms or glitter doll frocks on the runway. The designer chose to use multicolored yarn fashioned into faux dreadlocks, allowing for many social media to continue the debate on cultural appropriation and creative inspiration. A black woman wrote in a Twitter post: “An unknown black man/woman has dreads, it is assumed they smoke and/or are unprofessional. Marc Jacobs has a model with dreads, it’s boho chic.” Jacobs himself felt passionate enough about the lash back coming from the choices he made on his models. He chose to respond to two commenters personally using his social media name @themarcjacobs by saying “All who cry ‘cultural appropriation’ or whatever nonsense about any race or skin color wearing their hair in any particular style or manner — funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race — I see people.” What did you think of the use of faux locks on the runway by Marc Jacobs?