The CFDA And British Fashion Council Have Teamed Up For A Designer Mask Project That Gives Back

Today, the British Fashion Council and the Council of Fashion Designers of America have revealed their new charitable partnership called Great Global Designer Face Coverings. The two organizations have worked with the sustainable label and manufacturer Bags of Ethics on a collection of reusable masks created by six designer labels: Ahluwalia, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, and Marques’Almeida, all of whom are based in Britain, as well as American-based designers Mara Hoffman, Lemlem by Liya Kebede, and Kim Shui. The colorful printed masks will be available in two three-pack sets for $18 each, with $1 from each sale going directly to the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund and the CFDA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. The masks will be featured on the Bag of Ethics website, as well as Amazon, John Lewis & Partners, and Waitrose & Partners. 

The launch comes on the heels of the BFC’s summer mask campaign, which raised more than $500,000 for their fashion fund. The idea behind this bold new initiative by two of the industry’s most powerful fashion councils is not only to continue to promote mask wearing as cases rise around the world, but also to provide the necessary support to young creatives across the board and foster more ethical and equitable practices throughout the industry as a whole. As chief executive of the BFC, Caroline Rush emphasized in a statement this morning, “This is a powerful time for collaboration across all sectors and the fashion industry has demonstrated strength through unity over the last number of months.” She added, “We are excited to work alongside our American counterparts to promote local designers while encouraging sustainable practices in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.”

Designer Mara Hoffman echoed Rush this morning when she told Vogue that she believes “through unity and solidarity of the collective we can overcome this pandemic, and I know we can do this.” Health and safety are at the forefront of this fight, but so is the financial support for small businesses and young designers in fashion, in particular. The Great Global Face Coverings project proves the power of collaboration and, as Liya Kebede pointed out, that there’s always an uplifting way to create change and inspire joy. As she notes, “Our Lemlem masks are specially designed to add a splash of brightness to your day, and a dose of love and courage too.” 

Fashion Boss Announces Plans To Step Down, Says It Is Time To Prioritize Wife's Career

Rubin Ritter, member of the management board at Zalando SE, gestures whilst speaking during an interview at the online retailer's technology headquarters in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016.

Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg via Getty Images

LONDON — A co-CEO of Europe's largest online fashion and lifestyle site has announced plans to step down next year, saying he and his wife have agreed that her professional ambitions should take priority.

Rubin Ritter, who has worked as co-chief of Zalando since 2010, said Sunday that he intends to leave his role at the next annual general meeting in May 2021.

"My decision is the result of many months of careful consideration. After more than 11 amazing years where Zalando has been my priority, I feel that it is time to give my life a new direction," Ritter said in a statement.

"I want to devote more time to my growing family. My wife and I have agreed that for the coming years, her professional ambitions should take priority," he added.

Ritter said he plans to quit in order to pursue "new interests beyond Zalando," cutting short a contract that currently runs through to November 2023.

Robert Gentz and David Schneider will continue to lead Zalando as co-CEOs after Ritter's departure.

The Zalando logo is seen on a building in the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany

Emmanuele Contini | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Gentz, Schneider and Ritter have all led the company since 2010. In that time, the Berlin-based start-up has emerged as Europe's leading online fashion and lifestyle platform, with 35 million active customers in 17 markets.

Zalando recorded revenue of 1.85 billion euros ($2.24 billion) in the third quarter and upgraded its full-year guidance on the back of robust profitable growth.

Shares of Zalando are up more than 74% year-to-date.

"It is impossible to overstate Rubin's impact on Zalando's success. We will miss him dearly as a strategic thinker and leader," Gentz said in a statement.

"Rubin always has been a role model to many in the company. We owe him a lot, as a business partner and friend. I am sure that he will stay closely connected to Zalando," Schneider added.

Designer And Teacher Diarra Bousso Fuses Math And Art To Create Her Fashion Collections

Diarra Bousso isn't your average designer. She's a mathematician, an artisan, and a former Wall Street trader, and all of those experiences have led to the creation of her lifestyle brand, Diarrablu. Her designs celebrate her rich culture, with every pattern and piece telling a story.

"I grew up in Senegal, and I wanted to be the perfect student. . . . I was never a cool girl or an 'It girl,' I was a nerd," Bousso told POPSUGAR. Bousso is from a family of artisans. "In the summers, when I would go to my dad's village, I'd see that work, and it's so rich and beautiful," she explained. Splitting her time between visiting her dad's village and attending a private French school in the city, Bousso explained she wasn't sure how to connect her two worlds. "I always knew that I was going to do something at the intersection of those two worlds, but I didn't know how to do it."

She moved to the United States to attend graduate school at Stanford University, graduating with a degree in math education and research. Bousso didn't want to work in tech upon graduation and found herself trying to figure out how to fuse her background in math with her love of fashion. She began doodling in her free time and realized, "I can doodle, and I can also write math code to do the doodles for me." It isn't common for designers to code their designs, but Bousso is creating her own rules.

"Once you write a couple of equations, by just changing a few numbers, you can create a new print very quickly. So it makes the process of drawing now very efficient because you can draw one thing, then actually create thousands by just changing the numbers," she explained.

"Algorithms allow me to solve a very important problem in fashion in terms of sustainability. They also allow me to really explore creativity beyond what's available, because there are no limits to what you can make."

The equations Bousso writes create afrocentric shapes and prints that tell stories, centering on the diversity of Africa. She described the process as empowering, as she owns the production of the prints and no longer has to attend markets or trade shows for fabrics. Additionally, there's a sustainable element to her approach which allows her to save money without wasting fabric. "Algorithms allow me to solve a very important problem in fashion in terms of sustainability. They also allow me to really explore creativity beyond what's available, because there are no limits to what you can make."

This new technique has also allowed her to engage with her audience in real time, creating polls to find out which designs they prefer. "We produce what people want. There's no excess inventory," she said. Once she has the pattern in fabric form, she cuts it to maximize the amount of pieces produced, creating a dress, a necklace, shoes, and a face mask from three yards of fabric. "We keep iterating until there is nothing left," Bousso explained.

Her 2020 Joal collection is rooted in wanderlust, the idea of freedom and travel, and her love for Senegal and celebrating the destinations in Africa that people don't know. It pays homage to a small village on the coast of Senegal, Joal Fadiouth, an island covered in clam seashells. Joal was designed for being comfortable at home, mixing lightweight prints with solid-colored pieces.

Her newest collection, Dall (the Wolof word for stillness and serenity), "celebrates the magic in peace and stillness at home," Bossou said in a press release. "Dall is an escape; a feeling; a destination; a daydream; a pause; an escape in time; a retreat in space," she explained.

The holiday collection features sustainable, solid pieces like palazzo pants and maxi dresses made from ecofriendly lyocell fabric, coming in olive green, navy blue, rust, and evening noir colors. There are also bold pieces, such as kimonos and minidresses, inspired by mindful moments and the Tanzanian Serengeti, celebrating the beauty of movement in stillness.

The Diarrablu brand is known for its oversize kaftans and dresses that can be wrapped in 19 different ways, in addition to jumpsuits, swimsuits, kimonos, and mules. Each garment is custom adjusted to one's height, per the African bespoke garment-making tradition, and ranges in size from XS to 3XL.

Every item is created to be worn for a lifetime and throughout all the changes the body will go through. "It's always going to fit because everything is elastic and wraps," she said. Bousso's designs are coveted for both the comfort and understated luxury. "It looks expensive but it's not trying too hard." Her collections are timeless, and with each design, you'll be transported to a place of peace, freedom, and stillness