Tag: Clothing

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Business

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, to launch Mambacita clothes line

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's widow, to launch Mambacita clothing line

Just weeks after announcing that Kobe Bryant’s estate had parted ways with Nike, the late NBA star’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, announced the launch of her Mambacita clothing line on Friday.

Bryant said on her Instagram account that she will post the collection on May 1, the 15th birthday of Gianna or “Gigi”, Kobe and Vanessa’s daughter, who died with Kobe in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

Bryant said 100% of the proceeds will go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, the nonprofit created in memory of Kobe and Gigi to help underserved youth in sports.

Gigi’s nickname was Mambacita.

It’s unclear if this is the start of a bigger launch, but Bryant said unisex and kid sizes will be available. The website on which the collection was offered was down on Friday afternoon and said “internal error”.

According to Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property, the Kobe Bryant property has filed more than a dozen trademark applications since May 2020. “Last year, Vanessa Bryant filed trademark filings on behalf of Kobe through a corporate entity indicating a desire to build a brand around the legacy of Kobe and Gianna,” he said.

Gerben said three trademarks are used in the images she posted, which include the word Mambacita, the M logo and the 2-heart logo. “Because of the trademark filing activity … I would also expect more products to hit the market soon,” he said.

Ultimately, creating a clothing and footwear brand without a large corporate partner will be challenging. This is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, but there are challenges on the corporate side that make partnering with an established company still a strong opportunity “Said Gerben.

Vanessa Bryant and Nike were at odds, according to sources. She was dissatisfied with the unavailability of its products, a strategy shoe companies often use to drive demand. On April 20, Bryant told fans that despite leaving Nike, she would hope that Kobe’s fans can wear his products for years to come.

“I will continue to fight for it,” she said in the post. “Kobe’s products sell out in seconds. That says it all.”

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World News

Chinese language T.V. Exhibits Censor Western Clothes Manufacturers

Chinese T.V. Shows Censor Western Clothing Brands

HONG KONG – Viewers of some of China’s most popular online variety shows were recently greeted by an odd sight: a blur of pixels obscuring the marks on sneakers and t-shirts worn by attendees.

As far as the audience could tell, the clothing showed no signs of profanity or indecency. Instead, the problem was with the overseas brands that made them.

Since late March, streaming platforms in China have been carefully censoring the logos and symbols of brands like Adidas that adorn items worn by participants performing dance, singing, and stand-up comedy routines. The phenomenon followed a feud between the government and well-known international companies that said they would avoid using cotton from western China’s Xinjiang region, where authorities are accused of having launched a widespread campaign of repression against ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs.

While the anger in China against Western brands has been palpable and lingering on social media, the sight of cast members transforming into fast-moving patches of censored shoes and clothing has a rare, if unintentional, view for Chinese viewers in a heated global argument Comic relief brought. It has also exposed the unexpected political trip wires that non-political entertainment platforms face as the government continues to armed Chinese consumers in their political clashes with the West.

Most of the brands were undetectable, but some could be identified. Chinese brands didn’t seem blurry. It is not clear whether Chinese government officials specifically ordered the shows to disguise the brands. However, experts said the video streaming sites appeared to feel pressured or obliged to publicly distance themselves from Western brands amid the feud.

Ying Zhu, a media professor at the City University of New York and Hong Kong Baptist University, suggested that the censorship was a response to both state and grassroots patriotism, especially as the opinions of nationalist viewers became more prominent and louder.

“The pressure is both top-down and bottom-up,” said Professor Zhu. “It is not necessary for the state to issue a guideline that companies can base themselves on. The nationalist mood is high and powerful and drowns out all other voices. “

The censorship campaign can be traced back to an argument that broke out last month when Swedish clothing giant H&M was suddenly scrubbed by Chinese online shopping sites. The move came after the Communist Youth League and state news media resurfaced a statement H&M made months ago expressing concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang.

Other Western clothing brands had also said they would avoid using Xinjiang cotton, and one by one, many Chinese celebrities parted ways with them. Since then, the loyalty test seems to have expanded to include streaming shows.

Fang Kecheng, an assistant professor of journalism at the Hong Kong University of China who studies media and politics, believed the platforms were most likely censoring the brands to prevent viewers from backlashing.

“If someone is not happy with these brands on the shows, they could launch a social media campaign targeting the producers, which could attract government attention and ultimately lead to punishment,” he said via E on Thursday -Mail.

As the blurring spread to clothing brands, shows started to hiccup. The video platform iQiyi announced that it would be delaying the release of an episode of “Youth With You 3”, a reality show for aspiring pop idols. The reason was not disclosed, but internet users suspected it had something to do with Adidas, which had supplied t-shirts and sneakers that participants could wear as a kind of team uniform.

Some internet users made mocking predictions about what the upcoming episode would look like and took photoshopping images to turn the contestants vertically so that their Adidas t-shirts read “Sabiba” instead.

When the episode was streamed two days later, pixelated rectangles obscured the t-shirts and sports jackets of dozens of dancers and the distinctive triple stripes on their Adidas sneakers. Internet users happily observed that none of the shirts had been spared, except for the one candidate who had worn his shirt backwards. Many expressed their condolences to the video editors for their lost sleep and the blurring of the T-shirts.

Other shows have performed similar blurring in post-production. Participants in another reality show for entertainers, “Sisters Who Make Waves”, practiced cartwheels in sneakers that flashed into imperceptible blurring. So many shoes were erased in the stand-up comedy series “Roast” that when a group gathered on a dais, the space between the floor and its long seams seemed to merge into a mist.

A representative for Tencent Video, which hosts Roast, declined to comment on why some brands have been censored. The streaming platforms iQiyi and Mango TV, which host “Youth With You 3” and “Sisters Who Make Waves” respectively, did not respond to requests for comments. Adidas did not respond to questions asked by email.

The blurring or cropping on the screen is hardly new in China. Male pop stars’ ear lobes have been airbrushed to hide earrings that are considered too feminine. A contemporary drama with cleavage typical of the Tang Dynasty was pulled from the air in 2015 and replaced with a version that cut out much of the costumes and awkwardly enlarged the speaking heads of the actors. Football players were instructed to cover arm tattoos with long sleeves.

The on-screen censorship shows the difficult line that online video platforms, regulated by the National Radio and Television Administration, must follow.

“The fuzziness is likely the platforms’ self-censorship to be sure,” said Haifeng Huang, associate professor of political science at the University of California at Merced and scholar of authoritarianism and public opinion in China.

“But it still implies the power of the state and the nationalist part of society, which is probably the message that the audience receives: These big platforms have to censor themselves, even without being explicitly stated.”

The blurry episodes also reveal how the platforms seem willing to sacrifice the quality of the viewing experience to avoid political clashes, even if they get the buttocks of audience jokes.

“In a social setting where censorship is commonplace, people become desensitized and even treat them as a different form of entertainment,” said Professor Huang.

Albee Zhang and Joy Dong contributed to the research.

Categories
Business

What’s Happening with China, Cotton and All of These Clothes Manufacturers?

What is Going on with China, Cotton and All of These Clothing Brands?

Calls for the cancellation of H&M and other Western brands were rife on Chinese social media last week as human rights campaigns clashed with cotton procurement and political game art. Here’s what’s going on and how it can affect everything from your t-shirts to your trench coats.

What’s all I hear about fashion brands and China? Has anyone made another stupid racist ad?

No, it’s a lot more complicated than an offensive and overt cultural gaffe. The topic focuses on the Xinjiang region of China and allegations of forced labor in the cotton industry – allegations that have been denied by the Chinese government. Last summer, many Western brands made statements expressing concerns about human rights in their supply chain. Some even cut all ties to the region.

Now, months later, the chickens are coming home to settle down: Chinese internet users react with anger and accuse the allegations of being a criminal offense against the state. Leading Chinese e-commerce platforms have thrown major international labels off their websites, and a number of celebrities have denounced their former overseas employers.

Why is this such a big deal?

The problem has growing political and economic implications. On the one hand, as the pandemic continues to plague global retailers, consumers have become more attuned to who makes their clothes and how they are treated, and pressure on brands to put their values ​​where their products are. On the other hand, due to its size and the fact that there are fewer disruptions there than in other key markets such as Europe, China has become an increasingly important distribution center for the fashion industry. Even then, international politicians intervene and impose bans and sanctions. Fashion has become a diplomatic football.

This is a perfect case study of what happens when market bids clash with global morals.

Tell me more about Xinjiang and why it is so important.

Xinjiang is a region in northwest China where about a fifth of the world’s cotton is produced. It is home to many ethnic groups, particularly the Uighurs, a Muslim minority. Although it is officially the largest of China’s five autonomous regions, which theoretically means it has more legislative self-regulation, the central government is increasingly involved in the area, stating that it must exercise its authority over local conflicts with the Han Chinese (the ethnic Majority) who moved to the region. This has resulted in draconian restrictions, surveillance, criminal prosecution and forced labor camps.

OK, what about the Uyghurs?

The Uyghur population in Xinjiang is a predominantly Muslim Turkish group and, according to official information from the Chinese authorities, numbers just over 12 million. Up to a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been retrained to become model workers who obeyed the Chinese Communist Party through forced labor programs.

So it’s been like that for a while?

At least since 2016. According to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Axios and others published reports imprisoned Uyghurs in the supply chains of many of the world’s best-known fashion retailers, including Adidas, Lacoste, H&M, Ralph Lauren and the PVH Corporation, which includes Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, many of these brands have reassessed their relationships with Xinjiang cotton suppliers.

In January the Trump administration banned all imports of cotton from the region as well as products made from the material and declared the incident a “genocide”. At the time, the Workers Rights Consortium estimated that Xinjiang materials were involved in more than 1.5 billion pieces of clothing imported annually by American brands and retailers.

That is much! How do I know if I am wearing a Xinjiang cotton garment?

You do not do that. The supply chain is so complex and subcontracting so frequent that it is often difficult for brands to know exactly where and how each component of their garments is made.

If this has been a problem for over a year, why is everyone in China freaking out now?

It is not immediately apparent. One theory suggests that this is due to the rise in political brinkmanship between China and the West. On March 22, the UK, Canada, the European Union and the United States announced an escalating series of sanctions against Chinese officials for treating Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Not long after, screenshots were posted on Chinese social media of a statement H&M released in September 2020, citing “deep concern” about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang and confirming that the retailer had stopped selling cotton from growers in the country Region to buy. The rainfall was quick and furious. There were calls for a boycott, and H&M products were soon missing from China’s most popular e-commerce platforms, Alibaba Group’s Tmall and JD.com. The excitement was fueled by comments from groups such as the Communist Youth League, an influential Communist Party organization, on the microblogging website Sina Weibo.

Within hours, other major western brands like Nike and Burberry started the trend for the same reason.

And it’s not just consumers who are in the arms: Influencers and celebrities have also severed ties with the brands. Even video games spawn virtual “looks” that Burberry created from their platforms.

Backtrack: What do influencers have to do with it?

Influencers in China have even more power over consumer behavior than in the West, which means they play a vital role in legitimizing brands and driving sales. For example, when Tao Liang, also known as Mr. Bags, worked with Givenchy, the bags were sold out within 12 minutes. A necklace and bracelet set he made with Qeelin reportedly sold out in a second (100 made). That’s why H&M worked with Victoria Song, Nike with Wang Yibo and Burberry with Zhou Dongyu.

However, Chinese influencers and celebrities are also sensitive to pleasing the central government and publicly affirming their national values ​​by often selecting their country in a performative manner over contracts.

In 2019, for example, Yang Mi, the Chinese actress and Versace ambassador, publicly rejected the brand when she made the mistake of creating a t-shirt that listed Hong Kong and Macau as independent countries and the “One China “Seemed to be fired. Politics and the sovereignty of the central government. Not long after, Coach was targeted after making a similar mistake and creating a t-shirt called Hong Kong and Taiwan. Liu Wen, the Chinese supermodel, immediately distanced herself from the brand.

And what about the video games?

Tencent removed two Burberry-designed “skins” – outfits of video game characters the brand had enthusiastically launched – from its popular Honor of Kings title in response to news that the brand had stopped purchasing cotton produced in the Xinjiang area . The looks had been available for less than a week.

So that applies to both fast fashion and the high end. How much of the fashion world is involved?

Maybe most of it. So far, Adidas, Nike, Converse and Burberry have been affected by the crisis. Even before the ban, other companies such as Patagonia, PVH, Marks & Spencer and The Gap announced that they would not source any material from Xinjiang and officially spoke out against human rights violations.

However, this week several brands including VF Corp., Inditex (owned by Zara) and PVH have silently removed their policies against forced labor from their websites.

That seems like a squirrel. Is that likely to escalate?

Brands seem concerned that the answer is yes, as some companies have proactively announced they will continue to buy cotton from Xinjiang, apparently in fear of offending the Chinese government. Hugo Boss, the German company whose suit is a de facto uniform for the financial world, posted a statement on Weibo: “We will continue to buy and support Xinjiang cotton” (although the company announced last fall that it would no longer be sourcing to be made from the region). Muji, the Japanese brand, like Uniqlo, proudly advertises the use of Xinjiang cotton on their Chinese websites.

Wait … I play possum, but why should a company publicly pledge its loyalty to Xinjiang cotton?

It’s about the Benjamins, buddy. China is projected to be the world’s largest luxury market by 2025, according to a report by Bain & Company released last December. Last year it was the only part of the world that saw year-on-year growth. The luxury market reached 44 billion euros ($ 52.2 billion).

Will anyone come out of this well?

One group of winners could be the Chinese fashion industry, which has long played second fiddle to Western brands, to the frustration of many companies there. Shares in Chinese apparel and textile companies linked to Xinjiang rose this week as the backlash gained momentum. And more than 20 Chinese brands made public statements announcing their support for Chinese cotton.