A neo-Nazi fashion non-controversy
Don’t believe everything you read on Substack
Today’s newsletter includes a review of a book asking if branding can save the world, a summary of a fascinating panel discussion about climate change and fashion at Central Saint Martins, and a very odd story about a fashion commentator mistaking a coincidence for neo-Nazi imagery.
A fashion scandal that doesn’t add up
A German fashion brand founded by a Berghain DJ, funded by a respected Italian fashion figure, recruited fashion journalists to wear T-shirts featuring “Nazi runes”. A scandalous story — but it doesn’t appear to be true.
Fashion commentator Louis Pisano alleged last month that “a fashion brand got the industry’s top models (and me) to inadvertently wear neo-Nazi symbols”. The claim refers to a 2023 press trip Pisano attended for Berlin-based brand 44 Label Group, where he wore clothing featuring the number 44.
Pisano argues this is a reference to the SS and neo-Nazi group Wolfsbrigade 44. While the number 44 can carry such associations, 44 Label Group is actually named after an old postal code in the Berlin neighbourhood where the DJ behind the brand, Max Kobosil, lives. Other musicians from the area also use the number. Kobosil is still performing at major clubs, according to Resident Advisor. Sven Marquardt, Berghain’s chief bouncer, wears the brand.
Pisano appears to have made the allegation based on previous controversies and a message from a friend. Using the number 44 may be unwise, and Pisano may object to it personally, but the claim that the brand knowingly made him wear Nazi symbols is not supported by the facts.
We’ve reached out to Pisano and the PR company associated with 44 Label Group for comment.
Fashion’s sustainability crisis demands more financial support
I attended an event at Central Saint Martins a few weeks ago to celebrate the launch of brand designer Bob Sheard’s book, The Brand New Future. Sheard arranged a two-part panel discussion with a group of “idealists” and “realists” to investigate how to tackle fashion’s impact on the planet – without overthrowing the capitalist system. A tough ask for two hours.
The global fashion industry is responsible for as much as ten per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and consumes more energy than aviation and shipping together. The panels were convened to try and explore how to tackle this problem from within the industry, but I found that environmental sustainability was somewhat sidelined by discussions about money.
“Knowing how broke they are”, said Olya Kuryshchuk from 1 Granary of the students, “it’s completely [financially] unsustainable. The debt is crushing”. She wasn’t just talking about student debt. “I saw parents taking a mortgage out on their house”, Kuryshchuk said of fashion students who were trying to afford their final show. I was also sitting next to a CSM lecturer who, before the panel, described how one student from the West Midlands had slept rough in a London station in order to attend a fashion internship. 1 Granary has covered the issue of poor pay for internships in the past. These are the problems on the minds of CSM students.
The idealist panel concluded that brands need to increasingly use regenerative systems and materials (wool, not polyester) and that they should move towards creating value outside of just making and selling products. Kuryshchuk said students should take more risks with their creative choices, and reject the “washing machine” pace of production with their designs, and suggested creating fewer but “much more expensive” items. I also appreciated Tiffanie Darke’s hint that maybe today’s students shouldn’t feel they need to follow all the rules. Perhaps even squatting empty houses to avoid punishing rent, if necessary. Rebecca Wright of Central Saint Martins said their newer courses are increasingly teaching students how to scale businesses or find financial sponsors. Needs must.
The realists’ ideas were a little bit too laissez-faire for my taste. Marcello Bottoli, the investor on the realist panel, admitted to an old-school investment approach which I think has contributed to a situation where sustainable fashion struggles to attract serious investment. He said he doesn’t really consider an entrepreneur's background or ethnicity when making a decision to invest, and only considers their ability to deliver results. Fine, but this philosophy is a major reason why there are so few female entrepreneurs (women-led businesses receive less than three per cent of global venture capital, according to the World Bank). Fewer female entrepreneurs means fewer fashion entrepreneurs, and, arguably, less disruption of an industry which clearly needs it.
Fashion is not taken seriously enough by the existing power structures in the UK – from the media to investors to politicians – and that makes it harder to respond to the environmental crisis. Support from the industry is present and helpful, but it needs more solid financial backing from the government. The current UK government is happy to subsidise operating losses of £700,000 a day for British Steel, but it only spends a few million a year on the British Fashion Council, a non-profit which represents an industry supporting 1.3 million jobs, and produces its highest profile events.
So should students and the rest of us be “idealists” or “realists”? Maybe a bit of radicalism is in order.
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A book which claims branding can change the world has a branding problem
Bob Sheard, who has worked for Converse and Levi’s in the past, is an engaging speaker. In a talk which was part Hans Rosling-style TED talk, part-brand strategy presentation for a hot streetwear brand, he explained his philosophy of how his choice of career can be used to make the world a better place. As exciting as his presentation was – one former colleague says he “unfucks brands” – we’re skeptical about his book.