Diane Von Furstenburg Calls for More Diversity, Jones New York Shuts It Down, and Menswear Gets It’s Own Week

Diane Von Furstenberg is urging fellow fashion designers to acknowledge, review and consider the Health Initiative guidelines that have become the standard for working with runway models during the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. This call to honor ethical practices was expressed in an open letter to the CFDA released earlier this week.

“We must consider the emotional and physical well-being of these young women. At a minimum, you are required to adhere to labor laws that require models under the age of 18 to have proper documents and schedules,” reminded Von Furstenberg and  Steve Kolb in their online missive which included links for downloading the relevant guidelines for fashion houses.

Von Furstenberg in her open letter also responded to the lack of diversity on the runway. In recent years Von Furstenberg has paired up with Bethann Hardison to promote more inclusion of models of color on the runway.

The men have it

The first New York Men’s Fashion Week will take place in mid-July of 2015. After a two-year deliberation, the CFDA will organize this groundbreaking event to take place from July 13–16 at Skylight Clarkson Square in Soho.

New York Fashion Week: Men will showcase spring/summer 2016 menswear collections. Designer participants include Calvin Klein Collection, Michael Kors, Rag & Bone, Public School, Billy Reid, Todd Snyder, Michael Bastian, Ovadia & Sons, Robert Geller, Duckie Brown, Patrik Ervell, Timo Weiland, and Kent & Curwen, with more names to be confirmed.

Amazon is the main sponsor of New York Fashion Week: Men.  Additional sponsors include East Dane, MyHabit, and Shinola, the American manufacturer of watches, bicycles and leather goods.

Au revoir Jones

Multichannel retailer Jones New York is closing all of its 127 stores in the US and 36 stores in Canada. Due to a drop in sales figures and changes in trends the big retailer has decided to discontinue its wholesale business and close its retail locations over the course of 2015.

“Following a thorough strategic review of Jones New York’s recent performance and outlook, we have decided to discontinue the Jones New York wholesale business and close all 127 Jones New York outlet stores,” said Andrew Hede, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Jones New York in the official press release. “We recognize that the Jones New York brand is important to many loyal customers, and we are pursuing strategic alternatives for the brand.”

Jones New York joins Mexx, Sony, and Target that announced they will be closing their retail stores north of the American border in 2014.

—William S. Gooch