Unapologetic femininity in a male-driven industry, contributing to the political narrative via art, balancing motherhood and the need for racial diversity was the name of the game at New York Fashion Week’s Panel, Passion Meets Purpose, presented by TRESemmé, this past Saturday, February the 9th.
Moderator and author of “How To Slay” Constance C.R. White kicked the inspiring, yet deeply humbling event off by introducing our speakers: filmmaker, author, artist and activist Paola Mendoza, Michelle Obama’s personal stylist Meredith Koop, and businesswoman, co-founder and designer of affordable, high-end clothing line, ‘Cushnie’, Carly Cushnie.
The room hushed as these three intelligent women glided onto the small stage in the intimate, yet comfortably cozy setting and dove right into the nitty-gritty discussion of what it means to be an artist in their respective industries.
The conversation didn’t shy away from getting political right off the bat either. Activist Paola Mendoza noted the immediate days following the 2016 presidential election left the strong-minded artist questioning the purpose of creativity during that pivotal time in American history.
“At the end of those two days where I literally spoke from 8 in the morning till 8 at night with close to 200 artists, I came away realizing and having my faith restored in the actual power and the need and the necessity of art,” said Mendoza.
“We as artists in this room and beyond, continue to use our voice in order to make sure that the truth is being told, in order to tell the stories of communities that are under attack. […] I think artists and art have the power to inspire people to love, when in this world it’s so easy to actually hate,” she added.
Stylist Meredith Koop nodded her head as Mendoza passed the microphone over. In the spirit of openness, Koop revealed her stance that there is no line between personal and professional.
Since dealing with depression from a young age, Koop she takes care of herself in a daily regimen to ensure she can be fully present for her work. According to Koop, the internal and external are undoubtedly intertwined, but it’s time that the fashion industry recognizes that.
“For me, I work in fashion. Okay. A lot of people in fashion focus on the exterior, and sure that’s a big part of it, and there’s commerce, and there’s art, but all of that comes from people,” said Koop. “Everything is from people. From humans, from our souls, from our hearts. The clothing you design, to the people who make that clothing, to the people that wear that clothing, so the humanity is not lost. And I think fashion tries to hide it. And that’s what frustrates me.”
As the discussion thickened, moderator Constance C. R. White was eager to reveal currently pregnant Cushnie’s questions for Paola Mendoza regarding motherhood.
“Everyone figures out their way to be a mom, and balancing those things, and it’s okay to be totally stressed out at all times. But it’s totally magical and amazing!” Mendoza replied. “I became much more focused. And I think that’s the beauty of having a child. […] Is this the thing I want to be doing when I’m not with my son? And when you ask yourself that, then it becomes very clear around what I should be doing and around what I should not be doing.”
“I’ll be figuring it out as I go along, and I think she’ll be coming to work with me a lot (audible ‘awe’s’ echoed in response to Cushnie’s gender reveal). I also want to be able to create that environment outside of work for my employees, where it’s more of a comfortable atmosphere where they can do that as well,” responded Cushnie. “I’m excited to have a new baby in the office. We already have a couple of puppies!”
Cushnie went on to advocate that businesswomen had a place within the male-dominated industry, and to not let the rise of feminism to behave as a “fad.”
“People adopt a movement for a moment, and then it falls by the waist-side. I think you can still be who you are, you can still do the things you love, and still support a movement at the same time. And I think people feel often they can only do one or the other,” said Cushnie.
As it was time for questions from the audience, women of color stood up to inquire how to navigate racial obstacles as they come up on their journey for success.
“I agree to prepare, to have something to say, and depending on the context, on the circumstance, to say it respectfully,” moderator and proud woman of color Constance C. R. White chimed in. “Sometimes that saying is a question, like, ‘did you mean that?’”
Meredith Koop added her first-hand observation for the need of a shift on diversity within the fashion industry.
“I’m a white woman. I interact with people in fashion of all different races and backgrounds, but I will say that I find the fashion industry to be not diverse,” said Koop. “I find it to be frustrating, and I don’t really want to be a part of it.”
Koop noted she even turns down projects depending on the level of inclusivity, or exclusivity rather.
“When I get asked to be on a project or to work with a company, I generally look at who else is on that project, who else is involved, what that group of people looks like, and if there’s a styling portion to it, who we are styling. What do all those people look like?” she added. “I’ve had jobs where I’ve said I don’t want to do that job because it’s just a bunch of white women and I don’t want to style a bunch of white women.”
