Berlin fashion gimmick causes chaos as Adidas denies involvement | Fashion industry

Adidas must deny it appointed a former Cambodian union leader as its new co-CEO and launched a negligent– A stylish collection of pre-worn clothing by factory workers, as a spoof launch event at Berlin fashion week sent confusion across the fashion world.

Spoof press release, written by a duo of cultural disruptor activists Male Yes and sent to fashion bloggers from a fake Adidas email address, announcing revolutionary plans for the German sportswear company, designed to embody the realities of working conditions in the Southeast Asian factories where many of its clothes are made.

Former Cambodian garment worker and labor union leader Vay Ya Nak Phoan was announced as its future co-CEO alongside Bjrn Gulden, a former Puma executive who took over as head of Adidas earlier this year.

The new direction for the company will be underlined by a new line of realitywear, purportedly curated by rapper Pharrell Williams, consisting of carefully pressed garments recycled from clothing worn non-stop for six months by Cambodian workers whose wages detained during the pandemic. .

At a spoof launch event in central Berlin, bruised and bloodied models stumbled down the catwalk in realwear in front of an audience that appeared to accept the collection as genuine.

A pair of Adidas sandals with spikes piercing the sole presented in a glass cage, as an example of the company’s new ethos.

By midday, Adidas denied being behind the launch. This announcement was not by Adidas and is untrue, said a spokesperson.

By then, the press release had been picked up by several fashion news sites and bloggers. Adidas appears to have learned from past mistakes and seems keen to make serious corrections, news portal FashionUnited wrote, in an article which was later taken offline.

Another report, picked up by news aggregator MSN, presents new range as Adidas tries to make amends after being forced to cancel its collaboration with Kanye West due to the rapper’s antisemitic comments.

Adidas is a company close to my heart, says Yes Men co-founder Igor Vamos, who operates under the pseudonym Mike Bananno. They have a history of incredible scandals that they have managed to overcome. They are greenwashing experts.

Bjrn Gulden has talked a lot about doing the right thing, maybe today’s action will encourage them to actually do it, he added.

Vamos and his co-conspirator Jacques Servin have served as spokesmen for the World Trade Organization, McDonalds, Dow Chemical, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last summer there was industrial action at an Adidas supply factory in Cambodia, where unions said there had been an increase in sackings of union leaders during the Covid pandemic. The pressure group claims that more than 30,000 workers in eight factories that produce Adidas apparel across Cambodia are $11.7 million (9.6 million) in debt.