
Going Dark: The Football Jersey’s Dangerous Connection With Racism, Prejudice, and Complicity
In the wake of England’s UEFA loss against Italy, and the racist attacks on players that followed, MATERIAL reconsiders the history of the ‘three lions’ and its problematic connotations.

Going Dark: Social Media Influencers Are Responsible For Shein’s Success
Popular online retailer Shein recently overtook Amazon, Zara, and H&M as the leading US shopping app. But what kind of consumption does this fast fashion brand, with its influencer-driven marketing and lack of ethical transparency, promote?

Going Dark: Vaishali Shadangule Debuts Her ‘Breath’ Couture Collection
The latest couture collection from Vaishali S features intricately designed dresses, weaving a story of authentic Indian craft and our close connection with nature.

Going Dark: The Boundary-Pushing Creativity of BIPOC Women Designers
MATERIAL spotlights the creativity of Ronan Mackenzie and Abiola Olusola, two women who are leading the way in fashion design and Black liberation.

Going Dark: Pyer Moss’s Lessons On Black Representation In Haute Couture FW21/22
Pyer Moss’s debut collection pays homage to the historic contributions of Black people to our society - and makes an important statement about representation.

Going Dark: Retouching is An Unethical Business Practice
The Norwegian government have recently announced a new law requiring retouched images to be labelled as such before they can be shared online. With social media playing a major role in influencing unhealthy beauty standards, will this move mark the start of other authorities following suit?

Going Dark: Can Creating Garments in Prison Be Considered Ethical?
With the populations of prisons higher than ever, a number of fashion companies have taken the decision to employ inmates on their production lines, for a fraction of the usual living wage. Prisoners are serving sentences for their crimes, but are paid wages at a similar level to those of sweatshop workers. Can this practice ever be considered ethical?

Going Dark: Streetwear Magazines are Addressing their Homophobic Problem
Streetwear magazine Highsnobiety recently featured a piece on the late artist Tom of Finland, one of the most important influencers of late 20th-century gay culture. But their article generated a great deal of online hatred, exposing the deep-seated homophobia that is still prevalent in the streetwear community.

Going Dark: NGOs That Are Tackling Forced Labour
On the Global Slavery Index, fashion is ranked among the top three sectors most at-risk of contributing to modern slavery. With conditions made more extreme by the pandemic, now more than ever before is the time for us to listen to the workers experiencing forced labour, and hold those at the top accountable.

Going Dark: Naomi Campbell Walked So That Representation Can Run
Known across the world as one of the most successful and influential people in fashion, Naomi Campbell has pushed for greater diversity in the industry throughout her long and illustrious career. Having broken all the glass ceilings in the industry, she understood from an early age what it meant to be black: “You had to be twice as good.”

Going Dark: Gen-Z Are Demanding The End Of Fast Fashion For Good
New statistics show that people have had enough -something has to change in fast fashion. Now is the time to be discussing unsustainable production models and why over saturation in fashion will never work.