Earlier this week, Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx, the shape slimming, contour achieving undergarments beloved by millions of women, received a huge investment from Blackstone Group, valuing her fashion company at over $1 Billion Dollars.
She celebrated this historical moment for Female Entrepreneurs by gifting her mostly female staff with $10,000 cash, along with two round trips tickets to any destination of their choosing.
In her speech to her employees, she said, "It's a really big moment for women and female entrepreneurs. There aren't enough women getting funded. 50% of entrepreneurs are women and only 2% of VC funds go to women, so there's a pretty big gap there. In a moment like this, I toast to the women before me who didn't have options like this."
Women in fashion are getting more opportunities than ever before, which should be commemorated and celebrated. However, while only 2% of VC funds go to women, only 0.64% of that goes to Black women, according to ProjectDiane. It makes us wonder how many strides have actually been made since the Black Lives Matter movement erupted in 2020 and earlier this year.
One snapshot may be the one below, of a recent Michael Kors 007 dinner featuring some of the biggest influencers and models of the day, including Camila Coelho, Olivia Culpo, Shanina Shaik, and Lori Harvey.
Many Fashion Bomb Daily readers remarked the lack of diversity in the line up, with one reader saying, "The lack of melanin (diversity) is profound....And Black women spend millions on @michaelkors." I couldn't agree more.
Women have made positive strides in fashion and business, but women of color have a long way to go not just in terms of funding, but also in terms of representation. It is becoming increasingly important for brands to have a strategy to appeal to their consumers if they'd like to retain their business. Customers have more and more options and will lean towards companies that recognize their value.
Let's hope we see some modicum of improvement industry wide as we bring more of these issues to light.
Lastly, it's Halloween, so how about a little light fare? Halloween seems to be the most anticipated holiday of the celeb set. For days prior to the actual day, our favorite stars pull out all the stops to channel their favorite entertainers and pop culture icons:
Image: Solmaz Saberi
Bebe Rexha channeled Anna Nicole Smith.
Ciara recreated the No Scrubs Video.
Image: Robert Ector
And lastly, Niecy Nash and wife Jessica Betts had one of the most 'liked' looks on Fashion Bomb Daily as Kelly Rowland and Nelly from the Dilemna video.
See more at the Hashtag #HalloweenFBD and let me know what you plan to dress up as for Halloween in the comments!
