Menswear Designer John Bartlett, and The Intersectionality of Fashion and Politics.

In this episode we are happy to have menswear designer extraordinaire John Bartlett, and we have,
once again, Fashion Reverie Associate Editor Kristopher Fraser to talk about the intersectionality of fashion and politics. But, let’s start with Fashion News.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Welcome to Fashion Reverie Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I am Cecily Daniels. I'm Tiana Ibrahimovich.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Fashion Reverie takes you from the front lines of fashion
to the front row. All of Fashion Rebbery Talk segments
are based on published content found on Fashion reverie dot com.
So remember, if you want more information on the segments,
go to fashion reverie dot com. And if you like
this episode, don't forget to like this episode of YouTube

(00:49):
and subscribe.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
In this episode, we're happy to have menswear designer extraordinaire
John Bartlett, and we have once again Fashion Reverie Associate
editor Christopher Frasier to talk about the intersection of fashion
and politics. But let's start with fashion alerts and fashion
news and all of our news segments are based on

(01:13):
the fashion news alerts found on Fashion reverie dot com. So, Cicily,
why didn't you kick off the fashion news?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Well, let us jump right in. I am going to
start with the Victoria Secret fashion show that took place
in New York City on October fifteenth. Now, I feel
like if you were anywhere, if you were like nearby
New York, there was so much like buzz about this,
so much advertisement, and Victoria's Secret really came back in

(01:45):
a big way. There was a stunning, stunning comeback with
a runway extravaganza, and it is this is the first
one that has happened since twenty nineteen, so this is
very exciting. There is new messaging which is including diversity inclusion.

(02:06):
There were plus size models, transgender models, a lot of
huge names that people know. Gigi Hadid opened the show.
Tyra Banks was I think she also walked, and there
were over fifty models. It was really like a who's
who of models. Everyone looked incredible and I think it

(02:30):
was really like a return to form for Victoria's Secret.
So I think it was really exciting. What do you think, Tianna?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I loved it. I thought it was very exciting to watch,
you know, the return of the Victoria's Secret. I'm a fan.
I loved their lingerie, so they always fit me well.
So well, I'm gonna bring a less sexy news alerts.

(03:07):
I always get these topics. But a former Aver Crombrian Fitch, CEO,
Mike Jeffries, and two others were arrested on Tuesday for
alleged sex trafficking, trafficking of more than a dozen victims.
Jeffrey and his partner Matt Smith, and a third man,
Jim Jacobson, are accused of operating an international sex trafficking ring,

(03:33):
recruiting young men from parties in the US and other
countries in a sixteen count indictment. So they obviously used
their connections at the Abercrombian Fitch, the network of business
contacts and the financial wealth to lurein young men, you know,

(03:59):
so it was kind of kind of a you know,
if you remember in front of Jeffrey in front of
Abra Cumbrian Fitch stores, usually you would see young attractive
men at the entrance, right. That was attraction. But apparently
it wasn't just for women, you know. Wow, well, you know,

(04:20):
apparently they created this business plan in two thousand and
eight eight and flew young men all over the world
to engage in sex parties and sex sex hect.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Well, for people who do things like this, I love
when they get caught, so good for them, you know.
And of course our thoughts are with any victims and
you know, anyone who's dealing with that aftermath. My goodness.
So my last bit of fashion news today is about
Duayanne Wade who is pairing fashion and sports with a

(04:57):
new job. Now, Wade will be a fashion editor at
Kareem routfeld and Vladimir Restoin Routfeldt's new sports focused publication,
which is going to be called cr Men. It will
highlight the intersectionality between sports and style with a focus
on trends, athletes, personal fashion and the launch is going

(05:21):
to include collabs, merchandise drops, e commerce and see our
Men is going to launch in the spring of twenty
twenty five and in the first issue, Dwayne Wade will
be featured draped in bracer leathers, sharp seating and gleaming jewelry.
I like that description, so I think I'm excited just

(05:42):
to see to see that first issue.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
I think that sounds exciting. Absolutely. I agree with you,
it sounds pretty exciting.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, viewers, that is it for this week for our
fashion news alerts. But you know where to go fashion
revereree dot com if you want to keep up to
date and know what's going on in the fashion news.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
So, viewers, our next treat for Fashion bravery Talks today
is a special interview with fashion designer John Bartlett. John,
Welcome to Fashion Braverie Talks.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Happy Saturday, Happy Saturday. So we know that you're a
Harvard University graduate. That said, you took a little bit
of a different turn from what you originally planned as
your career, and so I would love to know what
took you to the journey into the fashion industry as

(06:42):
a fashion designer.

Speaker 3 (06:44):
Absolutely so. I grew up in Ohio, and in Ohio Cincinnati,
it was a very conservative place. I wasn't raised to
think of myself creatively, but I always knew that I
love clothing and I like the use of clothing as
a means of expression. When I went to Harvard, I
thought I would go to law school. My parents hoped

(07:06):
I would go to law school or business school. I
thought I might get into communications or marketing, and I
studied sociology. But I found that as I got older,
as I went through my Harvard career, what I really
loved was studying about cultures, society, tribes, and I also

(07:31):
love clothing, and again I found that clothing for me
was a means of expression. And so when I graduated
from Harvard, I ended up going to London to study economics,
which was my parents' dream, and it wasn't my dream,
but I thought, I'll go to London anyway, because who
doesn't want to live in London? So I went to London.
I was twenty two years old, and I fell in

(07:52):
love with the street culture in London. I decided, Okay,
fashion is going to be my means of expression, is
going to be the way that I make a difference.
So I moved to New York at twenty two twenty three,
and I started taking night classes at t the Fashion Institute.
And I wasn't sure if I would be a designer

(08:13):
go in a marketing merchandising PR but I really I
took the time and I just tried to meet everybody
that I could. But it was funny. Harvard taught me
how to think. Harvard taught me how to think about
society and culture and how to look at the world.

(08:34):
And so I took what I learned at Harvard and
then applied it to my design sensibility.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
I mean, that's actually an excellent combination because a lot
of fashion designers lack, you know, other abilities related other
than creativity, right, So I bet that must have helped
you with launching your own brand as well. In nineteen
and ninety one. So after working with some esteemed designers, correct,

(09:05):
how did you start your own line?

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Well, and I have to say yes, thank you. That
was a good point. I think going to Harvard certainly
helped me. It opened the door because I think a
lot of people were intrigued by the idea of who's
this guy who's from Harvard who's now fashion designer. So
I think that it helped to open doors because people
were curious. And so in nineteen ninety one ninety two,

(09:28):
I had worked for a couple of great designers, good brands.
And it's kind of a sad story, but it's a
true story. In the late eighties early nineties, the fashion
community and the gay community was being decimated by AIDS
and one of my best friends, Rick Hamilton, was a

(09:50):
very very gifted designer. He was working for Tommy Hillfigure.
He had also come from Ohio and we had a
dream of starting a business together. I wanted to create
a label together and that was our dream that we
talked about it all the time, and he got sick
and he died. Gosh, I think he was maybe thirty

(10:10):
years old. He was just a kid, but it had
spent a lot of time with him in his last months,
and after he died, I felt that life is too
short and that why not try to live my dream?
Even though it was our dream, my friend and mine,

(10:32):
Why didn't I try to just try to live this dream.
I had no money, I had no real I had experienced,
but I really had no real idea of what it
took to start a label. But I'm like, you know what,
life is too short, and I'm going to do this.
So I literally just started buying some fabric. I started
making some clothes. I was cutting patterns on my floor

(10:55):
in my apartment, all of those kind of ideas that
you would imagine and a young designer doing doing anything
that you can. And I put together a small collection
and my first order came from berg Derff Goodman in
New York. So wow, I started. I remember that day
so well. So it started off good. And I think again,

(11:17):
there was not an ice study I did men'swear. There
was not a lot of men'swear design going on in
New York, and in New York, men'swear was always about
Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers, very classic, traditional preppe. So
I wanted to create something that was a little bit
edgier and combined American with a more European sensibility.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh that's that's lovely. So in the nineties you were
part of a sort of a very well known today
American designers like Byron Lars, Isaac Mustrahi taught all of
them and many others. So could you speak about what

(12:00):
time was like?

Speaker 3 (12:02):
Sure, it was a very exciting time, and when I
look back at it, it was a much simpler time.
Of course, we would as designers, we would come up
with two collections a year, maybe three. We would I
would call the buyers on the phone, hoping that they're
going to answer their landline at their office, try to

(12:25):
make an appointment. They would come to my apartment or
to our showrooms. And this was before internet, this was
before e commerce, and this was really before people having
their own stores. So we built very strong relationships with
the department stores, with Berger Goodman or saxwith Avenue or
Nieman's or Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Sharvari. We worked very closely with

(12:51):
the buyers and the retailers, and it was a very
very exciting time because I felt that there were certainly
some established designers like Donna Karen and Rolf Lauren and
Calvin Klein. But there was a new group of younger
designers coming up, like Todd Oldham, and these were people
that were breaking the rules. Byron lars Is still continues

(13:13):
to be an incredibly gifted, gifted designer, and he actually
continues to drape and taylor his own pieces still He's
a true artist. So it was a really fun time
to get to know all of these young designers. Isaac
was incredible and just to really I think we would
all we would talk to each other and share our resources.

(13:36):
We would say, we're all looking for the same factories.
Where did you get that fabric? Can you give me
in touch? Can you get me the name of that buyer?
Were really we really stuck together?

Speaker 2 (13:48):
That's amazing. Do you think that maybe today there is
a little bit of a pivot of a positive change
in the fashion industry.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
I think that. So right now I'm working being alongside
my design I work for Parsons in New York City
at the college, at the School Fashion, and what I
get very excited about is meeting with the young people
who are quite young. Eighteen nineteen, twenty twenty one, twenty
two and I love to see what their ideas are.

(14:18):
And what I think about the industry that is very
positive is that a lot of designers are approaching fashion
through the lens of social justice. They're thinking about climate change,
they're thinking about environments, they're thinking about indigenous design, they
are really thinking about the supply chain. They're thinking in

(14:39):
a way that's much more connected. Whereas before in my generation,
we just made clothes hoping to sell some clothing. Now
the designers and the industry really try to think about
how is this going to be affecting the environment, what
is the lifeline, what's the life cycle of this gone

(15:00):
who is making my clothing? So I think there's a
lot of positive but I also do feel that the
industry is where it's a tough time because there's too
many There are too many clothes, there are too many designers.
There are clothing landing ending up in the landfills in

(15:23):
the Southern hemisphere. There are a lot of workers that
are not being paid a living wage. There's a lot
of pollution, a lot of carbon damage. There's so many
bad things that are going on that the fashion industry
really has to start to take responsibility for so on
one hand, there's a lot of creativity and a lot

(15:44):
of youthful energy around the idea of social justice. But
there is still a lot of clothing being made that's
being thrown away, and that part of the industry is
something that I think we need to.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
Change right very important. So in addition to your fashion life,
you're also a big animal advocate and you have your
own nonprofit tiny Team Rescue Fund, So I'd love to

(16:17):
know a little bit more about it.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
Absolutely. So I had an awakening of sorts, I would
say about fifteen years ago. I had always loved animals.
I've always had dogs, But I had an awakening and
I read a book by Alicia Silverstone, the actress and
the Advocate, and she's a true animal advocate, and it

(16:40):
was her It was called The Kind Diet, and it
was really her journey into the idea of veganism. I
read this book, it changed my life, and then I
started to meet more and more people that were working
in the world of animal advocacy, and so it really
changed the way that I design. I stopped using leather,
I stopped using wool, I started using really all natural fabrics.

(17:05):
So it changed not only my diet, but also my
design sensibility. But I also decided that I wanted to
give back and to really try to figure out how
I can participate in helping animals who have no voice.
So when my three legged pitbull, tiny Tim, died, I

(17:27):
had rescued him from a shelter. He changed my life.
And I always advocate for people to always consider adopting
their pets from shelters or from rescue groups. So when
tiny Tim died, I started volunteering at the City Shelter
in New York and Harlem, and I met these amazing
women who were all doing rescue. They were pulling dogs

(17:48):
and cats off the euthanasia list and finding homes for them.
So I started a foundation to raise money to help
support their work, and now twelve years later, a lot
of money and basically all the money that I raise
I give back to rescue groups. I have created a
grants program. I go down to Louisiana and do rescue missions.

(18:12):
So I work a lot with shelters down South, but
I also work with a lot of the rescue groups
really around the world. And it's a very very poignant
experience to be able to see when you've networked or

(18:34):
helped a dog or a cat and see them in
their final home. To me, there's nothing like it. And
I've had that experience lately where I met a dog, Electra,
who was twelve years old and she had been living outside,
chained to a doghouse by a person who was mentally ill.
She was rescued brought into a shelter. But a twelve

(18:56):
year old dog has no place to live in a
shelter and anyway up finding a home for her. So
it's been a really wonderful part of my journey.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Wow, that's incredible. And you've had it for twelve years.
You must have done a lot. I mean, after all,
they are our best friends. They are So what do
you think is next for you? Are you more going
to focus on your nonprofit or fashion or something else.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
I'm kind of doing both. I really like the idea
that I'm I'd like to create product. I love to design.
I continue to design and create things. I like to
create product that I can sell or raise money that
goes back to my rescue group. So I'm spending a
lot of time with Parsons teaching, I'm working on my nonprofit,
and then I'm just kind of planning, planting a lot

(19:48):
of seeds. I love talking to people seeing what's next,
and I think that's what's so exciting about the fashion
industry is that it's always evolving, always changing.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
True.

Speaker 1 (19:59):
Well, thank you so much for joining us here at
Fashion Reverie Talks. And excited to actually see what's next.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
Thank you well viewers.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
I am excited to once again get a chance to
talk to with one of my favorites, Fashion Reverie Associate
editor Christopher Fraser, who is here to talk about the
intersectionality of fashion and politics, which is very hot right now.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
Welcome back to the show, Chris hi Cecilene.

Speaker 4 (20:34):
How are you this fine?

Speaker 3 (20:36):
Fine Saturday?

Speaker 1 (20:37):
Oh my gosh, I am great. It's wonderful to see you.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
Now.

Speaker 1 (20:42):
I first of all, I loved your article. I thought
was fantastic and I think this is obviously it's a
really timely topic because of the election that is coming up.

Speaker 4 (20:51):
Yes, we got a little over a week till we
who will be the president elect of the United States exactly.

Speaker 1 (20:58):
Now, A lot of people don't think about politics and
fashion in the same sentence, but there is really a
lot of crossover between fashion and politics, particularly with this
election coming up.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Could you talk about that.

Speaker 4 (21:11):
You know, if you actually look at the fashion industry
going back all the way to the unfortunate era of
the AIDS crisis, that was when you really saw fashion
starting to become political because American fashion designers were former
organizations and trying to get out awareness because there's always
has been a large contention of LGBT members of the

(21:34):
fashion industry. So that was when you saw sort of
the politicizing of fashion back in the eighties with all
fashion brands and companies trying to draw awareness to the
politicizing of the AIDS crisis. More contemporary times, going back
as early as two thousand and eight to Barack Obama's election,

(22:00):
Anna Winter, who's the editor in chief of Vogue, was
Barack Obama's fourth largest bundle donor.

Speaker 1 (22:06):
Oh, I did not know that she.

Speaker 4 (22:08):
Was able to manage to pull off thanks to her
very deep ties to Hollywood in the fashion industry.

Speaker 1 (22:14):
Yes, yeah, so yeah.

Speaker 4 (22:18):
Looking back even at the twenty sixteen election, fashion hopped
on board that following February after the swearing in of
Donald Trump, because that was just shortly before New York
Fashion Week and Duran New York Fashion Week. That's the
season you saw the Planned Parenthood pins were like the

(22:39):
accessory of that February twenty seventeen fashion week, as brands
and companies and retails were drawing awareness to some of
the issues this administration, that current administration could have posed
for women's rights, reproductive justice, funding for a planned parenthood,
which provides a lot of healthcare services to women who

(23:03):
are low income. So fashion has been political, i'd say
for about the last forty plus years. So while you know,
when people think about fashion and clothing that may not
be necessarily jump immediately to thinking about the current state
of American politics or voting or policy issues.

Speaker 3 (23:22):
But fashion has been, particularly.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
In America, has been on the forefront of political movements
going back as early as the eighties at least.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, so it's been around for a while now. In
this particular election season, there are definitely some fashion brands
that are cashing in on the season. Let's talk about that.

Speaker 4 (23:44):
Yeah, Old Navy has created has a lot of voting
merchandise right now. They have about two, i think two
or three specific like get out the Vote voting related
style t shirts encouraging people to vote so a lot
of brands not necessarily wanting to, you know, make their
particular political leanings clear or try to alienate customers who

(24:06):
might be on one side file or the other. So
a lot of voting related merchandise, just a lot of
general things that say vote or get out the vote
or gootv and those type of things, just encouraging everybody
who has the ability to vote to engage in the
democratic process, no matter what side of the aisle they
stand on.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Right, which I hope people are actually paying attention.

Speaker 4 (24:27):
To Avenue, which is one of the biggest retails in America.
For several weeks during September, they had a giant boat
window display at their famous New York flagship store. Yes,
Mark Jacobs released a pink voting version of his very
well known and best selling tote bag and that's already

(24:50):
sold out on his website. So for anyone that was
hoping to get their hands on it for a voting day,
sorry you missed the window.

Speaker 1 (24:59):
I missed the It's a cute bag too.

Speaker 4 (25:01):
I like it's actually more affordable than the standard tote
because that was just because the voting was canvas and
we tried to make it affordable for general consumers.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
Oh gosh. Now, the CFDA at the beginning of New
York Fashion Week in September had a fashion and political
march talk about that for US.

Speaker 4 (25:22):
Yes, it was a march encouraging voting. It was a
nonpartisan march actually, even though it was led by Anna Winter,
who was known to be a restoned supporter of the
last several Democratic candidates that the US has scene, but
the marchans marketed as a non partisan march, and it
was various members of the fashion industry, from Tom Brown

(25:44):
to other members of the Council of Fashion Designers of
America and editors, influencers, stylists, just everyone marching the streets
telling everyone get.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
Out and vote.

Speaker 4 (25:54):
While you know, New York has so many eyes on
it during Fashion Week and it's a stimlan event that
generates hundreds.

Speaker 3 (26:02):
Of millions of dollars, and.

Speaker 4 (26:04):
It's talked about even by the news outside of fashion
and the traditional fashion publications. So this was a great
way to raise awareness that it was called Fashion or
Future And Zach Posen also designed a T shirt or
I think it was either Gaparol Navy because they're all

(26:24):
under the Gap inc umbrella and he's the creative director
for one of the brands. Also another voting merchandise style
T shirt. Yeah, done in collaboration with Fashion or Future
after the march.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Well, you already mentioned this a little bit when you
talked about the history of this intersectionality. But I know
that there are a lot of issues that come to
the fore during the election, like women's rights and LGBTQA
kind of rites. What do you feel like is like
burning and you know, like kind of really at the
forefront like right now for this election, and with like.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
Fashion, women and LGBT people make up a large contention
of the employees of the fashion industry, two of the
biggest markets. When it comes to consumers.

Speaker 3 (27:15):
It's heavily driven toward women in LGBT people.

Speaker 4 (27:19):
Reproductive justice is a huge issue in this election, especially
after the Supreme Court overturned Rophy Wade. Under the tilt
of the current Supreme Court after Donald Trump's nominees and
this election could stand to shape the Supreme Court until

(27:39):
twenty fifty, so that's a big hot topic for people.
Also with the current conservative tilt of the Supreme Court,
there's concern for what would happen to LGBT issues that
have already been decided on, like same sex marriage, issues

(28:00):
like privacy like Lawrence v. Texas, which you know gave
two consenting adults the right to do whatever they want
in their bedroom regardless of their sexual orientation, right right, right, Yeah,
So these are even though they're not like immediate so
much as immediate ammliate like policy issues or things that
could be proposed like within come as like first hundred

(28:20):
days of the Senate. They are things that uh come
all first hundred days as president if she were to win,
to reshape the Supreme Court. Are still things that topics
to think about that are really big things.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
Yes, yes, for sure. Now, without sharing your political choice,
which you do not have to do, do you feel
like this intersectionality of fashion and politics is will have
a positive effect on the election?

Speaker 4 (28:50):
You know, everyone whys close and with something that's so
every day for somebody just trying to create such a
voice in history right.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
Now, right right.

Speaker 4 (29:04):
I think it could potentially help things like voter turnout,
which can make a big difference, especially in swing states.
And at the end of the day, I just hope
America does not go with a convicted Fela.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
I also do hope that America goes with a groundbreaking,
amazing first possibility of a female blacks, self am Indian president.
And I'm so excited, and I've already voted by mail.

Speaker 4 (29:37):
I think in person. Early voting I think may have
started today in New York. So I'm going to go
see if I can do that before election day. Because
I don't know about you, but the last time I
try to vote for president day of I was in
that line for like, I saw the two plus hours
and I got in it at six am in the morning.

Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yes, I'm doing too much traveling and too much working,
so I had to absently ballot. Mine already went in
the mail.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Viewers, we hope that you Christopher. This was a very
insightful conversation.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
I appreciate you so much for taking your time to
come out and talk to us about your article. And
hopefully this energy of getting out to vote will go
forth from this episode because it's really important. So everyone
needs to get out there and make their voice heard
and cast their vote for sure. Thank you so much, Christopher.

Speaker 4 (30:28):
Thank you Cecile, and vote twenty twenty four everybody.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
Well, Viewers, that's it for this episode of Fashion Reverie Talks.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
We would like to thank John Bartlett and Fashion Reverie
Associate editor Christopher Fraser.

Speaker 2 (30:45):
For information on these and other stories, go to Fashion
reverie dot com. Don't forget to hit the like and
subscribe a button. Thanks for watching and we'll see you
next time.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
Stute as Ray st stut as l ste