Fashion Scoops
Diz and That
Txampi Diz, Balmain’s chief marketing officer since 2017, is to leave the Parisbased fashion house “to pursue other interests.”
Balmain announced his departure in a brief press release. His next move could not immediately be learned.
“Ever since my very first days here at Balmain, Txampi has always been an incredible partner, powerful supporter and, above everything else, an amazing friend,” commented Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director since 2011.
In his role as a longtime employee of KCD in Paris, Diz first started working with Balmain in 2007 when he signed on the heritage brand as one of the public relations firm’s principal clients.
One year after Qatarbased investment firm Mayhoola acquired
Balmain, Diz became the brand’s first in- house chief marketing officer, charged with overseeing marketing, advertising, media relations and digital.
“Txampi has been the ideal partner to work with during all these years,” Balmain chief executive officer Jean- Jacques Guével said in a statement. “We have relied on his fresh thinking and innovative solutions, and we will all miss him.”
Diz’s successor at Balmain has yet to be named.
Diz spent more than 15 years at KCD Worldwide, rising to senior vice president and managing director of KCD Paris.
Big Reveal
On this year’s International Women’s Day, which landed on Friday, Stella McCartney unveiled the voices behind the short film “Message From Mother Earth” that made its debut at the
British brand’s fall 2024 show in Paris.
Playing on multiple screens before models walked down the runway, the original environmental manifesto saw people’s faces being cropped while saying, “You have called me many names and you know my face. You see me in the trees, the birds and the waves. You all came from me in harmony. So why are you harming me? We are always connected.
“And despite your attempts at emancipation, you cannot cut the umbilical cord, that threads through the entire planet. Sorry baby, I am the only mother where it is natural for her to outlive her children. But what will be left of me after you? I still love you. Do you still love me? I need you to show it. It’s about f– king time,” it continued.
A version of that video was released on Friday.
The video featured an impressive cast of leading women including Charlotte Rampling, Sharon Stone, Liv Tyler, Arizona Muse, India Amarteifio, Kai Isaiah Jamal, Quannah ChasingHorse, Alice Aedy, Sylvia Earle, Christiana Figueres and Aweng Chuol, as well as audio contributions from Olivia Colman and Helen Mirren.
Rampling was among a cohort of guests who attended the show held Monday inside a glassenclosed greenhouse at a park on the edge of Paris.
“Much love, she’s an old friend. I was born almost the same time as her father, so I’ve known her for a very long time,” Rampling said of Sir Paul McCartney, who made a frenzied entrance alongside fellow Beatle Ringo Starr.
“She stands for all the things we hope to change in the world and the fashion industry,” added Rampling.
— TIANWEI ZHANG
Strike Ends
After months of negotiations and a threeday strike, academic student workers at The
New School have reached a tentative agreement with the university for a successor contract. Pending ratification, the deal would give the university’s academic student workers, who are members of the ACT-UAW Local 7902, across-the-board raises ranging between 24 percent and 31 percent, and 80 percent health care coverage would be provided for all graduate workers.
In July, the university had reportedly proposed a 6 percent increase across the board in the first year and then a 3.5 percent increase over the following five years. The union had put forward at that time a 40 percent hike and then 13.5 increases over the next two years.
The contract would also secure a few firsts, including the first codification in a labor agreement in the U. S. of protection for trans and reproductive rights. It also would call for The
New School’s first child care fund for the parents and families within the university community. In a statement released by union representatives Saturday, organizers said the university “was far behind in standards for graduate worker employment compared to similar institutions of higher education, and this agreement goes a long way towards making the workers whole.”
However, the proposed contract falls short of what union representatives bargained for last summer.
Asked for comment Saturday, a New School spokesperson referenced a post by the university’s vice president of human resources Sonya Williams. “We are pleased to announce the SEN- UAW Local 7902, representing our academic student workers, and The New School have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement.
This is a strong, fair, threeyear contract. The union had ended the strike, and all university classes will resume as scheduled effective immediately.”
The statement continued, “The union leadership will recommend this agreement to its members, and it will now go to the union members for a ratification vote. We want to share our sincere gratitude to the members of both the union and the university bargaining teams for their dedication and tireless work. Now, together, we can return to our mission of teaching, learning, creating and supporting our students.” In total, Local 7902, which was founded in 2002, represents more than 5,000 part-time and adjunct teachers, student educators and health care workers and consists of four units — New
York University adjuncts,
The New School’s part-time faculty, student employees at The New School and The New School student health service employees.
Union officials said the recent strike “would not have been possible without the many New SWU members who went on strike in solidarity and joined their fellow student workers on the picket line.” Dozens of NewSWU members had joined in the Local 3902 in hopes that that unit will “soon” be recognized at The New School, adding that “unionized workers look forward to building a just, safe, and healthy workplace for all university community members.”
Organized labor has been rekindled across the U.S. under the Biden administration and has been restored to levels that were last present in the 1960s. One of the more unexpected unionizing efforts recently happened at Dartmouth University, where the men’s basketball team voted to unionize. Announcing the tentative deal with The New School, the Local 3902 cited other “labor wins” in higher education, specifically the contract faculty at New
York University, including the adjunct faculty at ACTUAW. Local 3902 stated, “As employment at institutions of higher learning becomes increasingly precarious, and neoliberal university administrations choose to sink tuition dollars into bloated bureaucracies instead of fair pay for faculty and staff, unions are stepping in to maintain the standards and values that universities formerly upheld.”
A media request seeking further comment that was sent to ACT- UAW president Zoe Carey and a union spokesperson Saturday was not acknowledged by Sunday afternoon.
— ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
Perfect Job
Perfect Moment, the luxury lifestyle brand known for its ranges of skiwear, outerwear, swimwear and activewear, has named Thom Humphris creative director.
Humphris, who is based in London, will work closely with Jane Gottschalk, cofounder and chief creative officer of Perfect Moment, to execute and maintain the vision of the brand and oversee its growth and expansion into new categories and regions.
Humphris had been freelancing at the Londonbased brand since last August. His duties were previously overseen by Gottschalk.
As reported, Perfect Moment went public on the New York Stock Exchange Feb. 8, closing Friday at $ 4.30, up 0.5 percent.
Humphris began his career at Burberry, before joining Acne Studios in 2011 and then Fred Perry in 2014, where he held posts of increasing responsibility. He then returned to Burberry in 2018 where he was senior menswear director and later oversaw menswear pre- collections.
“Thom’s creativity and understanding of luxury and performance wear make him the perfect person to chart the next chapter of Perfect Moment’s story. His vision resonates with our core values of adventure,