Diversity and Inclusion Event with a Focus on Fashion
Featuring Editor in Chief of the Cut, Lindsay Peoples Wagner
On March 25, Marist held the virtual event with Lindsay Peoples Wagner as part of the college’s diversity and inclusion event series. Photo by Greta Stuckey ‘23
The fashion industry hasn’t always been accepting of all people, and Lindsay Peoples Wagner has dealt with exclusion first-hand. As the current editor in chief of The Cut, Wagner has worked her way up in the fashion space and continuously fights for equity, diversity and inclusion in the industry.
“I always liked the idea of fashion, but it didn’t occur to me for a long time that I could even work in fashion,” Wagner said. “When I was at New York Magazine, I really wanted to use my voice to write about inclusivity and to hone in on stories that weren’t being told from a diverse perspective.”
On March 25, Marist held the virtual event with Wagner as part of the college’s diversity and inclusion event series. Wagner gave students insight into the world of fashion and how she was able to fill her resume with prestigious journalism jobs as a Black woman in a predominantly white industry.
“I think I have been fortunate to work at places that are fostering a culture that focuses on making things inclusive and intersectional,” Wagner said. “I feel like brands and companies are in a bad habit of putting a Martin Luther King quote or a black square and saying they are going to do something, but then don’t actually do it. I want people to be held accountable if they say they really care about inclusivity, diversity and equity, then what are they actually doing.”
A pivotal moment in Wagner’s career came when she published the article “Everywhere and Nowhere: What it’s Like to be Black in Fashion.” The story was written as a side project and she interviewed over 100 people of color in the fashion industry with senior-level positions. The event moderator, Marist Fashion Director John Bartlett, asked Wagner how she was able to write about unspoken issues.
“I felt like there were a lot of pieces focusing on assistants who felt like they weren’t getting fair treatment and a lot of those pieces weren’t getting taken seriously because of their positions. I wanted to take the approach of interviewing all the senior-level people in the industry which hit home for a lot of people,” she said.
After writing that story and bringing a fresh perspective to those working in the fashion industry, Wagner took it one step further and, in 2020, she founded the Black in Fashion Council with Sandrine Charles. The council is dedicated to holding those in the fashion industry accountable for change.
“I think over the past year, a lot of companies thought that this was just a moment that would pass,” Wagner said. “Any company that signs on to work with the Black in Fashion Council works with us for the next three years because we wanted companies to understand this is not a moment, it’s a movement.”
Bartlett spoke about the college’s effort to teach fashion focusing on diversity, inclusion and sustainability.
“The Marist fashion program has emphasized the importance of sustainability throughout my time in the program,” Natalie Ford ‘21, a fashion design major, said. “However, I cannot say the same for diversity and inclusion. In studying designers and trends of the past, there was no mention of any designers of color, whether they are Black, Asian, Latinx or other.”
Ford has already accepted an internship at Tapestry with Coach's product development team when she graduates from Marist this spring.
“Diversity and inclusion is not just about posting on social media, it’s about serious education and action,” Ford said. “Diversity education opportunities should not be optional. If we can teach the diversity in fashion today, we can change the fashion industry tomorrow.”
Alexandria Jimenez ‘23, another fashion student, said she looks to the department’s social media accounts because they feature posts encouraging diversity and sustainability in the Hudson Valley and beyond.
“I think Marist’s fashion program is starting off on the right foot in terms of emphasizing the importance of diversity in the fashion world,” Jimenez said, but agreed that the curriculum lacks an emphasis on designers of color. “Having events like the one with Lindsay Peoples Wagner, who is a person of color, really inspires others who want to be like her.”