 |
|
|
|||||
We’ve become accustomed to seeing rainbows as a symbol of Pride. But for Levi’s 2025 Pride collection, the brand’s LGBTQ+ designers wanted to shake up the status quo. They’ve delved into their history, tapping into another well-known icon of gay liberationthe inverted triangle. The rainbow flag was created in 1978 as a symbol of freedom and dignity. But in the 1970s, the gay liberation movement often deployed the pink trianglewhich the Nazis used to brand homosexual men and trans women in concentration camps. Activists recast the triangle as a symbol of resistance and resilience, despite efforts to exterminate them. This year’s Levi’s Pride collection incorporates the pink triangle and a new riff that creates a single triangle from six smaller ones using colors from the Pride flag. [Photo: Levi’s] Today, the LBGTQ+ community continues to be under attack. The Trump administration has defunded gender-affirming care for youth, moved trans women into men’s prisons, and denied requests for gender markers on passports. It also cut funding for studies related to HIV/AIDS, a disease that disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ people. Brands have also been walking back their visible support for the community. Many companiesincluding Anheuser-Busch, Comcast, Citi, PepsiCo, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, Visa, and Mastercardhave chosen to discontinue sponsorship of Pride celebrations this year. In a recent survey from risk management firm Gravity Research, 39% of the 200 corporate executives surveyed said they were scaling back on public Pride Month engagements this year. That brand landscape is why Cristobal Alemana global menswear designer at Levi’s who was lead researcher for this Pride collectionsays resistance is more important than ever. “We’re not stepping away from the rainbow, because it makes people feel supported,” Aleman says. “But by reflecting back on other symbols of resistance, we remember that the fight is not over yet. We still need to carry the torch.” [Photo: Levi’s] Paying Homage To create this collection, the Levi’s designers, led by Aleman, conducted extensive research in the companys own archives as well as the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. This is how they decided to lean into the triangle rather than the rainbow. In the early 1970s, you could see many people at protest marches wearing pins and T-shirts featuring the inverted pink triangle, which organizers in the nascent gay liberation movement used to evoke the memory of those who died in Nazi concentration camps, as well as to protest ongoing discrimination. In the years that followed, it became a symbol of resilience. In a well-known photo, gay rights activist Harvey Milk is seen wearing it on an armband. As the AIDS crisis deepened, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) began using a point-up pink triangle in its messaging, starting with its “Silence=Death” campaign. With this collection, Levi’s is working to honor the symbol’s history. One T-shirt features an inverted pink triangle that contains the words “United for Freedom.” But the designers also want to evolve this symbologyhence the new inverted triangle featuring the smaller triangles in all the colors of the Pride flag. [Photo: Levi’s] “We’re not just slapping rainbows on existing products,” says Janine Chilton-Faust, VP of men’s design, who led the creation of this collection. “We bring together designers from many teams to create a line with meaning. The magic happens when you bring people who are passionate and who really understand how it feels to be in this community right now.” The Fight Isn’t Over The team also wanted to incorporate other powerful symbols of resistance. They created a handkerchief to pay homage to the hanky code, which is how people reflected their sexual orientation and preferences when it was not safe to do so overtly. The fabric features historic iconography related to the LBGTQ+ community, including a raised fist and a butterfly, with the motto “Out of the closet, into the streets” in the center. [Photo: Levi’s] “We were listening to the community and there was a sense that ‘rainbow-washing’ was happening,” Aleman says, referring to the way that corporations have used the rainbow so ubiquitously that it has lost its meaning. “We thought the triangle was a very courageous symbol of resilience and protest against homophobia, which is something we need in our world right now.” The brand’s deep dive into historical LGBTQ+ symbols also reflects Levi’s long-standing support for the community. The 172-year-old company was supporting the LGBTQ+ community before doing so became more widespread in corporate America. This year, Levi’s is showing its support by continuing to fund San Francisco Pride, as well as Pride events in Poland. It also empowered its LGBTQ+ designers to come up with a Pride Collection that meets the moment. In the brand’s archives, there are photos of its lesbian and gay employee association marching in a protest for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1980s bearing a “Levi Strauss & Co. sign. In 1992, Levi’s was the first Fortune 500 company to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of LGBTQ+ employees. “This was the height of the AIDS crisis,” Aleman says. Pride and Joy One of the hero pieces in the collection brings all of these symbols together. On the back of a classic Levi’s trucker jacket, there’s a gorgeous patchwork that features the new triangle symbol, along with butterfly wings. The words “I know you know” are embroidered onto ita phrase LGBTQ+ people used to identify each other before it was safe to be open about their identity. The motto also appears on a baseball cap in the collection. [Photo: Levi’s] While this collection is about the ongoing fight for liberation, it is also meant to be joyful. Aleman says one of the most radical ways we can show the LBGTQ+ community support right now is to give them safe spaces. As the team was developing this collection, they were thinking about places where people from the community can be themselves. Historically, this has often been in nightlife spots, including gay and lesbian clubs. The various pieces in the collection are meant to give people outfits for a fun night on the town. There’s a little black mini skirt (modeled by people of both genders), cutoff shorts, and moto jackets. These are pieces you would wear with your friends to have fun and experience joy,” Aleman says. “Joy is also an act of resistance.”
Category:
E-Commerce
The New York City subway is not a glamorous scene to behold. Between the grime, the crime, and the occasional scurrying rat, it is best experienced in small doses and only when the need arises. Unless, that is, you’re traveling through Grand Army Plaza. As of May this year, anyone passing through the Brooklyn transit hub will be stopped in their tracks by a 7-foot tall, papier-mâché T-Rex looming over what may well be New York City’s most outlandish bodega. Titled Rex’s Dino Store, the bodega is located inside one of the city’s defunct newsstand kiosks. It features newspapers with titles like The Maul Street Journal, Jurassic Park Slope, and various pun-laden products like a Steg-Yun poster and Snarlboro cigarettes, all purchasable with a Master-claw card. [Photo: Megan Armas] Alas, none of the items on display at the bodega are actually for sale, since it is an art installation more akin to a diorama. “We are also glad to bring some whimsy to MTA riders commute,” says artist Sarah Cassidy, who created the project with artist Akiva Leffert. “Even if youre having a bad day, its difficult to resist a good dinosaur pun.” [Photo: Megan Armas] Rex’s Dino Store is the culmination of the MTA’s so-called Vacant Unit Activation Program, which aims to breathe new life into the subway system’s long-empty retail spaces by offering them, rent-free, to artists. Since launching in spring 2024, the program has helped convert 12 previously vacant units across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronxwith half a dozen other locations set to open this summer. But according to Mira Atherton, a senior manager in the MTAs real estate department and the curator of the initiative, Rexs Dino Store marks a turning point for the initiative, which has primarily grown through word-of-mouth. Its in a very visible part of the station, and it’s such a fun and creative and loud activation,” she says. In the past month, Ive gotten so many inquiries from artists. [Photo: Megan Armas] The vacancy struggle The MTA has long struggled to fill its retail spaces. Of the roughly 195 retail units scattered throughout the subway system, only 52 are open for business, reflecting a staggering 75% vacancy rate that has worsened since the pandemic stalled foot traffic. [Photo: Megan Armas] Previous attempts to reinvigorate them have included leasing to coffee kiosks, and ATMs. Some have floated more radical ideas. Assembly member and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has proposed transforming these unused spaces into crisis and drop-in centers to assist unhoused New Yorkers. His $10 million initiative would fund outreach workers stationed inside empty units, offering immediate care and connecting individuals to longer-term services. Meanwhile, the goal of the Vacant Unit Activation Program is to enchant the transit experience by bringing moments of unexpected delight into the city’s drab underground corridors. Might these art installations eventually attract paying tenants? Atherton says that hasnt happened yetbut its not off the table. And if a commercial partner does express interest in a location, the art installations dont necessarily have to go the way of the T-Rex. “The hope is it will inspire retailersbut that could work for an entire corridor rather than a single unit,” she says, noting that some subway stations have more than one vacant unit. [Photo: Megan Armas] A problem with a solution Atherto was entrusted with the project in January 2023. At the time, she says, the vacancies were “a problem with no solution.” First, she considered launching a design challenge for architecture and design students, or bringing on a master tenant to program the spaces, but ultimately, she landed on an open call for artists and cultural organizations. It launched in November 2023 with a purposefully non-prescriptive brief. “We don’t want to say ‘this is what you should do,'” says Atherton. “The point is that the MTA doesn’t know. I would have never thought of putting a dinosaur in a bodega.” (The program is entirely separate from the better-known MTA Arts & Design initiative, which has its own budget and commissions permanent mosaics, murals, and digital works across various subway stations.) [Photo: Megan Armas] The first installation opened in May 2024 and was created by artist Natalie Collette Wood, in partnership with the nonprofit ChaShaMa. Titled Urban Oasis: Nature in Transit, it was located at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, where Collette Wood transformed an empty store into a lush, plant-filled terrarium, granting New Yorkers an unexpected pocket of calm in Midtown Manhattan. At the time of writing, a total of eight stations feature active art installations, each with their own focus and flair. At 50th Street, in Manhattan, an installation titled Safe Space by artist Traci Johnson imagines a pink, plush interior designed to provide the comfort of a mothers womb. At 81st Street, near the Museum of Natural History, an interactive piece called SoundBooth invites passersby to plug in their instruments for a spontaneous busking session. And at Jackson HeightsRoosevelt Avenue, the Queens-based nonprofit Los Herederos has turned a former retail unit into a vibrant, community-inspired space that doubles as a home base for their web radio station, LH Radio. [Photo: Megan Armas] A play on the subway? This summer, new installations are coming to Jay StreetMetroTech and Sterling Street stations, both in Brooklyn. A new project will also replace Urban Oasis at 53rd Street, offering a fresh perspective on the same stretch of corridor. And later this year, if all goes to plan, Atherton hopes to unveil her most ambitious idea inside a long-abandoned unit at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The idea? An as-of-yet-undefined collaboration with a theater group called Jewel Box, which already hosts plays in a speakeasy-style room. “There’s a ton of vacant space that’s difficult to program because the electrical systems are outdated and the power supply is very limited,” she says, but she’s determined to get creative. At Grand Army Plaza, the MTA had to undertake some construction to make the kiosk usable. Cassidy and Leffert faced several challenges and bureaucratic hurdles, from securing artist insurance to fireproofing the materialsincluding Rex himselfbut they say the delays only gave them more time to sculpt a better dinosaur. (The entire installation cost about $5,000 out of pocket.) Initially, the pair had proposed an immersive sound installation, but the MTA rejected the idea on safety grounds. Sound equipment, for example, would require live supervision, and there was no budget for that. So, they went back to the drawing board. The kiosk already had a newsstand with a countertop and shelving in place, so the cogs started turning. “A bodega on the moon? A bodega for cats? It was an old bodega. So how old was it? A bodega for dinosaurs?” From there, Cassidy says, “the puns started to write themselves.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Generative AIand the velocity of its evolutionis forcing every breed of designer to contemplate a future without them. Will Midjourney and DALL-E eliminate the need for graphic designers? Will Claude and Gemini obviate the UX lead? What happens to motion artists in a world where Sora supposedly becomes the newest auteur? We’re no sages. And were certainly not clairvoyant. But we can comfortably say that, even if an AI-driven design industry apocalypse is coming, it hasn’t arrived yet. Our second annual report on the state of the design industry draws from a dataset of 176,000 job listings weve gathered on Google Jobs (which consolidates listings from across the internet, including Indeed, LinkedIn, and regional job boards) from October 2023 to February 2025. They span several design disciplines: graphic, interior, game, urban, UX, product, and architectural. The clearest and perhaps most reassuring takeaway this year? Designers are still needed. Graphic and UX design job postings are flat from last year, game design postings are up, and urban design postings are way up. Only architects and product designers saw a dip, with postings for the latter down 24% from last year. So its not time yet to abandon that art or architecture degree in order to become a prompt engineer. Still, several things have definitely changed since our last report. Austin has become less of a magnet for architects and urban designers. Canva, software that had initially been met with skepticism among professionals in the industry even just a few years ago, is becoming a mainstay in the graphic designer’s arsenal. And UX designers arehallelujahgaining a bit more job security. Heres what Fast Company found. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":0,"paddingRight":0,"mediaType":"ceros"}} MethodologyWe extracted jobs from the Google Jobs search module monthly from October 2023 to February 2025, resulting in 26,624 jobs when duplicates were removed. We used a combination of Gemini and manual tech token search to extract information on salary, company type, and software tool usage. The categorization of jobs as full-time or contract/internship and their geographic locations were contained as separate structured fields in Google’s data. Monthly and hourly salaries were standardized to yearly rates by multiplying the rate by 12 for monthly salaries, and by 2,080 for hourly salaries.This article is part of Fast Company‘s continuing coverage of where the design jobs are.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||