Art School's Eden Loweth Responds To Exploitation Accusations

The designer behind the London-based brand Art School, Eden Loweth, has apologized after several collaborators accuse the brand of exploitation. 

Upcoming brand Art School focuses on the revision of gendered clothing. Their style appears visionary and their shows feature refreshing concepts. But over the past several weeks many who have worked with the brand including models, casting directors and photographers, have taken to social media to expose the brand on their mistreatment of employees and collaborators.

Lucia Blayke, who has casted models for Art School shows, model Alexis Meshida and designer Michaela Stark all spoke on their Instagrams about the difficulty in receiving compensation for their work from their brand. Other accusations include not hiring a model because they looked too much like a ‘sushi chef’, and misgendering creatives. 

Loweth responded to the accusations and told Dazed magazine, “I and Art School take full responsibility for the unacceptable delays in payment to suppliers, contractors and members of the community, and are working tirelessly to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.” 

However, some were not satisfied with Loweth’s apology as the Art School director denied all allegations ignoring the sexual and racial comments that left many offended and upset. Loweth said “I have been painted in a way which is simply untrue through snapshots of interactions taken out of context, fabricated, and the sharing of details deeply personal and intimate to myself.”

The accusations of exploitation towards Art School are only one of a myriad of issues within the creative industries. More and more creatives are coming out explaining how they have not been properly paid for their work and time. Many more than those mentioned above have come out exposing how big named companies are using upcoming creatives to enhance their brand without paying them correctly. Brands such as Art School blame financial troubles as one cause of the lack of payment, but the overlooking of sexual and racial mistreatment is troubling.

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