It might seem like an unlikely partnership for a retailer, but & Other Stories has forged a friendship with the Los Angeles City Municipal Dance Squad. Together, they have collaborated on an International Women’s Day initiative that is not based on peddling a specific product, but, quite simply, the joy of dancing. And it just so happens to fall on the high-street brand’s birthday, too.
“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and successes of women,” LACMDS member Angela Trimbur tells Vogue of why the dancers accepted the commission to create a series of short films and images that explain its “Be Bold! Get Weird! Who cares!” philosophy. “March 8 is a continued call to action for women to stand in solidarity with one another to raise awareness of issues we still face; a day of advocacy for ourselves and for each other. A global unified roar.”
A roar indeed. LACMDS, which encourages its workshop participants to “dive into the dusty corners of their hearts to dance the cobwebs away”, hopes the docu-style clips will encourage celebration this International Women’s Day – as well as acknowledging that the women’s rights movement has a long way to go. “Anyone who judges someone who is acting silly has their own unblocking to do!” says Trimbur. It was a no-brainer for & Other Stories, which has always encouraged individuality within its collections and has a handful of previous off-beat collaborations with women including Kim Gordon, Rachel Antonoff, Lena Dunham and Tennessee Thomas under its belt.
The decision to simply make uplifting content for its website and not hammer home the retail side of the business is down to the fact the company would rather be seen as genuine than capitalise on commercial potential. Yes, in the imagery the dancers are wearing & Other Stories clothing, but the garments are secondary to the moves. “We talked a lot about how we could include the collection without it taking over, but having the squad dance naked was not an option,” Anna Nyrén, head of collaborations at & Other Stories, tells Vogue.
Kate Hollowell, another squad member, chimes in on the monetisation of International Women’s Day: “Of course there is always a goal in mind to be profitable. But if a brand is genuinely trying to showcase women empowering each other and encouraging them to follow their lead then I think it’s a great thing.”
Use #dancingstories to let loose this International Women’s Day.
