Cushnie Is The Latest Fashion Brand To Close During The Pandemic

Another brand is closing due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and this time, it’s a true industry icon. Cushnie announced that it can no longer weather the storm and will be shuttering its doors for good. “The brand was just not going to be able to recover," founder Carly Cushnie told The New York Times. "It just wasn’t possible, with the lost revenue, to try and generate enough sales to keep the business going.”

The brand was founded as Cushnie et Ochs in 2008 by Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs. It immediately drew famous fans including Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, and Jennifer Lopez, and was widely known for its modern and body-conscious silhouettes. In 2018, Carly took over as the sole creative director and the brand name was shortened to Cushnie. As one of the most successful Black-owned brands on the official New York Fashion Week calendar, Cushnie was known for enlisting an inclusive runway cast, featuring models of various races and sizes.

Cushnie revealed that the largest hurdles to keeping the brand afloat were the loss of sales and the closure of brick-and-mortar stores, which remained largely shuttered around the world for the better part of the past eight months. Cushnie joins Sies Marjan on a long list of brands that shut down due to the effects of Covid-19. It is a time to get out, if you are able, to support your favorite designers and aid in the future of an industry that was already largely struggling with old models and new technologies, long before Covid-19 ravaged the world.