Cannabis industry networking group Women Grow is teaming up with fashion designer Korto Momolu, of Project Runway fame, on a new line of cannabis lifestyle clothing, set to debut during New York Fashion Week next month. Momolu will unveil her line, inspired by Women Grow and its leaders, on the second night of one of the most important weeks for the global fashion industry.
"Through Korto's innovative and elegant collection, our goal is to break through the stigma of cannabis culture and bring to light the health benefits of the plant and value of women leaders in the industry," Chanda Macias, CEO of Women Grow and D.C.-based dispensary National Holistic Healing Center, said in a statement.
Founded in 2014, Women Grow is a cannabis industry networking group that aims to cultivate female leadership in the cannabis industry, as well as reduce stigma to encourage industry participation from a variety of diverse entrepreneurs. Limitations on marketing for cannabis and hemp companies have forced Women Grow to get creative when attempting to share its values, which Macias described as strength, boldness, and inclusivity, and encouraging women to "come out of the cannabis closet."
"This is a whole other venue to get our voices heard and it's almost liberating for someone like me, who's been suppressed and who wants to spread this message and make cannabis mainstream. Now we can spread it through our expression in clothing, our expression in fashion," Macias said.
"I think that what Dr. Chanda and Korto have done is make a statement, not only for fashion, but for the fashion industry, of, 'Look what women can bring,'" added Gia Morón, president of Women Grow.
Fashion may be a newer channel for Women Grow, but Fashion Week isn't the organization's first sartorial dalliance ー or even its first collaboration with Momolu. Earlier this year, Macias, who was a big fan of Momolu's since watching Project Runway, approached the Liberian-born designer about participating in the 2019 Women Grow Leadership Summit in June. Much to Macias' surprise, Momolu was enthusiastic and put together a "wellness and health line of clothing" mixed with high fashion pieces. Macias said the pieces were affordable and practical ー pockets for vape pens, leggings for comfort ー but evocative of the designer's signature bold style.
"She launched this line of clothes which was all for Women Grow. Within two hours the whole line was sold out at Women Grow Leadership Summit," Macias said. "The boldness of this: fashion meets cannabis? Seriously?"
Some of those same pieces will appear in New York Fashion Week, but Macias said the line will be much more extensive, featuring an estimated 30 to 40 pieces when it makes its debut Saturday, Sep. 7. To add to the theme, some of the makeup and textiles used in the line will be made with hemp.
The collaboration will hardly be the first time the disparate worlds of cannabis culture and high fashion have collided. High end cannabis brand Beboe kicked off as a collaboration between Italian online retailer YOOX's ex-President Clement Kwan and tattoo artist Scott Campbell. Cannabis has hit the runway on several occasions, including in 2016, when American fashion designer Alexander Wang stuck those famous fan leaves onto mohair coats and skirts.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
