PPB June 2021

EA230311 / oksanatukane / Oleksii Arseniuk / Shutterstock.com Considering employees’ needs, White Castle designed one, marking the first time a fast-food chain has offered branded durags as part of employee uniforms. Durags are popular in Black American culture and became a cultural symbol in the ’60s. They are worn to preserve moisture in the scalp and create a wave-like effect on hair. They also keep hair covered and out of one’s face, which is particularly helpful in kitchen environments, or when working with food in general. To design the durags and give the uniforms a refresh, White Castle requested the help of award- winning, Liberian-American fashion designer, Telfar Clemens. Clemens, who founded his eponymous brand TELFAR, a Bushwick, Brooklyn-based unisex fashion label, and who’s also a DJ, has a reputation for pushing the boundaries in inclusive fashion. His line, which is sold internationally, carries the slogan, “It’s not for you—it’s for everyone.” White Castle’s uniforms now include a t-shirt, polo shirt, visor, apron and durag, all designed in light and royal blue and black, and featuring White Castle’s logo with references to its centennial anniversary. Through the durags and refreshed uniforms, Fast Company writes that Clemens helped convey that fast-food workers are deserving of functional uniforms that are both sleek and fashion-forward, and which they’re proud to wear. To further commemorate the event, photographer Elliot Jerome Brown Jr. snapped photos of employees working in the Bayside location in Queens, New York, as part of an intimate portrait series. Brown’s photos offer a look into employees’ lives during the pandemic, when they often arrived early and stayed late during a time when many stayed home. The partnership between TELFAR and White Castle is a continuation of one that started in 2015, when the chain hosted TELFAR’s afterparty during New York Fashion Week at its Times Square location, complete with DJs and a make-your-own-burger bar. Clemens also fully redesigned its uniform in 2017, creating a unisex style for White Castle’s 10,000 employees, and also selling the uniform as streetwear fashion on TELFAR’s website. Proceeds from the limited-edition White Castle collection, featuring both TELFAR’s and White Castle’s logos, went to the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Liberty and Justice Fund, a nonprofit human rights advocacy organization that provides bail to imprisoned minors. TECH TALK All Talk And Soundbites Audio-only social media application Clubhouse inspires Facebook to create a rival application, Live Audio Rooms, allowing users to talk with and listen to live conversations, lectures, performances and entertainment in real-time. It’s ironic that in the aftermath of the “Zoom boom,” there’s a heightened interest in audio-only applications. But perhaps, as a WIRED headline reads, “The Future of Social Media is All Talk.” Facebook announced in late April its plans to release an audio- only feature, Live Audio Rooms, sometime this summer, following the success of competitor Clubhouse. Clubhouse, a social media application for iPhone users that is audio-only, launched in March of last year and now serving more than 10 million active users, is said to be designed for talkers and listeners alike, permitting users to drop in and out of ongoing conversations about any topic imaginable, and at their leisure, and to start conversations or lead events of their own. According to Clubhouse’s website, every day the application hosts thousands of rooms—the maximum number of people allowed in each room is 5,000— from daily talk shows and standup comedy to musical performances and academic lectures, and congregations about anything and everything, including support groups, sports enthusiasts, meditation gatherings and | JUNE 2021 | 73 THINK