These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.

Brandon Blackwood isn't stopping at internet-famous handbags
Misty White Sidell interviews handbag designer Brandon Blackwood as he expands his massively successful line of internet-famous handbags to a lifestyle brand with shoes and ready-to-wear. On the subject of being labeled an "activist designer," Blackwood tells Sidell: "Being a Black designer, people always want a trauma story, they want some race trauma story or for me to be like, 'fight the power,' 24/7. I just genuinely like these bags and I feel like I keep having to fight back against this." He introduces his Spring 2022 collection on his website on Friday. {WWD}

Can the metaverse transform fashion business models?
Marc Bain, who has written on the subject of the metaverse extensively, explores its potential impact on the fashion industry for Business of Fashion. Specifically, Bain is curious to understand the transformation of business models. "My guess is 3D experiences and capabilities will flourish but we'll still roam the internet in 2D much of the time," predicts Bain. "Blockchain and NFTs will advance and find new applications but we'll still use plenty of centralised [sic] services. The future is often both more mundane and more strange than anyone predicts." {Business of Fashion}

Chromat's collaboration with Tourmaline is officially live
Chromat's Spring 2022 collection, created in collaboration with artist Tourmaline, was billed when it debuted on the September "runway" (actually Riis Beach in Queens, New York) as a "future-forward bodywear" and "swimwear for girls who don't tuck, trans femmes, non-binary and trans masc people who pack, intersex people, women, men and everyone embracing Collective Opulence Celebrating Kindred." The collection is officially available for purchase on Chromat's website as of Friday. {Fashionista inbox}

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