The appointment of Kate Nishimura and Angela Velasquez to co-lead Sourcing Journal’s editorial strategy signals a renewed focus on the material foundations of fashion. For our museum, this shift in trade journalism underscores a perennial truth: the journey from fiber to form is the true story of lingerie. Every innovation in sourcing, sustainability, or logistics directly shapes the intimate apparel we study, from the silk routes that supplied early 20th-century ateliers to the modern quest for recycled elastane.
Velasquez’s deep expertise in denim, cultivated since founding SJ Denim in 2014, connects to a rich lineage. Denim’s workwear origins, later adopted by brands like Vanity Fair for casual foundations, illustrate how sourcing narratives transform a fabric's purpose. Similarly, Nishimura’s analysis of trade policy and nearshoring echoes mid-century shifts when companies like Maidenform moved production, responding to global economic currents that still dictate where a bra is sewn today.
Their leadership promises to sharpen the examination of supply chains that are, ultimately, the lifelines of lingerie creation. As they guide coverage on material innovation and labor, we are reminded that understanding a garment begins long before it reaches a mannequin in our digital archive. It starts with the raw threads of global industry, now under fresh editorial stewardship.
Originally reported by WWD