The Ivy Park fashion brand is now wholly-controlled by Beyoncé amidst numerous allegations of impropriety involving partner Topshop. It’s now believed that an Ivy Park sweatshop prompted the immediate shift.
Last year, we pointed to a raft of accusations that Beyoncé’s Ivy Park clothing line was effectively running a sweatshop in Sri Lanka. After allegedly paying pennies to workers toiling in unsafe conditions, the brand then slapped exorbitant prices on its final products — with Beyoncé and other celebrities lending the star power to make it all possible.
Now, there’s another wave of accusations. Just this morning, Beyoncé’s business entity Parkwood has severed all ties with its 50/50 partner in Ivy Park, Topshop owner Sir Phillip Green.
Green is the billionaire who owns Arcadia Group, which in turn owns Topshop. That appeared to be a fruitful partnership at first, though Green has been battling accusations of sexual abuse, racial discrimination, and bullying of his staff, across various companies.
Green has “categorically and wholly” denied the accusations, though they soon took on a life of their own. Ultimately, a member of British Parliament accused the billionaire of taking deliberate steps to muzzle the accusations, and Ivy Park has been facing pressure to sever ties.
Which is exactly what has now occurred.
The Ivy Park deal was entirely structured through the Topshop entity. “After discussions of almost a year, Parkwood has acquired 100 percent of the Ivy Park brand,” Parkwood disclosed in a statement, while noting that Topshop will fulfill any remaining orders before completely exiting the partnership.
Green has yet to offer any comment.
Leading the charge to dump Topshop was Equality Now, a group that focused on issues of gender equality. “Beyoncé has put herself forward as a women’s rights activist,” the group’s Yasmeen Hassan said last month. “She and her team need to look closely at these allegations.”
Ivy Park, which is a female-focused ‘athleisure’ fashion brand, has worked with high-wattage superstars like SZA, Yara Shahidi, and Sophie Koella, among others.