Days ago, The Cutting Room Floor host and one of fashion’s most talented insiders, Recho Omondi, seemingly broke the internet. She dubbed what happened 55K Gate. I’m calling it a wake-up call. In case you’re unaware, Omondi is a public figure who has interviewed figures ranging from Law Roach to Steve Madden on her digital series, which is available for $6 a month on Patreon. What’s enjoyable about her show is how candid her guests are, which I credit to her ability to ask the right questions. Her follow-up game mid-interview is equally as impressive as her questions. There’s a level of repertoire and talent that comes with pulling responses out of folks. Recho has this ability, and the growth of her series proves that. (She also has full-time colleagues who contribute to The Cutting Room Floor, three to be exact.)
As one of the industry’s current respected voices, it was a natural progression for Omondi to eventually offer roles at The Cutting Room Floor. As of nearly two weeks ago, there was a role being offered on behalf of her company. Said role “combines the responsibilities of a bookings administrator and studio coordinator.” But what struck a nerve with individuals on social media was the salary being capped at $55,000 a year. Personal assistant duties to Omondi were also expected, and no benefits came with this position. What happened after the role went live? Social media users immediately began dogpiling on Omondi. In my eyes, the role showcased the growth of the company, and also how, as a business owner, Recho is seeking to expand opportunities to others.
The dogpiling consisted of immediate responses from Recho’s followers. In the comments, one person wrote: “55k is 33k after taxes. You can’t afford the position. Especially in nyc.” Another individual shared: “55K for an in person job in NYC is borderline exploitation at this point.” From my perspective, the salary figure was not a livable wage. And according to The Cut’s reporting, the New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development, “a salary that size would classify the earner as ‘very low income.’”
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I still remember it like it was yesterday: my first fashion internship in NYC at a highly regarded publication. I was an eager college student visiting family for Christmas Break who’d landed a dream internship. The role was unpaid; however, I left the internship with an understanding that I wanted to work in a capacity at a magazine in New York City. Never mind that I’d already been working at my college’s magazine, Journey, as a stylist, or the fact that I’d been a women’s wear director at a magazine at Florida State University. (I was a student at Florida A&M University when I accepted this role.) I went on runs for the magazine in the snow, I took meticulous photos via a digital camera of hundreds of items that were being messengered in and out, and so many other tasks.
Have you perused LinkedIn recently? There are solid roles at lauded companies that are offering less than $55,000 a year with benefits for entry-level positions. Is credibility and resume-building ever worth it? I’ll let the countless students and interns who trek to New York City each year answer this.
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Recho’s responses to 55K Gate are a lesson in offering oneself grace and also the lack of grace the public offers Black women, ie, racism. One response from Omondi in a live TikTok hit me deep: “It’s not lost on me that that’s not a glamorous wage. You can’t be living lavishly.” She also expressed that the candidate for the role would be “the kind of person who wants to come to New York and hustle in the early years of their career.” This was me at different stages of my professional career. I saw value in offering assistance, interning, writing, and working myself haggard because I felt opportunities would come when I paid my dues, and so far, I’m where I once dreamed of being professionally. Was it all worth it? Sometimes I ponder that, but in my opinion, and as someone who has been inside the fashion industry, specifically in New York City for 10 years, Omondi deserves better.
“There are a lot of people who would love to get a job out of school, and it’s $55K because they see value in it,” Omondi also shared. She even added that 800 people applied for the position. Rather than viewing her commentary as distasteful, I reckon folks take off their rose-tinted glasses and ask their oldest friends how much their first job in NYC paid them. I was once paid $11 an hour for an assistant role at a top publication in fashion with no benefits. Years before that, I had a friend who was Black and queer, who interned more than once for no pay, no lunch, and was expected to go above and beyond on the daily.
As Black people in fashion, we’re often made to feel as though we do not belong in spaces that we get invited to–this happens all under the guise that we’re wanted in said spaces. When opportunities arise, whether lowly paid or not, we’re often left with no other choice than to take the role that pays meagerly. The pay-off might be a promotion, or perhaps access to contacts that you did not have before the role. (These are real-life experiences I’ve had.)
To me, 55K Gate might send a message to the industry that salaries like this won’t cut it. But, I hope what’s not lost here is that Omondi and The Cutting Room Floor are doing great work that deserves to be further supported. Could the salary have been higher? Yes. Omondi has taken accountability by sharing that she “made a mess out of this unintentionally.” As of today, the role is frozen. “I can appreciate everyone’s feedback,” Recho shared. Omondi also noted that there were posting obligations that led to the Gwyneth Paltrow clips being posted. (I can appreciate her explaining this rather than not taking accountability here.) She was well aware that posting through the internet madness “gave the impression we were ignoring this or being tone deaf.”
Next, The Cutting Room Floor is slated to revisit the previously posted role in a “buttoned up” manner. In a predatory industry like fashion, I hope that those who are familiar with how the fashion industry operates are willing and able to sit with themselves and ask if they’ve helped someone who doesn’t look like them and does not hail from their same type of background with a job, or offered life-changing assistance to a marginalized peer. If you haven’t, ask yourself why–and perhaps seek to rectify this as soon as possible. After all, New York Fashion Week is coming up!