Malal Yousafzai Launches Extracurricular Apple TV Programming Partnership

Women’s rights activist Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is building on her longstanding relationship with Apple with an exciting, original programming partnership for Apple TV+. The alliance will produce dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, and children’s series, — all born of Malala’s historic ability to inspire people of every age in every country in the world.

“I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements, and inspire children to dream,” said Malala Yousafzai. “And I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Apple to help bring these stories to life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it.”

Malala and her new production studio Extracurricular is an extension of Apple’s long-running relationship with the young women who was shot in the head by Taliban forces. Sitting in her Swat Valley school bus on Oct. 9, 2012, Malala remained unconscious and in critical condition at the Tawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. In a symbolic girls education nightmare watched by the entire world, Malala was then airlifted out of Pakistan to the UK to seek asylum.

The brilliant humanitarian and activist, inspired by her own education activist father Ziauddin, recovered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham UK. In addition to offering world class medical resources, Birmingham has a large population — about 20% — of Muslims from all over the world.

When Malala founded Malala Fund to champion every girl’s right to 12 years of safe, free, quality education, Apple proudly became her first Laureate partner “supporting the organization’s work with local advocates and teachers in eight countries where girls face significant education challenges. Apple also assists with technology, curriculum, and research into policy changes to support girls’ education. The partnership has since expanded, and in Brazil, Apple’s 10 Developer Academies have partnered with Malala Fund to advance girls’ education opportunities there and around the world”, writes the Apple Newsroom. .

The voice of young women worldwide, Malala Yousafzai graduated virtually from Oxford University in Fall 2020. She wrote an essay published on Vanity Fair “Not the Ending I Imagined”: Malala on Her Virtual Oxford Graduation”.

Malala will join Apple’s burgeoning roster of creative visionaries, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Idris Elba, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Octavia Spencer, Kumail Nanjiani, Alfonso Cuarón, and more.

Savage X Fenty ,Valued at $1 Billion, Is Poised To Rival Victoria's Secret and Win

When LVMH and Rihanna agreed to hit ‘pause’ — perhaps a very long pause — on Fenty, it only confirmed the reality that even Rihanna cannot gear up a global luxury brand of fashion clothes during a pandemic. Vanessa Friedman and the New York Times explained the ‘situation’, as both parties — LVMH and Rihanna agreed that the decision was a joint one.

The brand is not officially closed and Rihanna remains part of LVMH. Friedman pursue the analysis as a reminder “that just because someone has an enormous cultural following and no-holds-barred taste, it does not mean they will make great, original clothes..”

AOC’s interest is the $115 million fundraising round for Savage x Fenty by L Catterton, a private equity firm connected to LVMH. We reported in December that the partnership both put swimwear brand Seafolly into administration in Australia in June 2020 and then bought it back again at an attractive price near year’s end. This new round of fundraising resulted in Savage’s valuation exceeding $1 billion, wrote Fast Company.

Savage x Fenty is poised to

I hadn’t read any projections that Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie and beauty brands could exceed the struggling Victoria’s Secret brand. But the thought has crossed my mind more than once — and noted on AOC. Savage x Fenty just wiped the Victoria’s Secret floor with their recent Valentine’s Day campaign, leaving VS to look like a rudderless ship that’s turning in circles.

If Victoria’s Secret didn’t have their For Love & Lemons collab, the brand would visually appear to be even more adrift. (Note, that Anne (me) was the fashion director and head of product development for Victoria’s Secret during the glory years. I resigned over the increasing brand positioning differences between myself and Ed Razek, and our abandoning our relationship with women to give the brand to guys.

Rihanna and I share the view that women should control our sexuality on our own terms. And that includes a sexual mindset that is hotter than Hades. “She’s unapologetic,” says Savage co-president Christiane Pendarvis. “What she does is for herself and not for someone else. That’s what we try to embody at Savage: Giving that power and control back to all women.”

Pendarvis was VP of Merchanding at Victoria’s Secret from 2004 to 2008. That’s a short run, so Pendarvis may have had her own ‘issues’ with the growing boys club at VS. And while I cannot state that I ever imagined taking Rihanna’s approach to coverying every body out there in the lingerie of her choice, I definitely fought to expand our range of sizing into the mainstream of American women.

One thing is clear — besides the brilliance of Rihanna’s merchandising instincts — and that of her team. Rihanna has access to big money and important relationships. With her commitment to Amazon — avoided by so many upscale brands — Rihanna could pitch Jeff Bezos for an investment. And when Bernanrd Arnault is in your corner and you deliver results, money is not a problem.

As the mogul moves to build lingerie stores, her full-frontal confrontation with Victoria’s Secret will become even more overt. After spending some time pursuing the question as to whether or not Savage x Fenty could become bigger than Victoria’s Secret, the answer appears to be a definitive ‘yes’.

To put it as plainly as I can, it would be such ‘Just Desserts’ for VS — and delivered by a black woman, no less. I love it. ~ Anne