Latest news with #Parke
Observer
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Observer
US strikes on Iran 'senseless and reckless': ICAN
GENEVA: The United States' military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities is "senseless and reckless", the head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said on Sunday. "By joining Israel's attack on Iran, the US is also breaking international law. Military action against Iran is not the way to resolve concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme," ICAN's Executive Director Melissa Parke said in a statement. "Given that US intelligence agencies assess Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, this is a senseless and reckless act that could undermine international efforts to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons." Geneva-based ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in drafting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect in 2021. Some 69 countries have ratified it to date, four more have directly acceded to the treaty and another 25 have signed it. "The US should have continued to pursue the diplomatic process under way before Israel resorted to the illegal use of force. This does not make the region or the world safer. It makes it more dangerous," Parke said. "Striking nuclear installations is explicitly banned under international law and risks causing radioactive contamination harmful to human health and the environment. The US must stop all military action and return to the diplomatic path." In its flagship annual report on June 13 — the day Israel began its strikes on Iran — ICAN said nuclear armed states spent more than $100 billion on their atomic arsenals last year. ICAN said Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States together spent nearly $10 billion more than in 2023. The United States spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion, Britain at $10.4 billion, Russia at $8.1 billion and France at $6.9 billion, said ICAN. — AFP
New York Post
18-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- New York Post
This is what Gen Z is obsessed with right now: Parke, Labubu and more
The scene is like something out of a turn-of-the-millennium teen movie — swarms of co-eds roaming college campuses, all wearing the same sweatshirt. This time, however, it's not a vintage Gap ad come to life — and modern girls are paying even more for the privilege of looking exactly like their peers. The object of their fashion affection is a $125 pullover from Parke, an out-of-nowhere online clothing company started by a Jersey girl influencer — and Gen Z's gotta have it. Advertisement 'It's almost like a status kind of thing,' Long Islander Gabriella Fischer, 20, told The Post of the spendy sweaters. 13 Parke is a fast-growing online clothing company known for its sweatshirts, which range in price from $125 to $140. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 13 Long Islander Gabriella Fischer, 20, said it's a 'status thing' to own one. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement Chelsea Kramer founded her clothing label Parke, which is her middle name, in 2022 and started selling the now-inescapable Parke Varsity Mockneck less than two years ago. The sweatshirts are pretty exclusive — if you're not on the website when there's a drop, you're out of luck. Fischer owns four Parke sweatshirts and said most girls in her sorority at Penn State own at least one. 13 A big part of the hype around the sweatshirt is that sense of feeling included, said Fischer, pictured here with friends Samantha Rothseid, Kali Versailles and Ella Szerencsy. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement 'You see people with the new sweatshirt, and everyone would be like, 'Oh my god, you got the new Parke,'' Fischer said. 'But I think once everyone has it and it becomes easy to get, it's not going to be as trendy.' Parke's limited collaborations are the draw — one with activewear brand Set Active was what put the company on Shirel Bendavid's map. 'It was all over my feed, and the aesthetic immediately caught my eye,' she told The Post, adding that she now owns three Parke sweatshirts, one from that collaboration. 13 'It's worth it,' Shirel Bendavid said. Courtesy Shirel Bendavid Advertisement 'Parke sweaters have that 'cool girl' look — effortlessly trendy, comfortable and visually appealing,' she said. 'Plus, being a relatively new brand adds to the excitement and sense of exclusivity.' The price of the sweatshirt definitely makes the girls pause, but for someone who loves fashion and staying on trend, Fischer believes 'this is the item to buy right now.' 'Once I saw more and more people wearing it and seeing it still be on trend after a few months, I was like, OK, it's worth it,' she admitted. 'If you're willing to have spent $130 on a sweatshirt, I would tell you it's worth it.' 13 Parke sweatshirts drop online — and only the fastest can scoop them up. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Bendavid agreed. 'I only buy items I absolutely love and know I'll get a lot of wear out of.' Last year alone, Parke netted $16 million in revenue, Kramer told The Cut — and even she finds the cult status 'actually insane.' 'I think there's that element of virality, where…one person's wearing it and then the next,' Kramer told Glossy Pop in October. 'We could probably sell a garbage bag.' 13 'This is the item to buy right now,' Fischer said. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement However, some have accused the brand of selling cheap duds at high prices. Abby French, known as @sustainablefashionfriend, went into 'private investigator mode' and screenshotted all of Kramer's videos to dig deeper. She believes Kramer buys $15 sweatshirts on Alibaba, puts 'PARKE' on them and sells them for over eight times the price. 'If a brand is telling you that they're transparent, they should at least be a little bit transparent, even if it's in pricing or where it's made,' French, a 29-year-old sustainability consultant, told The Post. 'You should be asking more from a brand that is charging you a lot for something.' 13 Parke netted $16 million in revenue, its founder said. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement 'I genuinely feel upset seeing all of these college girls buying this sweatshirt,' Mallory Brooks, @plzdontbuythat on TikTok, who works in textile and apparel design, told The Post. 'You're not buying something that has inherent value… What you're being sold is inclusivity, a sense of belonging.' But Parke isn't the only status symbol Gen Z is vying to spend money on. Here are some other things the young ones are blowing their cash on right now. Soho shopping sanctuary 13 Brandy Melville, often referred to as just 'Brandy,' is the cool spot in Soho for Zoomers to shop and hang. Tamara Beckwith The name on every Gen Z's lips is 'Brandy.' Advertisement Brandy Melville, the one-size-only stores that had their heyday in the early 2010s, is now being rediscovered. Lines formed at NYC stores within the last year, partly due to its TikTok-famous employee, Allegra Pinkowitz, who shares her outfits of the day while waiting for the subway. 13 Edikted is another shopping destination for tweens. Tamara Beckwith That's what's driven most early 20s shoppers to Soho — particularly on the block of Broadway in between Broome and Spring streets, which New York Magazine dubbed 'Tween Row' — as they wait in lines for Edikted, Princess Polly, Garage and PacSun. Advertisement Along with 'basics,' these stores sell resurrected trendy duds like extremely low-rise shorts, studded denim and chiffon tanks. Labubu lunacy 13 The status markers are everywhere — dangling from purses, backpacks and water bottles — but they're hard to come by. REUTERS No, Labubu is not the new internet slang for lobotomy. The creepy dolls with a monster-like smile might be the singular It item of 2025. The round and furry collectibles with pointy ears have been dubbed the 'Birkin bags of bag charms' because they're so exclusive. The $27.99 keychains are exclusively manufactured by Pop Mart and are sold in blind boxes, so the buyer doesn't know which Labubu they're going to get. The exclusivity around the trinket went into overdrive thanks to known Labubu lovers Lisa of Blackpink, Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Hilary Duff. 13 The internet calls them the 'Birkin bags of bag charms' because they're so hard to come by. JESSICA LEE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Pop Mart brick-and-mortar stores, like the one in the World Trade Center, have seen hourlong lines of people trying to get their hands on the beloved figure, as have the store's Robo Shop vending machines. New releases sell out online in seconds, and almost immediately, they go up on reselling sites such as eBay or StockX for triple the price. They're so hard to find that people are now actively seeking out the knockoff version, dubbed Lafufus, which has garnered its own fan base on TikTok. There's also an entire secondary market of clothes and bags for the Labubus, so you can accessorize your accessory. Scented sanitizer 13 The Touchland candy-colored sanitizers are $10 each and come in rectangular glass bottles that fit in the palm of your hand. Touchland Sanitation is now the ultimate symbol of 'cool' with the $10 Touchland candy-colored pocket sanitizers that come in rectangular glass bottles that fit in the palm of the hand. Part of the appeal of the sanitizer mist is the minimalist and colorful aesthetic that looks more like a gadget than a typical hand sanitizer. They've become so popular among teens and tweens that they're akin to Pokémon cards of previous generations, being traded as though they are prized possessions. The craze has gotten to the point where teachers have had to limit them during class. Lip gloss is poppin' 13 Summer Fridays lip balms cost $24 per tube. Not unlike the Lip Smackers craze or the millennial obsession with the EOS egg-shaped lip balms, Gen Z can't get enough of lip balms, oils, butters and glosses. But their go-tos have a bigger price tag than the $3 drug store options. Summer Fridays, Rhode, Ole Henriksen, Rare Beauty and Laneige, just to name a few, have become a staple for girls in their teens and 20s. Dig into any Zoomer's purse and you're sure to find at least one of these 'lippies' lying around.
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Storytelling Power Behind Parke's Rise And Pop-Ups
By 3 a.m., the first eager fans were waiting. By 10 a.m., the line wrapped around multiple SoHo blocks. And by day's end, Parke had its biggest sales day in history. When Parke popped up in SoHo on the weekend of May 16, the turnout surpassed all expectations. Some eager shoppers arrived as early as 3 a.m., taking trains from New Jersey and Connecticut — all to support founder and CEO Chelsea Kramer and her namesake brand ("Parke" is her middle name). The lines continued through Sunday, and Friday marked the brand's single biggest sales day ever, with nearly 1,000 shoppers walking through the door. If that sounds like a fluke, it's not. The beloved direct-to-consumer brand best known for its mockneck sweatshirts (with 'PARKE' embroidered across the chest) has gained a reputation for selling out of collections in less than five minutes. The frenzy isn't just luck — it's a perfect storm of product design, branding, storytelling, and community. And Parke has pulled it off without spending a single dollar on paid media (a notable flex). "From the beginning, I wanted Parke to grow from genuine connection, not paid reach," says Kramer. "I'm a consumer first, and I know how I connect with brands. Paid can be done well, but we've never needed it. The product and story resonated enough to be shared naturally. Word of mouth has been our most powerful tool, especially on college campuses. We've seen organic growth that performance marketing can't always replicate." What the data reveals is a masterclass in modern brand building: $16 million in revenue in 2024, and over 3,500 people lined up around the SoHo block for its most recent pop-up (1,000 more than the year prior). It's the type of momentum that earned Kramer a spot on Forbes' 2025 30 Under 30 list in the Retail and Ecommerce category. At the heart of Parke's engine is consistency. Launches follow a deliberate rhythm, with every detail — from teaser posts to email sends — timed to create anticipation and habit. "If the launch is on a Tuesday, we'll start the build-up on Thursday," Kramer explains. 'That typically looks like an inspo photo in-feed and a story set to introduce the vibe. Friday we share a few sneak peeks from the campaign shoot. Saturday, we always post the full line sheet. And by Sunday, our audience knows it's almost time for the full unveiling.' The marketing playbook extends beyond product. At the start of each month, Kramer writes a newsletter that blends reflection, behind-the-scenes updates, and a calendar of what's coming: including restocks, limited releases and seasonal collections. 'It builds real anticipation,' she says. 'Sometimes it's just: 'Here's what we're celebrating this month.'' This consistent cadence helps the consumer develop a habit to anticipate Parke's emails and accompanying news. Predictability and consistency breed trust — and trust builds loyalty. And great product, supported by great content, travels far — even without a paid push. Kramer adds: 'As a consumer, I love knowing when a brand will launch their collections. Tuesday at 10 a.m.? I'll make time for that.' It's no surprise, then, that Parke's pop-ups aren't just shopping events, they're brand pilgrimages. Treating pop-ups and IRL activations as cultural moments underscores that retail isn't just transactional: it's emotional. Photo Credit: PARKE, Madison Lane Photo Credit: PARKE, Madison Lane From hotdogs and pretzels to iconic taxi cabs, the NYC-themed branding – designed by brand design lead Camila Walter (@itsgpf) – at this May's SoHo pop-up wasn't just playful — it transformed the venue into a visual love letter to the city. For fans, it wasn't just merch. It was memorabilia. 'It wasn't just a store,' says Kramer. 'It was a physical extension of the brand. We brought in real things from my office: sketches, fabrics, notes from friends. Our whole team was there, and people could feel the energy. It's about memories and connection, not just sales.' Kramer refers to herself as a 'visual storyteller' and approaches content creation from the lens of a consumer and creative. Photo Credit: Madison Lane Photo Credit: Madison Lane "I never want something to feel salesy, whether it's Parke or a brand I collaborate with. I share because I love the product, and that goes back to before Parke even existed. My sister-in-law (Kira Kramer, who is the brand's COO) says I've always been like this — if I loved something, I'd buy it for everyone around me.' 'I didn't start with a platform or a big following,' she says. 'But in this digital age, giving people a window into your world matters. I don't share everything, but I love showing the behind-the-scenes — it makes the brand feel personal.' The moment that made it all feel real? Valentine's Day 2024. 'We sold out in seconds,' Kramer recalls. 'That was when I knew something big was happening. I only had two employees at the time. Since then, I've just kept my head down and kept going.' (Today, Parke has 12 full-time employees.) Of course, with popularity comes scrutiny. In April, a TikTok user accused Parke of white labeling items sourced from Alibaba. Kramer denied the claims, clarifying that all of Parke's products are developed in-house with a technical designer and go through multiple rounds of fit, wash and fabric refinement. 'Just keep showing up,' Kramer says. 'That's my mantra. On the hard days, on the tired days — just show up. That's when the magic happens.'
Washington Post
30-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
It's tariff season. Do you know where your clothes are made?
Earlier this spring, Abby French's TikTok followers asked her to look into the 'sustainable denim' label Parke. French, a sustainability consultant, soon started to see some unusual details in the background of posts by Parke's founder, influencer Chelsea Parke Kramer. In one video, Kramer, who launched her brand in 2022, seemed to have a lot of tabs open for Alibaba, the massive retailer of almost anything and everything for cheap, including wholesale clothing. French found pieces that Alibaba sells wholesale for eight to 12 euros per piece, such as a pair of striped boxer pants that looked quite a lot like the ones Parke sells for $100. In another video, French saw the corner of a paper with what looked like the name of a Chinese clothing supplier. When French researched further, she discovered what may be the source for the denim jackets and jeans that Kramer claims to design 'sustainably' — again, things such as $200 overalls that can be purchased from that supplier wholesale at 13 to 17 euros per garment.
Sunday World
29-05-2025
- Sunday World
Farmer who left man with broken eye-socket in pub attack avoids jail
Farmer Parke has avoided going to jail after he paid his victim €8,000 A Co Donegal man who attacked another man and left him with a broken eye-socket after a one-punch attack in a bar has avoided going to jail after he paid his victim €8,000. Father-of-four John Parke, 42, appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court where he was charged with a Section 3 assault on Gary Gibson. Farmer Parke admitted the attack and previously offered his victim a token of his remorse of €1,000 which Judge John Aylmer said "borders on an insult." The accused man returned to court where he increased his offer of remorse to his victim to €8,000. The court had heard Mr Gibson and Parke had been drinking at the Diamond Bar in Raphoe at approximately 11.30pm on August 24th, 2019 when the incident occurred. John Parke News in 90 Seconds - May 29th Prosecutor Ms Fiona Crawford said Mr Gibson had been in the bar when Parke arrived and said to Mr Gibson 'get the f**k out of the bar.' Mr Gibson then turned to Parke and told him he was finishing his half pint of alcohol when Parke suddenly struck his victim with a closed fist to the face. Mr Gibson was cleaned up and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital before being transferred to Sligo Hospital and then on to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for treatment. The court heard that Mr Gibson's right eye socket was displaced by 5 millimetres, that he was off work for three weeks, had headaches for six weeks after the incident and that he still has a 'constant drooping' in his eye. He said he was thankful to the doctors at Sligo Hospital who managed to save the sight in his right eye. Garda William Powell, the investigating member, said there had been no CCTV in the bar and nobody present was willing to make a statement. A victim impact statement on behalf of the victim said he was still afraid when he went out socially and was nervous in case he met Parke and that he always had his wife 'on standby' to collect him as he is afraid to walk home. Parke made a voluntary cautioned memo of interview to Gardai on October 2nd, 2019 in which he admitted to meeting Gary Gibson in the bar and saying to him 'what's wrong with you?' Parke said there was not a lot said between the pair but there was some 'pushing and shoving' but that he left and met his wife before going home. When the allegation that he punched Mr Gibson was put to him by Gardai, Parke replied 'Bullshit, that's a load of crap, I did not hit him.' The accused also claimed he could not have punched Mr Gibson as he had cut his hand with a blade a short time earlier and could not make a fist. However, he later entered a guilty plea to assaulting Mr Gibson. The court was told that Parke had two historic previous convictions for criminal damage going back to 2004 but none for assault of any nature. Barrister for Parke, Mr Ciaran Elders, BL, said his client was an active member of the local community and had been involved in training underage sports teams, in various charity events and he knew that he should have walked away on the night in question rather than becoming involved. He said a probation report into Parke said there had been a slight conflict and that a drink may have spilled onto his trousers and there had been a verbal spat with Mr Gibson but said he had no recollection of punching him. The probation service also said he was at a low risk of reoffending and that he was suitable for community service and is also very remorseful for what had happened. Mr Elders added that Parke was a man with a virtually unblemished record and that this incident was totally out of character for him and that there had been no further conflict between the accused and the victim. He said he had the sum of €1,000 in court by ways of compensation to his victim. Judge John Aylmer said that this was clearly a very serious assault given the circumstances adding Mr Gibson suffered a very nasty fracture to his cheekbone as he reflected on the victim's injuries. He said he placed the incident 'very much in the mid range' and one which merited a prison sentence of three years before mitigation. He added that he entered a plea at the last moment but this did not entitle him to one third off his sentence but credit has to be given for it. Judge Aylmer said he recognised the fact that Parke was of limited means but that the offer of €1,000 'is bordering on an insult to Mr Gibson.' Barrister Mr Elders suggested if he had more time but the Judge replied that he 'has had an awful lot of time' but said he was still in denial at giving Mr Gibson such a firm blow that he would cause such injuries. 'He has a long way to go to avoid a prison sentence,' added the Judge. Mr Elders asked if the court had any idea of a figure which it would be satisfied with, to which Judge Aylmer replied 'No. He will have to arrive at it himself. It's not a cattle mart.' A revised offer of €8,000 was made in court which the accused man's barrister said was "a huge amount of money for him to raise." Mr Elders added that he did not think there was a huge benefit to society by incarcerating Parke saying he was a functioning member of his community and broader society as a whole. Passing final sentence, Judge John Aylmer said Parke caused a very serious injury to his victim and he placed the assault at the mid range of such incidents meriting a sentence of three years before mitigation. Judge Aylmer referred to the probation service report which said Parke was deemed a low risk of reoffending, the lack of any major previous convictions as well as a letter from Parke's partner. He said it was clear that incarceration would place an extreme burden on the accused man's family and especially his child with special needs for whom Parke cares for. The Judge added that the increase from €1,000 to €8,000 for Mr Gibson was a more genuine token of remorse and having regard to his otherwise good character, he proposed to deal with the sentence by way of a non-custodial sentence. He ordered Parke to do 240 hours community service in lieu of two years in prison on the basis that the money is paid over to Mr Gibson, not as compensation as he may have a future claim for compensation, but as a token of his remorse.
