We are always excited when Refinery29 gets a pop culture shout-out. (For instance, when Abbi on Broad City referenced Drew Barrymore's post on our site about an amazing suitcase.) So obviously we were tickled to see our Global Editor-in-Chief and co-founder Christene Barberich transformed into a comic book heroine.
Barberich makes an appearance in the season finale of Heroine Chic, a digital comic. Heroine Chic follows Zoe Porter, an aspiring fashion designer in New York. However, it's not just any New York —this version of the city has superheroes. Zoe meets Barberich while selling her clothing at the Brooklyn Flea. Immediately, Barberich is impressed by Zoe's clothing, and discovers that they're on the same page about what is empowering for women.
"I also believe women don't need capes and costumes to feel powerful," Zoe says. "Our clothes and our shoes, everything we wear every day should make us super." Barberich concurs: "Exactly! What we wear helps us discover who we are — and when our sense of style connects to our sense of individuality fashion becomes a powerful tool to inform who we are — and we who we can be — as women."
In a statement, writer David Tischman explained why he chose to include Barberich. "We needed a real person in New York fashion whose opinion means something to young designers," he said. “Christene Barberich was my first thought. Christene speaks to how clothes can make us feel, and how they can help create our identity.”
You can read the comic here.