As wildfires began to engulf parts of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, many people online, including celebrities and politicians, were quick to criticize the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, accusing her of poor leadership and slow response times as she rushed back to the city from Ghana. That criticism came though it was still unclear what ignited the fires that have since left at least 25 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes and charred nearly 40,000 acres.

In response, numerous Black women have come to her defense, saying that Ms. Bass is facing a double standard that they feel many Black female leaders confront in this country.

Among those pushing for patience and fair treatment is Areva Martin, a Los Angeles civil rights lawyer. In a post on X, she called out what she described as “pervasive disinformation” about Ms. Bass. In a phone interview on Tuesday, Ms. Martin said the political climate in the country had played a huge role in the criticism of Ms. Bass.

“We have seen the far right capitalizing on natural disasters and other tragedies and using them as an opportunity to sow division and chaos and to cause doubt about the leadership of Democratic-elected officials, particularly African American elected officials,” Ms. Martin said.

The critics have been fierce. After the fires broke out, President-elect Donald J. Trump said on his Truth Social site that the officials in charge of fighting the wildfires were “incompetent,” claiming that they have “no idea how to put them out.” Rick Caruso, a real estate developer who lost to Ms. Bass in the mayoral race in 2022, has referred to her leadership and absence at the start of the wildfires as “a massive failure of epic proportions.”

Despite warnings of extreme fire risk in the area, Ms. Bass, who had previously said she would not travel abroad as mayor, was on an official trip to Ghana to attend the inauguration of its new president when the blaze broke out on Jan. 7. She returned to Los Angeles on Jan. 8.

But mixed in with questions of her decision to travel were misleading claims about cuts to the city’s fire department budget that Ms. Bass approved last year. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of The Los Angeles Times, posted on X that “competence matters,” referring to her decisions. However, the city and the firefighters’ union were negotiating a new contract when the city’s budget was approved last year and the fire department’s budget did not yet include expected raises, meaning this year’s fire budget is actually $53 million higher than it was last year.

Joining the chorus of critical voices were celebrities based in Los Angeles, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Woods, Khloe Kardashian and Sara Foster, all of whom slammed Ms. Bass’s response and leadership.

It is common for elected leaders to be blamed by people in a time of crisis, with Gov. Gavin Newsom also being a frequent target in the current news cycle. But after the initial criticism of Ms. Bass, a wave of voices, many of whom are Black women, began defending the mayor, saying that Black women are criticized more intensely than other groups.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones, an author, speaker and digital strategist in Chicago, had a post of support for Ms. Bass shared widely across social media, with more than 10,000 likes on Instagram alone. She said in a phone interview that this was yet another in a long line of cases where Black women are scapegoated.

“It’s obscene the ways in which people are trying to find reasons to come at her and I think it’s so convenient for them because, again, it’s become such a commonplace thing to do,” Ms. Jones said.

The actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg said on “The View” on Monday that she took “great offense” at those who are already pointing fingers at city and state officials. And the actresses Yvette Nicole Brown and Kym Whitley stood up for Ms. Bass, the first woman and second Black person to be elected mayor of Los Angeles, during a TMZ interview this week, citing race and misogyny as a reason she was facing more criticism than her peers.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Ms. Brown, who has been living in California for about 30 years, said she had never seen the mayor of a single city “thrown under the bus” after a natural diaster.

“So I’ve decided,” she said, “after what happened to Kamala Harris in that election, where misinformation was left unchecked and was able to flourish for too long, I’m going to get in front of this and fight for Mayor Bass before it congeals into another big lie.”

Ms. Jones said she believed that it is common for Black female leaders to inherit issues that existed before they assumed the role, only to be subsequently blamed for them when things went wrong. She referenced the treatment of Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential race and the discourse around Claudine Gay, the former president of Harvard University who resigned after criticism of her congressional testimony about antisemitism and accusations of plagiarism.

“It is tiring to watch it happen over and over and over again,” Ms. Jones said.

Ms. Martin, who echoed many of Ms. Jones’s sentiments, said she supported Ms. Bass’s election in part because of her previous roles serving in the House of Representatives and the State Assembly, as well as her experience as a community organizer.

“Any notion that she’s incompetent or that she’s a D.E.I. hire, it’s offensive,” she said.

The very messy game of designer musical chairs that roiled the fashion world at the end of 2024 is continuing into 2025.

On Wednesday, Proenza Schouler, a New York brand that was once considered the future of fashion in the city, announced that its designers, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, would be stepping down from the company, which they founded back in 2002. They will remain on the board and will continue to be minority shareholders. A search is underway for their replacements.

No reason was given for the decision, other than that the time simply felt “right,” and no statement was made about what the designers would do next. Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez reportedly began thinking about exploring other opportunities after the company’s 20th anniversary in 2022, and their new chief executive, Shira Suveyke Snyder, was brought in last October in part to manage the transition.

Still, a designer leaving a house he or she founded when it is relatively stable and they are relatively young (Mr. Hernandez and Mr. McCollough are 46) is almost unheard-of, unless there has been a falling out with a backer or the designer is planning to take another job.

It is possible Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez are setting a new precedent when it comes to career paths. But they are also widely rumored to be under consideration to be the new designers of Loewe, the Spanish brand owned by LVMH, replacing Jonathan Anderson, who has been said for months to be heading to Dior. (A spokesman declined to comment on the move.)

It should be noted that Mr. Anderson has not officially left Loewe, nor has Maria Grazia Chiuri, the creative director of Dior women’s wear whom he would theoretically replace, left Dior. Also, Kim Jones, the creative director of Dior men’s wear, recently re-signed his contract with the brand.

LVMH, which once explored acquiring Proenza Schouler, has neither confirmed nor denied the various anonymous reports suggesting all the above, even as the rumors have spread across social media. Neither Loewe nor Proenza Schouler nor JW Anderson, Mr. Anderson’s namesake brand, are on the coming fashion show schedules in New York, Paris or London.

According to headhunters, major luxury groups are now asking that designers who take on positions at fashion houses in their group stop doing double duty with their own labels. For example, Veronica Leoni, the new designer at Calvin Klein, put her Quira collection on hold when she took the bigger job.

All of which has further fueled the speculation about who is going where.

The only thing that is certain is that despite Proenza Schouler’s being synonymous with Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez, the designers intend for it to go on without them. It is not being closed or suspended, and the opening of a second store in New York in February is going ahead. (The February woman’s collection will be released digitally; the fate of a planned men’s collection is to be determined.)

What Proenza Schouler, which was named after Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez’s mothers, will look like without its founders is less clear.

Other than being known for a coolly urban art gallerist vibe and a hit bag (the PS1), and despite Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez’s being highly mediagenic, winning five Council of Fashion Designers of America awards and being championed by Anna Wintour, Proenza Schouler never really fulfilled the promise of becoming the Next Great American Brand.

Within the industry, the designers are still known as “the Proenza boys,” which reflects the sense that they have remained designers on the verge. Two collections shown in Paris during the couture shows were tepidly received, and the company has struggled with a revolving cast of investors. (Currently Proenza Schouler is majority-owned by Mudrick Capital.)

The Proenza job opening now joins those at Fendi, Maison Margiela and Helmut Lang and will further reshape a fashion world in the midst of extraordinary designer change. Eight creative directors are making their debuts this year as fashion houses seek to offer something new in the face of a global slowdown in luxury spending. The dominoes are not done falling.