9 BLACK Designers to KNOW WATCH and SUPPORT in 2021
“True diversity starts from the ground up and exists at all levels of the industry.”
The High Fashion space has long been dominated by white faces. It's true, the modern push for diversity has brought us sprinkles of color, but where exactly is this diversity change happening? When people think about diversity in the fashion industry, they often think about the figures at the most visible part of the process - the people we see. In fashion, those people are most notably the models. Don't get us wrong, people like Imaan hammam and Adut Akech are more than deserving of their flowers, but what about the people behind the scenes?
Where are the tastemakers, the fashion architects, and trend-creators. How diverse are the faces of the people cutting, shaping and designing the looks that we see gracefully gliding down the runways? True diversity starts from the ground up and exists at all levels of the industry. That means Black and Brown faces styling, modeling, creative directing and designing the carefully curated high fashion lines we see all over our favorite publications.
They do exist. Some have dressed countless celebrities and taken Fashion Week by storm. All have played a major role in bringing high fashion to the standard we hold it to today. And despite calling home an industry that undermines their keen creative eyes, they’ve prevailed, and have put out countless collections with an incomparable amount of talent. Now, it's our turn to celebrate them.
Here are our favorite BLACK designers to know, watch and support in 2021.