10 Black Owned Brands to Check-out!
In today’s fashion industry, the rise and success of Black-owned fashion brands represents a diverse landscape and shuttering of previous exclusionary barriers. Black designers and entrepreneurs have changed the Western aesthetic ideal and also presented clothing that has unique cultural importance to minority groups. Some represent the African-American community with a predilection for streetwear while others showcase the rich immigrant experience of Black Brits. The wide ranging names listed in this brief are the future of the industry and set to be the new gatekeepers that will, hopefully, inspire young Black artists and creatives to enter fashion.
Telfar Clemens is an American fashion designer born in Queens, New York who became an industry darling after his vegan Shopping Bag was deemed an “it-bag” by major fashion publications. Clemens is often lauded from bringing inclusivity and accessibility to luxury fashion through his bag security programs and product pricing.
Grace Wales Bonner, designer and graduate of Central Saint Martins, founded her eponymous brand in 2014 named Wales Bonner. Though the brand first focused on menswear, it has since grown to include womenswear as well. Her work is distinct for its fusion of classic English sensibility and Afro Atlantic vibrancy. Despite these aesthetic differences, her designs imagine a world where a certain “hybridity” exists. One where bohemia and conservatism did not negate one another. In 2021, she received the CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year and in 2022, Bonner was awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for her contributions to fashion.
Founded by designer Tremaine Emory, the brand Denim Tears is an uncovering of the African Diaspora and an ode to Black culture. The former creative director of Supreme released his first collection in 2019, on the 400th anniversary of the day American slavery began. The collection included hoodies and jeans marked with floral wreaths and the brand’s logo. To Emory, fashion can be a way to elicit the visceral reaction the reality of the American Black experience deserves. Through Denim Tears, the designer has also collaborated with numerous brands like Stussy, Levi’s and YEEZY.
British-Jamaican designer Martine Rose is the founder of the eponymous menswear label Martine Rose since 2007. A graduate of Middlesex University, Rose grew up in the melting pot of south London and was exposed to rave and punk subcultures through her older cousins as a young girl. Her own Jamaican upbringing and the diversity she grew up with culminated in her unconventional, often exaggerated designs that made her a cult favorite. Rose’s work in menswear borrows heavily from womenswear from the grandiose designs to materials such as fur and satin. This break from the gender binary has opened her legion of fans to men and women, despite designing a menswear label.
American designer and DJ Heron Preston is the founder of the eponymous label Heron Preston and co-founder of streetwear brand Been Trill. A Parsons graduate, Preston first started as a street photographer, showing his work in art galleries and working as an art director for Kanye West. The designer’s work encompasses the explosion of streetwear in youth culture with hoodies, t-shirts and sweatpants informing the bulk of his designs. His label is also part of the movement of sustainability of fashion after collaborating with the New York Department of Sanitation on a sold out zero-waste collection. A self proclaimed obsessive about Russian culture, numerous garments from Preston’s collection are marked by a print of the word “style” in Cyrillic.
https://www.biancasaunders.com/
Founder of her eponymous brand “Bianca Saunders” in 2017, the British-Jamaican designer was awarded the ‘One to Watch’ award in 2018 and later won the Andam Grand Prix Fashion award in 2021. Saunders’ garments are infused with dramatism, glamor and modern sex and romance. Her background as a Brit with Jamaican heritage closely informs her work and is why her collections encompass a wide variety of stories. Her collections are presented with a sister zine or work of art that further explains her intentions. The functionality of clothes bored her and her goal was to add fantastical elements through draping, color, illusions and shaping. Despite the dynamism, subtlety underlies each garment, adding an element of levity.
Nigerian-born fashion designer and Londoner Mowalola Ogunlesi is the founder of the label Mowalola. A Central Saint Martins graduate, Ogunlesi debuted her first collection in 2019 as part of London Fashion Week. Deriving inspiration from 1970s Nigerian rock, her garments are an unabashed celebration of sex and desire. From bright colors to tight leather and tie dye, Ogunlesi’s designs are singular in their eccentricity and variety. In 2020, she toyed around with releasing a line of Mowalola thongs. But her cult following from fans and celebrities alike can only be explained by her willingness to be brash and toe the line of acceptable and controversial.
The Brooklyn-based Jamaican designer Edvin Thompson launched his brand Theophilio in 2016. Thompson, an immigrant, based his label on two qualities: celebrating diverse cultural heritages and sustainable, upcycled garments. He describes his designs as “a focus on the celebrations of life after overcoming the obstacles and triumphs along the way.” His Jamaican heritage permeates his designs from the earthy colors to island fashion that can only be described as sensual and vibrant. Thompson dresses a woman who, beneath her sophistication, is the life-of-the-party.
Co-founded by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume “Gee” Schmidt, Patta is one of the few international Black-owned streetwear brands. Alongside the clothing label, Sabajo and Schmidt also own the Patta Soundsystem, Patta Running Team and Patta Foundation – a non-profit focused on youth education. Named after the Surinamese term “shoe”, the brand’s name itself is a tribute to the founders’ heritage. Though the brand started by importing sneakers internationally, they now create apparel and jewelry and collaborate with brands like Nike.
Co-founded by co-creative directors Ashley Cimone and Moya Annece, Ashya is a luxury leather goods and accessories brand. Cimone, an American and Annece, Jamaican collaborated to create a label that had influences of both regions and based in West African and Caribbean culture. Their first show was titled Origins and showcased an interpretive dance with elements of African and Caribbean culture. For the duo, storytelling is the ethos behind the label and the drive behind their desire to create and design. Both graduates of FIT, their brand and its unapologetic African influences also mark the shift in the fashion industry of what materials are used, what stories are told.
In conclusion, the listed Black-owned brands have emerged as cult-favorites and perfect examples of the current cultural moment. Whether it be pushing streetwear into the mainstream or incorporating traditional African designs and textiles, these brands have changed the perception of Black culture in fashion. By highlighting and championing them, we not only bring attention to their craftsmanship and creativity but also make ourselves catalysts for change.
Article by Sneha KC, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Paige Schubert, Graphic Design Intern, PhotoBook Magazine
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