For their eighth showroom, The Black in Fashion Council Discovery Showrooms presented by Rakuten went even bigger and more global than before. Hailing from places including Mexico, Cameroon, and France, designers showcased their collections and pieces to buyers, influencers, and press during New York Fashion Week at the High Line Nine, an art gallery.
Some of year’s designers had a rich past that helped influence their collections: Muktar Onifade of GVDS hailed from a mechanical engineering background before transitioning into fashion. While working his day job at GE, he would ask local seamstresses to teach him how to sew at night, and now he incorporates his technical background into his streetwear pieces. Tiffany Haynes of QOH Jewelry was a fashion intern at Interview magazine when she first discovered her passion for jewelry. Eventually she began sketching and now creates her own fine jewelry inspired by the infrastructure of New York City.
Designers also came from near and far, like Nia Thomas a born and raised New Yorker who now resides in Mexico City, where she sources her wool, beads, and materials and uses local artisans to create her handmade knits. When asked how the handmade pieces are knit to such precision that they look machine made, she said “artisans have been doing this since they were little girls and now they’re in their 50s. It takes about four days to make the pieces.” Nathalie Chebou Moth of Omôl, a Cameroonian designer based in Paris, makes handwoven raffia bags that double as a musical instrument when not being used to store items. They also come in a range of colorful bright neons, representative of Cameroon’s rich culture.
Personal stories were at the heart of some brands. Vanessa Bellan of V.Bellan relaunched her jewelry business after the passing of her daughter, creating pieces that she feels her daughter would have cherished. Today, she sells a mix of fun fashion and fine jewelry that ranges from more youthful styles with sunshine motifs to fancier styles with pearls. The twin brothers behind BruceGlen began their careers in fashion when they dropped out of university due to financial difficulty. These days their rainbow colored pants sets are getting top grades. As they said: “Sheryl Lee Ralph wore this to an interview with Oprah, and Oprah said ‘Oh my goodness, Sheryl, look at you—that’s an A plus plus!’ We didn’t get A’s in high school but we did with Oprah.”
Keeyahri and Silver Riley, accessories brands founded by Keya Martin and Lola Banjo respectively, were both driven by the mission to create premium products that come in a range of styles and colors that embrace confidence. For Banjo that means bags that come in a color palette with names like Nolita lime, Soho red, and Fort Greene green so that her customers can have a bit of fun when deciding what to purchase. Martin offers a customizable option to her footwear so that customers can switch out their heel colors to match their personalities.
And while these designers are creating unique pieces that people might want to keep secret, designers like Amari Carter hope they won’t. Carter said, “My customer base, they’re gatekeepers. They wear it but they will not tag. They will not give a shoutout. They don’t want the girls knowing.” So if you’ve ever seen one of her knit wrap tops that can be worn in multiple ways or her star cut-out denim corset tops on Instagram and wondered where it was from, we’re giving you easy access to shop it here. “They’ve got to support the small businesses,” she said.
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