New York Fashion Week (and the SoHo traffic it creates) may have come to a close, but Black History Month is still ongoing and my main priority. In honor of both, I wore Black-owned brands throughout NYFW as an open display of progress and rebellion. Though I typically wear these pieces year-round, I found it especially important to highlight them this February.
Over the last decade, the prominence of Black designers and their impact on the industry has become undeniable. A turning point for me, and surely many other young Black fashion lovers, was when the late Virgil Abloh went from helming his mid-2000s brand Pyrex Vision to being the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton—all without a traditional fashion design background. This controversial appointment was the first time someone like me realized you could break the rules by redefining them.
The next generation of Black talent refuses to be left out or ignored. It took years for someone like Dapper Dan—a CFDA lifetime achievement recipient and icon—to receive proper industry acknowledgment, yet his legacy allows for today’s talent to be rightfully celebrated in real time. I want to honor them too.
I wanted to sport Black designers both established and emerging, such as Christopher John Rogers and Dylan Mekhi. I’m still exploring and finding my signature style, but I like to mix high and low, and wear Black culture on my sleeve. I’m typically one to reach for the all-black ensemble, but when I wore Black designers for a week, I challenged myself to wear more color. Each day I turned on a different part of my persona in an effort to fully realize the variations of style and audience each designer represents. Needless to say, each turned out to be a crowd-pleaser.
LOOK ONE: AGBOBLY
This particular TOGO knit sweater by CFDA recipient and designer Jacques Agbobly is an all-time favorite of mine. It breathes life into color in a way that still feels refined and classic.
LOOK TWO: CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS
This particular oversized dress has become a favorite amongst the fashion fluent, so I wanted to wear it in a way that reflected who I am. A streetwear hat to me is what a Fendi baguette is to Carrie Bradshaw. Naturally a Brandon Blackwood mini Bamboo clutch fit right in.
LOOK THREE: NL LABEL
I’ve always had a fondness for daytime slips. So this dress designed by Nichole Lynel of NL Label paired with some archival Comme Des Garçons and a Telfar circle bag had my name written all over it.
LOOK FOUR: DAILY PAPER
To me, Daily Paper represents a global vision of modern Blackness. Their African roots mesh with city style in a way that always makes perfect sense. In their hands, a muted sweatshirt or hoodie never gets old.
LOOK FIVE: DYLAN MEKHI
CSM graduate and designer Dylan Mekhi embodies inclusivity in all of his work, which is designed to fit sizes XS to 2XL. For this particular look, I was obsessed with the hooded cape jacket and his origami-like style of design.
