February affords us all the opportunity to acknowledge, reflect, and uplift black Americans and while I love any excuse to celebrate, it’s something that shouldn’t require a calendar notification. In pursing a career in fashion, I feel a constant despondency with the glacial pace at which diversity inclusion is accelerated and discriminatory behavior is extinguished. I mean it wasn’t until 2018 that Tyler Mitchell became the FIRST African American photographer to shoot the cover of American Vogue in its 125 years of operation. Not to mention an alumni fashion show from FIT, my alma mater, a few weeks ago that nearly forced African American model, Amy Lefevre, to walk the runway with blatantly racist facial accessories.
The call-out culture for these types of incidences is growing (follow @diet_prada and @louispisano immediately) and taking a loud speaker to glaring incidences of bigotry is half the battle. The other half is honoring and uplifting black creatives thriving within the industry; tirelessly working to create an equal opportunity space for more people of color to become inspired and break even more barriers. After all, every ‘accidental’ incident of racism by brands would have been avoided had you some melanin on the team…
So, join me in celebrating beyond February an all-star roundup of the most dope industry creatives whom I admire and whom you should definitely get to know!
Kenneth Ize – DESIGNER
Nigerian-Austrian designer Kenneth Ize is someone to be excited about. As an LVMH Prize finalist, Ize is recognized for his fresh combination of traditional African craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. In 2013 he launched his groundbreaking label at Lagos Fashion Week and has run his brand out of Nigeria ever since. Wanting to honor and celebrate tradition, Kenneth supports a small community of weavers local to Lagos that he told the New York Times, “revives, reinterprets, and gives new context to artisan techniques that give meaning to West African identity”.
Ize made his Paris Fashion Week debut this month with the help of spotlight, longtime supporters, Alton Mason, Naomi Campbell, and Imaan Hammam. The collection featured Kenneth’s signature wildcard, traditional Nigerian textile known as asoke. Designing through a lens of African tradition, androgyny, and incredible tailoring, this designer is a legend in the making.
Keturah Nunnally – DESIGNER
I met Keturah on the first day of my summer internship for Calvin Klein Dresses and I knew we were going to be friends. She was a freelance designer and I was a rookie. What at the time felt like punishment (unpacking and steaming an entire season of newly arrived developments our first week) quickly revealed itself as a silver lining. That whole week Keturah and I talked nonstop from 9-5 getting to know each other. I felt so lucky to already have a someone I still call my friend in a place that really intimidated me.
As one of the first of her family to attend college (and graduate with two degrees!!) and the first to leave her neighborhood to follow her dreams, Keturah is a force. Amongst freelance design and styling gigs, she recently just launched her own label, 3Fifteen Studios, alongside a wardrobe consultancy business, Style Revival NYC.
*takes deep sigh of pride*
Wanting to make an impact on the daily lives of everyday people, wielding her resourcefulness to use her voice in fashion in new ways, and being a beam of light, optimism, and true kindness are all the reasons this beautiful woman deserves all the praise in the world.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson – FASHION DIRECTOR, GARAGE MAGAZINE
Gabriella knows the intern hustle better than anyone, having posted up in her formative career-launch at the likes of Conde Nast, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Elle, Moda Operandi, and WWD. Given this dream editorial roster, no wonder she’s killing the game. She currently serves as the Fashion Director for one of my favorites, Garage Magazine, where she’s resurrected the concept of a point of view. Stories like her Black Cotillion that honor black culture in a supremely colorful way exude the type of energy Gabriella has brought to the scene.
I first started to follow Karefa-Johnson on Instagram because I loved her style, but I stayed because of how she makes me laugh. Her content is all about joy! From cheering on her friends in the industry, to cracking jokes, and sharing behind the scenes shoot preparation, she never seems to compromise her personality. Using her social media in a genuine way and for how it was intended, to connect and self express, is exactly why she deserves the platform she’s earned to creatively infuse her point of view into the fashion industry.
Renell Medrano – PHOTOGRAPHER
A Parsons graduate from the Bronx, Renell Medrano is taking the industry by storm and snapping every hot shot on the scene. From ASAP Ferg’s album art and Elle cover shoots to more recent Nordstrom national campaigns, personal showcases, and Jay-Z’s New York Times cover story, Renell has come a long way from her first student showcase at Milk Studios.
The collage above features a mixture of her commercial work with fashion and her gallery show, Peluca. The showcase is all about hair and wigs, the stigma’s surrounding them, and how they’ve gradually morphed into the contemporary mainstream. Medrano wanted to shed light and demonstrate the beauty of the transformative nature of hair and what they mean to black culture. With a rooted point of view, Renell’s photos capture life in a way that’s so beautiful and raw it’s impossible not to see the emotion and sincerity behind her work. Check her out and show some love immediately!!
Christopher John Rogers – DESIGNER
Winner of the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award, Christopher John Rogers presented his first F/W2020 collection at the most recent NYFW and did NOT disappoint. Cited as the pulse-keeper on the fading New York relevance-meter, CJR had every single attendee smiling from ear-to-ear as they walked out of his show. Showing no fear of color, Christopher is no stranger to imagination. He brings a surreal vision of glamour and craftsmanship that plays with volume, dances with texture, and lives for a monochromatic statement moment.
To say that fashion is merely superficial is to be blind to the impact of this breakout star. A true talent that wears his heart on every billowing, vibrant sleeve he sends down the runway. CJR has a pulse on how women want to feel and it should rightfully be celebrated that his brilliance has the industry behind him all the way.
Kahlana Barfield Brown – FREELANCE EDITOR, INFLUENCER
If there was ever a closet to raid, Kahlana Barfield Brown would be at the top of the heist to-do list. Usually sporting a combination of the latest and hottest shoe and an archived vintage something-or-other, Kahlana is an aspirational style queen with her own take on every piece she drips in via Instagram. But her style isn’t the only thing that made me think of her for this list. Kahlana is an entrepreneur, a proud Howard University alumni, and a driven business woman, all while being an amazing mother.
Barfield Brown recently said her farewell to InStyle magazine, where she started as an intern a decade ago and worked her way up to the Fashion & Beauty Editor-At Large! Yeah, I said DRIVEN. She now is making her own waves with the loyal following (me included) she’s gained as an influencer. Kahlana’s storytelling through art has led to a pursuit of guiding and supporting other black creatives. Just last August she used her platform to partner with brands that would send a Howard University student’s designs to NYFW. There cannot be enough conversation around how important representation is within fashion realms and Kahlana is just one really good reason why.
Jahleel Weaver – STYLIST
I present to you the creative whisperer behind @badgalriri, Style Director for Fenty Maison, and fashion’s equivalent to the ghost writer behind the song of the summer: Jahleel Weaver! Getting his start freelance assisting for Mel Ottenberg, Rihanna’s original stylist, the two quickly developed a strong relationship. When talks for Fenty Corp. began in 2014, it didn’t take much for the superstar mogul to tap Weaver as her right hand man.
While Rihanna clearly has a mind of her own, Jahleel is heavily responsible for the pop culture icon and trendsetter she is today. Fenty Beauty’s packaging? Jahleel. The Savage X Fenty body-inclusive theatrical performance/fashion show styling? Jahleel. It was even Jahleel to spark the idea that Fenty Maison wouldn’t operate on the fashion calendar, but rather release capsule drops, similar to a single on a record. Stylists rarely see much recognition outside of the industry for their contributions, but if you’re curious, look up the work behind say, Zerina Akers, June Ambrose, Sam Ratalle, and Dione Davis.
Adwoa Aboah – MODEL, ACTIVIST
I had the privilege of hearing Adwoa speak at the 2019 Women in the World Summit and I haven’t really forgotten about it since. The conference was all about global-minded people coming together to answer the question, ‘can women save the world?’. With disruptive leaders like Adwoa, we certainly can. As a cover star and runway staple for nearly every big name in fashion, the British-born model has since taken advantage of her stardom towards her mission to help young women in the fight for mental health.
Adwoa founded Gurls Talk in 2017, an online community to share and listen without judgement or stigma on the topic of mental health. The activist and supermodel spoke about Gurls Talk at the WitW Summit and how her personal battles with addiction and depression led her to want to create a space of connectivity and openness for young women to find a life raft. Reaching over 257,000 followers on instagram alone, Gurls Talk is a shining example of the impact one great leader can have on so many lives in search of change. Adwoa is a true-hearted survivor helping young women rediscover their voices all over the world.
When I asked Keturah what February meant to her she beamed in saying that she sees herself better, stands taller by showing up in new ways that are unapologetic, and that she feels pride in learning about how much her culture has accomplished. So, as we turn the page into March of 2020, ask yourself, what am I doing to create a space of inclusivity and diversity? How am I encouraging and ensuring multiple points of view on my teams and areas of impact? Voices need to be heard and celebrated. Consider it on YOU to always be a champion for positive change and an advocate for multi-cultural celebration.
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