black designers
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Diversity and Inclusion: The CFDA Adds Designers Kerby Jean-Raymond, Carly Cushnie and Virgil Abloh to Its Board
“Diversity” and “Inclusion” have become buzzwords in the fashion industry and beyond as we continue to explore what parity and influence should really look like in one of the world’s most exclusive industries. Now under the leadership of Tom Ford, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has made a significant stride in tangibly…
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The Continent Conquers: South African Designer Thebe Magugu Is the First African to Win the LVMH Prize
African influence has long resonated throughout the fashion world, but on Wednesday it was formally recognized when 26-year-old South African designer Thebe Magugu was awarded the sixth annual LVMH Prize. The esteemed award, which includes a $331,125 grant and a yearlong mentorship with the luxury conglomerate, has never before been awarded to an African talent;…
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Giant Steps: Pyer Moss Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond Earns an Artistic Directorship at Reebok
Now, this is what we call a promotion: A mere two years after garnering a coveted partnership with Reebok, Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond has an additional title under his very stylish belt. Jean-Raymond will now be the athletic brand’s artistic director of Reebok Studies__, “a new division at the company which will foster under-the-radar…
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Paying Tribute to a Fashion Pioneer: Remembering Designer Arthur McGee
Here at The Glow Up, we regularly celebrate the current trailblazers in the fashion industry, but less often do we honor the dwindling number of pioneers who broke ground for those trails to be blazed. One of those groundbreakers was designer Arthur McGee, who we recently learned died on July 1 in New York City,…
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Proving ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ Are in Fashion, Chanel Hires Its 1st Head of D & I—but Not a Person of Color
Often, the best way to confront a scandal is to avoid creating one in the first place. After a flurry of major brands—including Gucci, Prada and H&M—quickly scrambled to create diversity-focused positions, boards and initiatives following major gaffes in cultural insensitivity, Chanel, which has thus far avoided being named in a recent racial scandal (and…
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The Breakthrough: Harlem’s Fashion Row Mentors Designers to Success—and a Lion King Collaboration
Ahead of the July Fourth weekend and the multimedia marathon that was Essence Fest 2019, where we connected with groundbreaking fashion luminaries like Dapper Dan in New Orleans, New York-based incubator Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) was doing what it does best: inspiring and empowering the next wave of designers of color. In partnership with Nike,…
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Made in Harlem: Dapper Dan Releases a Memoir and Talks to The Glow Up About His New Mission
He was born “the poorest of Harlem’s poor” in 1944, and spent decades hustling before breaking into a legitimate trade. Nearly 75 years later, his designs for Gucci were the ones to be seen in at this year’s Met Gala. He launched “logomania” before it became a phrase, disrupting luxury fashion by infusing it with…
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Don’t Call It a Comeback: With an Ethically-Based New Label, Designer Tracy Reese Honors Her Detroit Roots
She was the first black female designer to be recognized by the ever-exclusive fashion industry, and two decades after launching her eponymous label, Tracy Reese continues to lead the charge. After taking what appeared to be a well-deserved break from the flurry of biannual Fashion Weeks the past few seasons, the Detroit-born Reese has reemerged—with…
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'No More Music': Rihanna Drops New Fenty, Photographs Her Own Campaign, and Still Finds Time to Troll Us
Rihanna is nothing if not fashionably late. And you will deal. That’s the overriding message from the entertainer-turned-beauty-and-fashion mogul; as fans continue to await new music, she strolled into her Tuesday night pop-up party at The Webster in New York City two hours late, according to W magazine (three, according to Page Six). But that’s…
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The 2019 CFDA Awards Left Black Designers Empty-Handed Again—But We Stay Winning
Well, once again, it wasn’t a winning year for black talent at the 2019 CFDA Awards—but we outchea, nevertheless. Dubbed the “Oscars of Fashion,” hopes were high for a win for a black designer on Monday night at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, as Virgil Abloh (Off-White), Kerby Jean-Raymond (Pyer Moss), Telfar Clemons (Telfar Global)…