How a New Generation of Black Fashion Designers Are Reclaiming the Industry

A new era of Black designers and entrepreneurs has emerged, taking the initiative to create opportunities and access for future generations.

Matte’s Briana Shaneè Wilson on the Business of Being Your Own Muse

The creator and muse of Matte talks about divine timing, building a sexy brand, and having unpopular opinions in the age of cancel culture.

Exclusive: House of Aama’s New 2020 Silhouette Collection Celebrates Black Womanhood, Shot by Quil Lemons

The mother-daughter duo center Black femininity in luxury, from an Ancient Egyptian goddess to the southern belle.

How Oshun Helps Creatives Power Through the 2020 Paradigm Shift

“The creative process is the birth process,” says Ayesha Faines of The Grapevine and Women Love Power. “It’s the inception, it’s the brainstorm, it’s literally that chaotic process that it takes to bring something into fruition.”

Filmmaker Keenan MacWilliam on the Art of Creative Directing Your Own Vision

From her studio in Bushwick, Keenan let Other Suns in on how to turn an idea on a page into a stunningly visual video.

Amirah MercerJanuary 6, 2020Keenan MacWilliam, VICE, music, vision, women, film, skateboard, Brooklyn, interviews, rap, hip-hop, rappers, how-to, nature, collaboration, video, Australia, Hawa, Tkay, feminism, music videos, SpiritComment

How Michael Rotimi Manifested His New York Model and Talent Agency Offshore

Meet the founder of Offshore, an NYC modeling and talent agency that's making black beauty the mainstream beauty standard.

CFDA Fellows ASHYA on How to Find Success and Balance in the Luxury Fashion Industry

Moya Annece and Ashley Cimone discuss being “first-generation creatives,” how they avoid cultural appropriation as black fashion designers, and the power of self-help books.

Amirah MercerJuly 8, 2019CFDA, women, India, accessories, leather, collaboration, Jamaica, Guatemala, travel, luxury, fellowships, Future, FIT, sustainability, interviews, ASHYAComment

‘Where Black Bodies Dream’: Creating Your Own Utopia with Haitian Artist Adler Guerrier

The Miami-based artist is a master at identifying moments of paradise in familiar, African diasporic scenes—from Haiti to Los Angeles.

Amirah MercerApril 19, 2019Adler Guerrier, photography, interviews, Los Angeles, Miami, Beauty, nature Comments

Kids of Immigrants Designer Daniel Buezo Is Using Streetwear to Help Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

“Making clothes is amazing and fashion is awesome. But I feel like it's our responsibility to use our gifts to create change.”

Amirah MercerFebruary 21, 2019activism, Mexico, Honduras, Kids of Immigrants, streetwear, Los Angeles, immigration, Latinx, Future, interviewsComment

Rihanna’s LVMH Deal Is the Perfect Marriage for Luxury Fashion and Hip-Hop Culture

The partnership is a tipping point for luxury fashion, which has had a history of racism and appropriation.

Amirah MercerJanuary 17, 2019Rihanna, Jay-Z, LVMH, Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton, Dapper Dan, Power, Fenty, EssaysComment

Why James Baldwin Would Love Barry Jenkins’ ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Both Baldwin’s and Jenkins’ work shine a light on the simplicities and joys and fears of being a person who is black and who is alive in America.

Amirah MercerDecember 13, 2018James Baldwin, Barry Jenkins, History, Kiki Layne, Stephan James, EssaysComment

Philadelphia Printworks’ Maryam Pugh Is Creating a Uniform for the Movement

Philadelphia Printworks started as a creative outlet in 2010, but it has quietly grown into a fashionable beacon of activism.

Pyer Moss’ Unapologetic Blackness Is Good for Fashion

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and Kerby Jean-Raymond wears his crown well.

4 Black Fashion Models on Social Media, POC Designers and Confidence

Here’s what it feels like to be young, black, and fly in fashion.

Amirah MercerOctober 2, 2018NYC, NYFW, models, interviews, SocietyComment

Sharahya Carter: ‘Are You Hiring People Who Know How to Do Black Hair?’

“I have really, really thick hair, so it has been a hit-or-miss type thing, because most people don’t want to touch it,” says 20-year-old model Sharahya, who is learning to navigate the industry with natural hair.

Amirah MercerOctober 2, 2018models, NYFW, NYC, Sharahya CarterComment

Kree Murad: ‘I Had to Be Confident in My Entire Being’

“The editor in chief for British Vogue [Edward Enninful] was there, and that was something that kind of threw me off guard,” says Kree, who modeled in NYFW for the first time ever in September.

Amirah MercerOctober 2, 2018Vogue, models, NYC, NYFW, Kree Murad

Briana Michelle: ‘There’s Only One of Me’

“The casting directors already have the look in their head of what they want when these girls are walking in, so it’s nothing against my face or my look. There’s only one of me, so I have that against everyone else,” says Briana, who just walked in her third season at NYFW.

Amirah MercerOctober 2, 2018models, NYC, NYFW, Briana MichelleComment

Pyer Moss Model Cozy on Black Fashion: ‘The Industry Is Changing, It’s Our Time’

“The Pyer Moss show was very iconic. I didn’t understand what I was getting myself into until I was walking the runway. It was basically all black empowerment,” says 22-year-old model Cozy, who walked for Kerby Jean-Raymond’s Pyer Moss in September.

Amirah MercerOctober 2, 2018NYC, models, spring/summer, NYFW, Beauty, Pyer Moss, Cozy Comments