11 Black Women Designers
11 Black Women Who Made Their Mark on NYFW
Source: Getty / Getty
1. Renee Bishop
Renee Bishop brought what her site described as the “self-assured look for the Manhattanite” to the runway in a show at Spring Studios last week. Titled Deity NYC, her collection was a mix of feminine, body-hugging silhouettes, staple fabrics like leather and satin, and playful colorful notes. Each piece was wearable and perfect for the city girl who likes classic silhouettes and staples with a unique, youthful high end flair. Diety NYC has been worn by Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams and others. While this was one of Bishop’s first runway showings, she is no novice to the fashion industry. Bishop came from a family of seamstresses and fashionistas and was a model and stylist before becoming a designer.
2. Rebecca Allen
Rebecca Allen’s self-titled shoe collection was featured by Afterpay as part of their “House of Afterpay” Small Business Show. Afterpay was this year’s presenting NYFW sponsor. While Allen did not start off as a designer, after working in the finance industry she realized that it was time for a different path. As she looked for attire and footwear for work and play, she constantly became frustrated not finding the right nude tone heels to compliment both her skin tone and her looks. So, in 2018 she created them for herself and every other woman looking for the right shoe to match her skin tone and empower her wardrobe. What started off as one woman’s idea borne out of necessity is now available for everyone at Nordstrom.
3. Samantha Black
“Small but we Tallawah” is the name of the Spring/Summer 2022 collection from Jamaican-American designer and Project Runway alumna Samantha Black, also known as Sammy B. Presented as part of the BIFC NYFW Showroom, Sammy B’s collection focused on her heritage and what it is to be a Jamaican American living in New York. Her most memorable looks included screen tees and decorated, exaggerated mesh. If Sammy B’s looks familiar it’s probably because of her celebrity appeal. Her clothes have been seen on A-listers from Gabrielle Union and Lizzo to Andra Day.
5. Dur Dou
Mother-daughter duo Cynthia and Najla A. Burt started Dur Doux as a lifestyle brand in 2013 in Washington, D.C. Known for mixing wearable pieces with edgy avant-garde designs and fabrics, Dur Doux is created for the woman who wants to stand out. Dur Doux’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection was presented during a rooftop, in-person fashion runway show during NYFW. Pieces included well-known resort wear prints such as palm trees and leaves, headwraps, vibrant tulle, and floral.
6. House of Aama – Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka
Established in 2015, House of Aama is another fashion house presented by a mother-daughter team. A brand that “exists beyond just creating clothes,” according to clothing’s site, the brand looks to tell stories by informing the future from notes of the past. Guests of the House of Aama’s Spring/Summer collection were transported to “SALT WATER,” a fashionable resort inspired by the legacy of Black communities from the 1950s. Models were presented in the form of cultural characters and took on the personas of sailors and the water spirits of Yemaya, Olokun and Agwe, spiritual anchors of African traditions in the diaspora. Attire included vibrant colors and silky fabrics, shorts and polos, and printed swimwear perfect for a resort.
7. Junny Ann Hibbert
Harlem designer Junny Ann Hibbert presented “Mama,” a collection paying homage to her mother in a fashion presentation marking her first time to be featured on the official New York Fashion Week calendar. While Hibbert joked her mother, Alex Melceta Johnson, would be “turning over in her grave” if she knew of her new collection and profession in fashion, Hibbert noted how each piece was created with her in mind. The debut collection included colorful silk dresses, capes and caftans, and vibrant bomber jackets. Hibbert proudly boasted catering to inclusive, unisex sizes and styling.
8. par Bronté Laurent
Brooklyn-based Bronté Laurent presented her fifth collection in the fashion world, Dear Sunday, with BIFC. Filled with neutral colors, feminine slip dresses and blouses, and light summery fabrics, Laurent’s collection is perfect for the “careful Black girl” looking for effortless fashion. After working in advertising and PR, Laurent started her label in 2017 in her Brooklyn apartment. According to an interview with Voyage, Laurent credits her roommate for teaching her how to sew, sample fabric, and help her discover her true passion in fashion.
9. Letesha Renee – Eugene Taylor
Committed to showing the contributions of Black women in fashion, designer Letesha Renee told HelloBeautiful that she’s been wanting to be a designer for as long as she can remember. So eventually she stopped just helping other people and started also working toward her own dreams. In 2015, Eugene Taylor, a unisex design house was born. Part of BIFC, the Eugene Taylor Brand presented a Spring/Summer collection called Resilience. Offering trendy, genderless designs in both body hugging and oversized cuts, the collection celebrated the diversity and creativity within fashion.
10. Marrisa Wilson
Born and raised in New Jersey, Marrisa Wilson is a first-generation Guyanese-American designer committed to leaving her mark in the fashion world and the Black community. It’s no surprise that her Spring/Summer collection was multifaceted – drawing parallels between the 1960s Space Age and current technological advances due to COVID and inspired by the spirit of Motown, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Lives Matter. Pieces included prints hand drawn by the designer, futuristic silhouettes, bold colors and patterns, and bucket hats. As described on NYFW.com, Wilson looked to tell a story of “a new, wild, digital age in order to ensure that Black people, women, and women of color are able to have access in participating and shaping what the future can look like.”
11. Studio 189
Co-founded by actress Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Studio 189 is a luxury fashion brand headquarted in Accra, Ghana. The brand is known for its African and African-inspired content and clothing and supports various community projects in Africa and the United States. In other words, real life “Wakanda Forever.” Realizing the impact COVID has had on the fashion industry – and recognizing the importance of international textiles and merchandising – Dawson and Erwiah used traditional techniques in creating “Inheritance,” its Spring/Summer collection. Techniques include hand-weaving, patchworking, and natural indigo dyeing, and recycled cotton and upcycled denim from second-hand clothing sent to Ghana.
