The Problem with the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry has become a deadly place to call home.

Over the course of time, the fashion industry has produced shows that dehumanized, insulted, sexualized, objectified, and even mocked the models that they employ.

However, with a turn in social issues, the fashion industry is failing to catch-up, and with the industry easily losing marketability, it is easy to see why so many fashion brands are doing their best to ‘appear’ inclusive. The year 2020 has proven to me that the fashion industry will only support black women and other minorities when they can capitalize off it.

‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘We Stand with You’ were shouted from the roof tops of many fashion labels, but these same labels have a history of cultural appropriation, body shaming, racial insensitivity, and misogynistic views.

Many of these so-called ‘woke’ fashion brands are elbow-deep in discrimination. They fail to hire Black models, refuse to hire Black designers to work on their teams, Europeanize non-white culture, and produce collections that fetishizes black culture.

The fashion industry needs changing and we all know it. The western world has a warped and twisted view on fashion, and it excludes everyone except for a skinny, blonde, white girl. And unfortunate as it is to say, even those women are being abused by the fashion industry.

Everyone else is a joke and a mockery. When we see Asian women in fashion, their culture is disrespected. When we see Muslim women in fashion, their faith is taken as a joke. When we see Black women in fashion, her body and culture is fetishized.

It is almost like the fashion industry is forcing down our throats what they want us to look like. They want to take away our individuality. It is painful to see that so many people who claim to be socially diverse fall into the trap of praising western fashion when over and over again it has proven itself to be nothing but a sham. Often times smaller designers who are worth something, are undermined, and their designs are stolen from by these corporate fashion houses.

Yes, I have tremendous amounts of respect for the designers that came before me. These designers were innovative in their time — because they rejected mainstream fashion and what corporate fashion told them to like. None of them looked at other designers and said ‘I like this. This is my aesthetic.’ They looked at other designers and said ‘I don’t like this. This is not my aesthetic’ and that was what made them revolutionary. They didn’t follow the norm; they rejected the trends and created what they wanted to wear.

However, these designers were only revolutionary in their time, and I’m not inspired by their European interpretation of African and Black culture. I respect that they designed from the heart, and that they overcame the obstacles of the fashion industry to create what they want, not what others told them to create. But I have to make my own path.

As a person born and raised in a culture that have often been fetishized and abused by mainstream fashion, I’ve come to learn and appreciate the truth of my history. My designs are inspired by my own experiences, my background, and the knowledge that I have as a Black woman. I create clothing that relate to women like me. I create clothing that caters to the individual taste and perspective of the Black woman who often struggle to love herself and her culture.

A few years ago, I made a vow to myself that I will not support luxury fashion, fast fashion, and ‘branded’ fashion because it robs from the true creatives that have been begging for support. Whenever I get the chance, I support small businesses and up-and-coming designers like myself because I believe in their work. I believe in their aesthetic, and I believe in their philosophy. During my time at FIT, I was able to see the creative process of many of my fellow peers, and I’ve come to learn that each of us have a unique voice.

My aesthetic will never be everyone’s cup of tea, but I know many people that resonate with my designs. It took me some time to find my style, and truly, there were times when I doubted my style because it didn’t look like everyone else’s.

You asked me what’s my aesthetic. I say, my aesthetic is staying true to myself, following my intuition, and never letting go of who I am. I am a Black Woman, the Daughter of the Most-High. I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; God’s own woman, who He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light.

I design to emancipate, to enlighten, and to empower.