Black creatives, including fashion designers, are often overlooked. In honor of Black History Month, here are some black fashion designers worth celebrating (besides well-known artists like Rihanna and Virgil Abloh).
Ann Lowe
Born in the late 19th century, Ann Lowe was a fashion designer renowned for her elegant designs and excellent dressmaking skills. Her passion and talent came from her mother, Janie Cole Lowe, and her grandmother, Georgia Thompkins, both talented dressmakers. One day, Ann Lowe was wearing her own creation in a store where a socialite, who commented on her outfit, invited her to be her personal dressmaker in Florida. She later applied to the S.T. Taylor School of Design in New York City. Despite her superior abilities, she was segregated from her peers, only to complete her studies in advance. She would go on to establish her own shops in Florida and New York, work for other fashion houses (a move she was forced to make at the onset of the Great Depression), attend fashion shows as a guest fashion reporter, and design dresses for influential women such as Academy Award-winning actress Olivia de Havilland and future First Lady Jackie Kennedy (then Bouvier).
patrick kelly
As the first American designer admitted to the Chambre Syndicale du PrĂŞt-Ă -Porter, Patrick Kelly was a fashion trailblazer. He studied art and African American history at Jackson State University for two years, going on to spend five more years designing window displays and running his own vintage store. After a brief stay in New York where he attended Parsons School of Design, he built his network and moved to Paris. There, his career took off. He designed ten collections before tragically dying in 1990 at the age of 35. He was known for incorporating and reclaiming racial iconography (such as the golliwog), beginning his shows with spray paint, and appearing in ad campaigns for his own vibrant collections.Â
tracy reese
Tracy Reese, a Detroit native, has been interested in design from a young age, becoming truly serious about fashion during her time at Cass Technical High School. Like Kelly, Reese attended Parsons School of Design. She graduated with an accelerated degree and began her career with Arlequin. Since then, she has held numerous positions, including ones at Marc Jacobs and Magaschoni. Her notable customers include Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, and Oprah Winfrey. She is also a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NEST Artisan Guild, and CCS Fashion Accessories Design Program. In addition to her dedication to service and community development, she runs a sustainable fashion brand called Hope for Flowers.
kevan hall
Inspired by pop culture, Kevan Hall began designing as a hobby at a young age. He and Reese come from similar backgrounds, each growing up in Detroit and attending Cass Technical High School. He pursued higher education at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, gaining an appreciation for haute couture. He worked for sportswear brands for 6 years following his graduation before launching Kevan Hall Couture in 1983 with his wife, Deborah. It was remarkably successful, and he opened his own studio. However, the mid-1990s were difficult for luxury fashion brands, and he had to shut it down. He worked for Halston for several years until relaunching his namesake brand, Kevan Hall Designs. Throughout his career, he has dressed dozens of celebrities and received numerous awards. The decorated designer is also a philanthropist, founding nonprofit organization Black Design Collective.
Liya Kebede
Growing up in Ethiopia and later moving to France and the United States, Liya Kebede is a multi-talented supermodel and entrepreneur. She began her modeling career at 18, breaking barriers in the modeling world by starting a family in her early 20s. She appeared on the cover of Vogue a year later and soon became Estée Lauder’s first black spokesmodel. Her experiences made her passionate about maternal and child health, and she was named a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for maternal, newborn, and child health. It was in 2007 that she launched her clothing line, lemlem (Amharic for “to bloom” and “flourish”), with the goal of creating sustainable business opportunities in Africa. Garments are made using traditional Ethiopian weaving techniques, and locations in Kenya and Morocco produce ready-to-wear and swimwear, respectively. Though she is more of a businesswoman than a designer, her contributions to the fashion industry are worthy of praise.