Representation and Elevation of Black-Owned Brands With The Folklore Group
For four consecutive days, The Folklore Group hosted an extensive and vibrant event that showcased more than a dozen fashion brands based throughout the United States, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and Ghana. Powered by Shopify and in collaboration with RAISEfashion, this showroom series was open to media, buyers, and selected clients in the midst of this season of New York Fashion Week.
Courtesy of Giulia Baldini
Featuring the latest collections of each brand, the objective of The Folklore is to elevate the prestige and talent of these fashion businesses, whose curators and owners are from Africa or have grown within the African diaspora. Along with many emergent e-commerce and editorial platforms, The Folklore Group has been gaining more attention over the last few months, especially after securing a generous investment of 1.7 million dollars. Founder and owner Amira Rasool strategized at her best both her own editorial career and her passion for the African fashion market in order to create a safe and diverse ecosystem of Black brands and companies.
Among the brands presented at the showroom, a number of them are very new to the North American market, such as the Nigerian brand TJWHO, Sydney-founded and Nigeria-based Shekudo, the peculiar yet charming Oriré, followed by the visionary and trendy Bloke.
Courtesy of Giulia Baldini. Here pictured, the brand TJWHO.
Some of the brands had their own runway debuts, like Dur Doux, led by a strong mother-daughter creative duo. Another family-led business is BruceGlen, mostly known for its colorful sets and radiant outfits. The twins have in fact outstanding personalities that have captured the likes and smiles of many fashion bloggers, enthusiasts, and influencers, such as Kimberly Crawford and Shoniqua Shandai. Bruce and Glen had the chance to have their pieces exposed at Spring Studios, as well as booked to be seen on the runway right before Valentine’s Day.
Courtesy of Giulia Baldini
Straight from Central America, Vavvoune, Ashya, and V.BELLAN were the prominent Caribbean brands featured in the showroom. Haitian-American Vavvoune is a well-known and established brand that started a successful trajectory in the industry at the beginning of 2018. V. BELLAN’s jewelry was worn by inspiring and talented fashion media professionals and talents, such as fashion journalist and writer Elaine Welteroth. Jamaican-American Aysha had in display classic and fresh designs from their latest collection, along with their signature firm handbags, including their passport holder.
Courtesy of Giulia Baldini. Here pictured, new colors and textures of the latest collections
Nalebe by Amina Means shines through and over any client’s eyes with the glamorous sparks and gems these gorgeous heels have engraved. Next to Nalebe are Onalaja, Christie Brown, and April & Alex, as they’re all West African brands and emergent businesses ready to take the industry by storm.
It is the intention of such fashion hubs and businesses like The Folklore to elevate the state and condition of Black brands, with the objective of promoting effective inclusivity and impactful diversity in the B2B and fashion industries, while also educating as many retailers and fashion professionals as possible to a cosmopolitan view of the world and art of fashion.
