Design by Elaine Chung
Historically, the fashion industry has been a fickle friend to the Black community. Even as it borrows freely from Black culture, strategically aligning itself with key figures to capitalize on the demand for surface-level diversity, Black faces remain conspicuously absent from the boardrooms where decisions are made and the design studios where fashion comes to life.
Over the last few years, cries for a long-overdue assessment of the industry’s inability to make significant inroads when it comes to embracing inclusivity have reached a fever pitch. A lot of (very public) handwringing has followed. New initiatives were announced. Committees were convened. And while efforts like the 15 Percent Pledge and organizations like the Black in Fashion Council represent very real strides forward, there’s still much to be done.
It’s our responsibility as consumers, then, to help push for substantive change. In other words, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. This list, which we’ll continue to update, is not exhaustive. It is, however, a starting point for those looking to support Black-owned and Black-lead menswear businesses fighting for the recognition they deserve. Black lives matter. So do your dollars. If you can spare a few, consider parting with them to support some of these businesses.
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Abasi Rosborough
Designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough offer a forward-looking take on cutting-edge tailoring, all made in NYC and informed by their shared experiences working within the upper echelons of the industry.
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A-Cold-Wall*
Former Virgil Abloh mentee Samuel Ross made a name for himself and his label by merging elements of traditional streetwear with technical details and an appreciation for ergonomic design.
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AllCAPS Studio
ALLCAPS Studio brings its seasoned eye for creative direction to product drops that make good on the studio’s knack for nailing the details by incorporating its signature, graphic-heavy look.
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Ahluwalia
Priya Ahluwalia’s namesake brand takes inspiration from the designer’s dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and her time spent growing up in London, all while incorporating vintage and deadstock fabrics in a now-signature emphasis on truly sustainable design.
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ALLËDJO
Designed in Senegal, ALLËDJO is a genderless clothing line that uses bold prints and patterns to reference the aesthetic language of West Africa.
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Armando Cabral
You might know Cabral from any of the many, many campaigns he’s fronted, but the model-turned-designer has been making some of the most elegant shoes around for well over a decade.
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Art Comes First
Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh’s line of bright, energetic tailoring blends influences from time spent in Britain with design tropes culled from around the world.
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ASHYA
ASHYA is a unisex line that specializes in meticulously assembled everyday (and not-so-everyday) travel accessories like crossbody bags and passport holders.
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A. Sauvage
Sleek, sophisticated tailoring—and its accouterments— of the L.A.-by-way-of London brand led by Adrien Sauvage.
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The Aware Brand
Aware is run by two childhood friends bonded by their commitment to spreading positivity through the clothes they make.
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Balmain
In 2011, at just 25 years old, Olivier Rousteing was named the creative director of the storied couture house Balmain. Throughout his tenure, the French-born designer bolstered the brand’s menswear business, bringing his signature skinny pants, gilded hardware details, and pronounced double-breasted blazers onto the runways and, eventually, into the homes of rock legends, pop stars, and any man that digs super-fitted cuts with a Parisian flair.
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Bianca Saunders
Bianca Saunders’ idiosyncratic take on modern masculinity references her Jamaican background and the guys she grew up around to great effect, often in the form of surprisingly vulnerable collections.
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Billionaire Boys Club
Pharrell Williams, the chart-topping musician, and Nigo, the maestro behind A Bathing Ape, are two fellas that are categorically cool. The same thing is true of Billionaire Boys Club, a fashion brand the duo founded in 2003, which blends luxury and quality streetwear with a dollop of quirk. It’s for boys who know the value of a dollar.
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Blackstock and Weber
Blackstock & Weber is the Brooklyn-based footwear brand that happens to make some of the most handsome loafers in the Tri-State Area—and well, the whole damn world.
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Botter
Founded by Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh and based in the Netherlands, Botter consistently references Rushemy’s Carribean roots, most recently in a collection devoted to coral reefs.
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Brett Johnson
Johnson uses premium fabrics with a decidedly luxe feel to give life to his line of American (via Italy) wardrobe staples.
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Bricks & Wood
Bricks & Wood’s location in South Central L.A. is central—pun intended—to the brand’s mission. The area informs the burgeoning label’s designs and serves as inspiration for its cut-and-sew collections.
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The Brooklyn Circus
The Brooklyn Circus has been one of the best boutiques in the NYC area for a while now (and that’s saying something), and the store’s in-house label offers the perfect blend of old-school silhouettes coupled with of-the-moment designs.
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Brownstone
The brainchild of twin brothers Warner and Waverly Watkins, Brownstone is a meticulously sourced clothing line crafted in L.A. and inspired by a wide-ranging set of cultural touchstones that inform the brand’s evolving perspective at every turn.
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Bryan Jimenéz
Dominican-born, New York-based Bryan Jimenéz makes ultra-utilitarian menswear inspired by uniforms and other purpose-built pieces.
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Carrots by Anwar Carrots
Bona fide industry veteran Anwar Carrots lends his signature savvy to a line of bright, deceptively clever streetwear staples with, yes, plenty of eye-grabbing vegetable ry to go around.
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Carton Outerwear
Carton is a gender-neutral brand from the West Coast that takes inspiration from current events, literally repurposing recent headlines to use as graphics for its line of politically aware streetwear.
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Casely-Hayford
Casely-Hayford started out as a father and son-helmed collection focusing on premium tailoring with a contemporary edge. Though the elder of the two has sadly since passed, the brand continues to build on the legacy they built together under the careful stewardship of the younger Casely-Hayford.
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Come Back as a Flower
L.A.-based Come Back as a Flower makes what it calls “high-vibrational” clothing. That means it’s ethically produced, using recycled cotton and hand-dyeing techniques. Good vibes? Absolutely.
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Connor McKnight
If you think starting a fashion brand sounds hard, imagine going about it from your bedroom during a pandemic. That’s what Connor McKnight did, and considering the results—a mix of low-key tailoring and luxed-up outdoorsy essentials—we should count ourselves lucky he was willing to take the risk.
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Cool and Casual Studios
Coral Studios
A marketing agency? A fashion brand? Coral Studios is a little bit of both. Don’t worry if that sounds a little strange; the product speaks for itself.
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DAEM
The Brooklyn-based brand manufactures all of its watches in the Basel region of Switzerland, aka one of the most famous watchmaking hubs in the whole damn world.
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Daily Paper
The Amsterdam-based brand sells a whole host of easy-to-style sets sure to make summer dressing a cinch.
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Darryl Brown
The eponymous collection from the former steel worker and railroad engineer elevates elements of blue-collar style in a dusty, muted palette.
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Death Club
You’ll have to wait for the next drop to get something for yourself. Until then, you can bask in the glory of this extremely cool (and more than a little macabre) T-shirt.
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Denim Tears
Denim Tears is all-around-paragon-of good-taste Tremaine Emory’s ode to Black culture through the clothing it helped make cool.
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Fat Tiger Workshop
Fat Tiger Workshop is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary space that stocks a curated selection of in-house products that definitely shouldn’t be slept on. In fact, they sell out so quickly, going secondhand on a site like Grailed might not be a bad call if you miss a release.
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Fear of God
Jerry Lorenzo’s line of ultra-luxe streetwear staples didn’t just become a celebrity fan favorite, and a global brand, for nothing.
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Frère
Designer Davidson Frère makes suiting of the highest order for some of the biggest names in almost every industry (he counts a guy named Jay-Z, among many others, as a client).
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Gallery Department
Josué Thomas’ line of highly coveted, meticulously reconstructed vintage jeans has gradually evolved into one of the biggest breakout brands of the year, with cosigns coming fast and heavy from high-profile fans and Average Joe clothing fiends alike.
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Glenn’s Denim
Glenn’s Denim is designed and manufactured in New York City by industry veterans with a deep appreciation for, and understanding of, all things Americana.
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Good Man Brand
In 2016, former footballer Russell Wilson launched Good Man Brand, a label that truly lives up to its name. Not only is the line of elevated basics made from sustainably sourced materials and engineered to fit all body types, three percent of each sale is donated to the Why Not You Foundation, Wilson’s organization that provides education opportunities and health services to children in need.
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Goodee
Seasoned fashion veterans Byron and Dexter Peart’s latest endeavor is a marketplace that supports purposeful, high-minded designers by stocking the purposeful, high-minded goods they make.
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Golf Wang
Golf Wang allows Tyler, the Creator to channels his signature good taste through the medium of bright, prep-inspired clothing collections.
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Heron Preston
In a short span of time, Preston has evolved his eponymous label into a force to be reckoned with in the ever-expanding world of thoughtfully designed luxury streetwear.
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Hood By Air
Shayne Oliver’s groundbreaking brand was high-concept luxury streetwear before high-concept luxury streetwear was a bona fide thing, paving the way for hordes of imitators after HBA went on hiatus in 2017. This year marks a triumphant return for Oliver and co. to a scene that never fully recovered from its absence.
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Ikiré Jones
The men behind Ikiré Jones bring a deeply-felt appreciation for African design to regal, expert-level tailoring.
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Johnny Nelson
Kenneth Ize
Kenneth Ize reinterprets traditional Nigerian designs to make something simultaneously familiar-feeling and entirely new.
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Khiry
What began as a Kickstarter campaign in 2016 has become one of the hottest jewelry brands around, worn by celebs far and wide. Khiry’s Jameel Mohammed had a goal from the start: to bring a new vision to the world of fine jewelry, one that is influenced by Afro-futurism, a line that is grounded in his culture and that resonated with people like him.
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Le Tings
London-based Le Tings’ upcycled rice bags have become a signature product, but the brand also makes apparel influenced by the “design dialect of the diaspora.”
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Martine Rose
A perennial fashion-crowd favorite, Rose launched her namesake label in 2007 and has since has racked up accolades and award nominations alike.
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Mateo New York
It was 2009 when founder Matthew Harris debuted Mateo New York, a label for guys that then catered primarily toward women like Michelle Obama and Rihanna. In 2021, he went back to his roots, relaunching his men’s collection of macrame bracelets with bold center stones, sleek gold hoop earrings with pavé brilliants, and his signature baroque pearls for the boys.
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Maurice Sedwell
Master tailor Andrew Ramroop bought Maurice Sedwell from its eponymous founder in the late ’80s and has since established the Savile Row Academy, an initiative intended to attract a more diverse workforce to London’s historic tailoring destination.
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Maxhosa Africa
Laduma Ngxokolo’s brand celebrates traditional Xhosa design through the medium of beautiful, exuberant knitwear.
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Midwest Kids
Designer Darryl Brown pays homage to his midwest roots with this aptly titled collection of tees and sweats.
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Monad London
Designer Daniel Olatunji makes perfectly imperfect clothing at his own pace, typically out of hard-to-find, limited-supply fabrics.
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Mowalola
Mowalola Ogunlesi, the Nigerian-born, London-raised designer behind an eponymous label famous for its leather-heavy wares, was appointed design director for Kanye West’s upcoming partnership with Gap earlier this year.
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Nicholas Daley
One of the London fashion scene’s brightest rising stars, Daley has earned plaudits for his sly subversions of classic British style.
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Norwegian Rain
Norwegian Rain makes weather-proof outerwear informed by an appreciation for craftsmanship at the highest level.
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O. Studio Design
Orange Culture
Growing up in Nigeria, Adebayo Oke-Lawal was unlike other boys, and was bullied often. To cope, he wrote a story about an orange boy, one that didn’t adhere to masculine tropes and accepted all forms of expression. This is the core of Orange Culture, Oke-Lawal’s label that takes the prints, colors, and silhouettes indicative of his heritage, and modernizes them in a way that pushes boundaries.
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Off-White
Virgil Abloh was one of the most influential designers of our time. Off-White’s success is a testament to his ongoing sway and his towering legacy.
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Ozwald Boateng
Ozwald Boateng (OBE!) has been breaking down barriers since he first came up on the scene as a mentee of the legendary tailor Tommy Nutter. His store on Savile Row is one of the few Black-owned businesses on the street.
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Phlemuns
James Flemons’ red-hot label is the result of years of experience honing his craft to create a line of largely unisex styles favored by some of the world’s most expressive dressers.
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Post-Imperial
Post-Imperial uses fabrics specially treated in Nigeria before carefully assembling each garment in New York.
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Pyer Moss
Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond has made Black identity a central focus of his collections since day one, but it’s his undeniable design talent that consistently makes his shows a standout.
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Sole Classics
Columbus, Ohio’s very own, Sole Classics stocks an array of hard-to-find kicks and a burgeoning in-house label that more than holds up its end of the bargain.
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Spencer Badu
Supervsn
Supervsn Studios is based out of L.A. and sells a mix of graphic-laden hoodies, sweats, and tees.
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Telfar
Telfar has been one of the hottest brands in the business for a minute now—if it wasn’t on your radar before this, it should be.
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The Marathon Clothing
The late, great Nipsey Hussle’s clothing line, still as good as it ever was.
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Thebe Magugu
Thebe Magugu’s star is on the rise. Since launching his eponymous label in 2016, the Johannesburg-based designer—known for his deconstructed suits in vibrant hues and elegant dresses with attention-grabbing prints—won the 2019 LVMH Prize (the first time it was awarded to an African talent) and made his Paris Fashion Week debut during the fall 2020 season.
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Third Crown
The NYC-based jewelry brand launched by husband and wife duo Kristin and Kofi Essel (shown here) sells gender neutral pieces that are sure to make a statement.
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Tokyo James
Iniye Tokyo James often describes his aesthetic in one word: intersectionality. The British-Nigerian designer splits his time between London and Lagos, and it’s reflected in pieces like a tailored black blazer over patterned trousers ruched at the hem, a cobalt blue leather biker jacket with embossed zigzags, and a fitted white button-down with a Peter Pan collar under a khaki chore coat with mutton sleeves.
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Tongoro
Tongoro’s commitment to Africa-based manufacturing makes it a standout in an industry where that degree of care is far from the norm.
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Union L.A.
Owner Chris Gibbs has turned his not-so-small boutique into a global brand and one of the best stores in the world.
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Urban Zulu
Urban Zulu is a South African brand from Johannesburg that’s making serious inroads stateside.
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Wales Bonner
Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2014, Grace Wales Bonner racked up almost every industry accolade imaginable, and for good reason. Her collection seamlessly blends elegant sportswear-oriented silhouettes with precisely-cut, distinctive tailoring, all informed by an expansive worldview that finds inspiration in unexpected places.
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Wanda Lephoto
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wanda Lephoto has recently started making inroads in America. A sunny, workwear-inspired jacket-and-pants set is a particular standout.
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Waraire
Designer Waraire Boswell’s speciality is suits—breathtakingly beautiful bespoke suits, at that.
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Western Elders
Western Elders takes inspiration from West African culture and the spirit of New York City by combining the best of both worlds.
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Yeezy
Regardless of what you think of the man behind the brand, Yeezy is one of the largest Black-owned labels in the industry.
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Yoah
The NYC-based brand started by two siblings sells a collection of gender neutral children’s clothing.
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Source : Esquire
