21 Black Designers on What It Means to Show at NYFW This Season During a Fashion Week with a historic representation, designers take a moment to reflect. BY KAYLA HOLLIDAY

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/09/21-black-designers-on-what-it-means-to-show-at-nyfw-this-season

I have spent the past several years pouring all the time, energy, and resources I could leverage into building my brand from the ground up. So many designers of color, especially those of us who are both Black and women, share this same story: doing what we must to keep our brands alive without a roadmap or funding safety net. The first half of 2022 has been challenging, but I have been able to sustain because of community. When words have seemed too inadequate, I have found a lifeline in creating. Every moment of weariness, panic, conviction, love, and connection has helped give life to my forthcoming collection. I am grateful for the unprecedented exposure that showing in the official New York Fashion Week schedule as part of the American Collections Calendar will once again give my growing brand. It is a privilege to have this platform, and I am committed to using it to tell stories about race, culture, and resolve. And I am honored to be part of the movement helping to elevate the beauty and brilliance of Black design and culture on the global stage. This season’s presentation will be a digital visualization of the human heart and mind. Through fashion, dance, and spoken word, the collection will explore the complexities of how we create and persevere, with equal parts of joy and pain. Viewers can expect to see unexpected pairings and wearable, seasonless pieces with warm neutrals and bold splashes of color. Some archival favorites will also be making a return. —Junny Ann Hibbert