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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last two years drastically altered our worlds, leaving most catatonically navigating a space they’d been bolstered into. The fashion industry, with its own many faults, vocalized its disdain for what was happening in the streets of minority central cities in late May of 2020, after the consistent and overwhelming amounts of police brutality happening all over the world.
Many believed that the cries of Black, Latinx, and Asian voices were being heard as a mammoth of “We stand with you” and “We see you’s” were publicized. An iteration of carousels with ‘Black people to know and follow’ were placed down our timelines. For many Black and brown people in the industry, this was a chance for their qualms to be addressed.
“It's an interesting position we're in where people care and they want to help, but then it's sort of like, okay, well, ‘What is it that is going to concretely make any kind of difference within the industry now that we have a spotlight?’” Christina Tung, Founder of House of asks rhetorically in our sit down.
The general consensus shortly thereafter was that the fashion industry, among many others, was finally going to have its reckoning. Diversity quotas would be filled. More inclusive hiring practices would be implemented. Black visibility would be represented in marketing and advertising campaigns. At what rate, no one was sure. Six months to a year, companies boasted more diverse campaigns, hosted panels with people of color and made their internal evaluations a top priority. But as the fashion weeks return, mask mandates yo-yo, and companies push forward, the question remains: Has anything actually changed?
Influencer Justina Sharp, 24, recalls that pivotal moment in May of 2020 as a time when she used her platform as an influencer to call out brands. She contacted each brand directly stating how she’d sever ties with them if they were unwilling to publicly denounce the ongoing racial attacks Black and brown people were facing. If not, she wouldn't work with them again. Most brands agreed, but some left her email unanswered.
Now, two years later as Sharp continues to navigate the industry as a biracial Black woman, which she calls an “easy diversity percentage” for brands, Sharp believes the real push needs to happen within the beginning ideation stages, not once they’ve selected and hired influencers for campaigns.
“There should always be Black creatives involved in making those decisions before it gets to the execution phase because that's where a lot of brands I've interacted with fail in their diversity efforts,” Sharp says. “When you have five white people, one Black person and then one LGBTQ+ person in a room you're then expecting this one Black person and one LGBTQ+ person to support and navigate the entire diversity of this brand.”
Sharp worked on a campaign recently that ended up being nixed early into the process but notes how the script was an “easily written by a white person and slightly protested by the one person of color” situation. She says that the project should never have gotten to her as an influencer. She notes that brands think because they hire 10 Black influencers that they’re being diverse. “You're not because at the highest level of this decision you had white people executing the project,” Sharp says.
“I think because there's so much focus on outwardly not being canceled or not being called out they're not really taking the time to shift inward,” fashion stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers tells Teen Vogue. “Who is sitting in the boardroom? Who is in the meetings, who was on the Zooms that is approving all of this stuff? Are you empowering their voice to speak up when it's necessary? Do you have a diverse opinion in the room? That's how it really starts.”
The conversation of diversity stems as far back as the industry's inception. With a galore of “firsts” still taking place, the focus for many leading the conversation is to continually be on top of the brands that said they wanted to be better.
“I want to know in 2025 which brands continued their diversity efforts, that's a good time to say, ‘all right, maybe [this brand] didn't get over the bump,’ because I see brands already starting to fizzle,” Sharifa Murdock Chief Impact Officer at Kith says. “You have to pay attention to that. I don't want people to take their eye off the ball. I want people to come down on these brands and ask, ‘Are you really trying to be inclusive?’ I want to see it last and 2025 can give a real true story on who is actually continuing the mission.”
The foundation of change is based on action. Without movement and groundwork everything stays the same. Organizations like the Black in Fashion Council — founded in 2020 by Sandrine Charles and Lindsay Peoples Wagner — are a part of the physical movement for building long-lasting and diverse change within the fashion space.
“I think for Lindsay [Peoples Wagner] and myself it's just really important that we are integrated with the companies that want to do the work,” Charles, founder of Sandrine Charles Consulting, says. “It's not just a one-way street. They provide strategy, ideas, suggestions and we also mirror what we know is happening across the board and lean on suggestions.”
Charles and Peoples Wagner co-founded the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC), in hopes of representing and securing the advancement of Black individuals in the fashion and beauty industry. Recently BIFC released their 2021 diversity report highlighting the current workplace structure within the companies BIFC works with. Topics include workplace nondiscrimination, where 43 percent of the participants currently have a “clear, race-based, hair non-discrimination policy in their Equal Employment Opportunity policy." The remaining 27 percent cited that they planned to implement one in the next 12 months.
The BIFC utilizing its platform to hold larger brands accountable is a part of the reason change at its core can begin to happen within the fashion industry. Similarly, Ulta Beauty announced its investment of $8.5 million to brand marketing support for Black-owned, Black-founded and Black-led brands within the company’s assortment, more than doubling last year’s investment, alongside a partnership and $5 million investment in New Voices venture capital. As the VC’s beauty retail partner, Ulta Beauty plans to provide priority access to shelf space, merchandising and marketing support. These efforts from Ulta have been spearheaded by Tracee Ellis Ross who serves as their DE&I advisor.
Recently, major modeling agency, IMG, alongside the Color of Change launched its first ever inclusion rider. The latest diversity effort was officially introduced and implemented during New York Fashion Week at the In the Blk showcase, which featured designers: House of Aama, Khiry and Third Crown. The purpose of the inclusion rider is to ensure that, on all levels of production, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront. The inclusion rider not only accounts for racial diversity, but will focus on cultural appropriation, colorism, and sizeism in the fashion industry.
Also in partnership with Color of Change, the BIFC announced this week its latest endeavor, the BIFC #ChangeFashion directory. The directory of over 300 industry professionals is “a resource for any brand in hopes of a commitment to addressing historical racism and systemic inequity in the fashion industry." The database will feature Black-identifying photographers, makeup artists, set designers, and more, with a geographic reach that expands across the world.
Within the last year, there has been an invaluable amount of movement taking place, but the months of execution aren't always front-facing to the general public, which can make it feel as though nothing is happening in real-time.
“I think that though we're doing it all, people will see it all coming to fruition as time continues to pass and they’ll understand why we take our time with certain things so that they're getting the best in class options when it comes to their career,” Charles says.
And as those who have access to the authoritative figures within fashion continue to push internally for thoughtful change, there’s a persistent measure needed to have those tough conversations. Channell Campbell, who works at Fashion to Figure as the Director of Corporate Comms, Celebrity, & Brand Partnerships, is navigating those diversity efforts alongside her team making sure they’re pushing for real change in the plus-size fashion space.
“There are levels to the inside of such major corporations that are difficult to navigate, and sometimes difficult to explain,” she says. “That’s exactly why the lack of diversity is a systemic issue. But that push to make internal changes is constantly ongoing. It’s a process that never really ends because you can always be better and do better.”
But for there to be real change, many industry people believe there needs to be changes made within the c-suites.
“For me, it’s important to see Black people thriving on all levels,” fashion writer Louis Pisano says. “It doesn't just have to be a front-facing Black person with established influence, it can be people that are just starting out. It’s about finding opportunities for young Black designers and them getting those same privileges and push-ups young white designers get. Until we see that we're not anywhere near where we need to be. It’s all just still sort of a bandaid on the problem, to distract people from the fact that the ones that are still in charge of decision making are non-Black.”
Diversity and inclusion in an industry that has built its notoriety on being luxuriously exclusive is difficult, especially for young people. Conversations on who is allowed in, the background you need to make it and transparency about the intimidating workload all are important to Gen Z fashion aspirants. Navigating this space the last two years felt hopeful as brands made a valiant effort to publicize their want for more Black and brown voices in the industry. And now as these young people inch closer towards their careers in an industry grappling with its diversity problem, young BIPOC are still looking for real nurturing support.
“I would love the chance to just talk and learn from other Black pioneers, women like June Ambrose and Zerina Akers,” freelance stylist and stylist assistant Hannah Norman, 23, says. “I think that they are wonderful. And those are just examples, but I think it’s important as someone aspiring to enter the industry to have a chance to connect more with brown and Black women in the industry. They’ve charted the waters and there's a lot of different things that they went through, skills they've learned that could help me find space in this industry.”
The panels, scholarships, and diversity fellowship programs are necessary to build a resume worth hiring, but the real need and want amongst young people is knowledge from the professionals they’ve aspired to be.
“Companies love to give young people of color scholarships and grants, which is great because we need them for college and to start a business, but it would be great to have a literal person who cares about your journey and supporting you,” 21-year-old rising designer, Iyomi Ho Ken says. “I don't see that. It's very rare that [mentorship] is an additional thing that you can get from a scholarship or grant because people's time is so valuable.”
Entering fashion is not easy. It is intimidating, especially for those who never saw themselves in the rooms they hope to occupy space in one day. Young people more than anything — especially with the push for diversity made in the last few years — are yearning for knowledge and guidance from those who’ve inspired their own careers. In the last two years we've seen a substantial amount of change spearheaded often by other Black and brown fashion industry leaders. As we continue to navigate the future of fashion and how it can better support people of color, there is an outcry, especially amongst the younger generation for candid conversations with industry leaders and thoughtful inclusivity.
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