Claire Sulmers, CEO of Fashion Bomb Daily, talks to theGrio’s Natasha S. Alford about what it takes to support Black fashion designers and brands in an industry that often struggles with diversity.
Chances are you’ve heard the names of high fashion brands in a rap song before you went out and bought a piece of their clothing: Versace. gucci. Louis Vuitton. Balmain. These are all brands that garner love from black hip-hop artists in popular music, and even black celebrities on the red carpet.
But what if black celebrities and influencers with major platforms showed just as much love and brand loyalty to black fashion designers as they did to black-owned brands?
When Beyoncé wore a Telfar bag and Issa Rae included a cameo appearance by black designer Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss in season 3 of “Insecure,” everyone took notice. Could there be even more leverage to tap into that will only help brands have more longevity?
In the latest episode of Grio Weekly, we spoke to celebrity author, fashionista, and Fashion Bomb Daily CEO Claire Sulmers about long-term support for Black-owned fashion designers and brands.
“It’s important that our leaders and our real influencers in our culture really get behind this,” Sulmers tells theGrio. “If black celebrities, or celebrities in general, made it so every time they walked off the red carpet they had an opportunity to support these designers, I think that could keep it going.”
Sulmers personally knows the hustle and bustle it takes to navigate the fashion industry, having created Fashion Bomb Daily as an independent brand 17 years ago after graduating from Harvard University. She advises black creatives with innovative ideas to be “persistent and consistent.”
“I started out as an outsider,” Sulmers tells theGrio. “In fact, I started out as a journalist who wanted to work specifically in fashion and kept hearing ‘no’ from traditional media. So I decided to start a blog.”
“I used the resources that were available to me… Now it’s 17 years. With determination and adherence to whatever mission you have in mind, continuing to evolve and diversify your offerings, I believe anything is possible.”
Watch the full segment with Claire Sulmers above and tune in to TheGrio Weekly every Friday at 6am, 2pm and 10pm ET on theGrio’s mobile streaming channel.
The post Should Black Celebrities Shout More Black-Owned Brands Instead of ‘Mainstream’ Labels? first appeared on TheGrio.
