Black Fashion Fair Creates Space for Long Overlooked Black Designers

From Harper's BAZAAR

Antoine Gregory has never been afraid to call out the fashion industry.

The stylist's unfiltered but sharp Twitter commentary about the industry's ongoings—whether it's fashion presentations, designer collaborations, or the shifting landscape of the media world—is what helped propel his elusive Twitter persona @bibbygregory as one of the social media's sites leading voices in the industry—especially when it came to the matters of diversity, or lack thereof, within the fashion world.

After years of being one of the only Black people in a room or on a set, Gregory was inspired to create and produce Black Fashion Fair—an immersive online platform where Black fashion designers are championed, celebrated, and centered. Its website serves as an online database where Black designers are listed A-Z, and a virtual marketplace with a stellar curation of fashion's most exciting Black designers. Fifteen percent of sales made through Black Fashion Fair go back into the Black fashion community with initiatives such as upcoming student programs and financial budgets to produce Black-centered editorials and fashion stories that will live on the platform.

"The idea [of Black Fashion Fair] began to manifest itself in 2015," Gregory tells BAZAAR.com, "When I started a Twitter thread talking about the under-representation of Black designers on the New York fashion calendar and it kind of went on from there. In 2018, I really, really started to kind of build off the idea and what I wanted it to actually look like.

"I graduated from FIT and I graduated with only two other Black people in my major. And then as someone who was always worked on luxury fashion, I've never really saw anyone else like me around. I worked for a few companies where I was often the only Black person. It was something that I noticed, but at every level, Black people were missing from the equation."

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"The only true way for creating any change that's going to matter, any sort of change... is have representation at all levels," adds Gregory. "I think that's what I wanted for Black Fashion Fair, bringing visibility to all these different types of people and all these different roles within the industry that are represented."

Black Fashion Fair's online domain is a portal of Black excellence. A stunning editorial shoot featuring jewel-toned pieces from Pyer Moss's Spring/Summer 2020 collection welcome viewers on the homepage, while a single click into the designer directory instantly showcases the dozens of Black designers the industry has long overlooked. Burgeoning names such as Telfar Clemens, Tia Adeola, and Mowalola Ogunlesi are just a handful those featured on the platform.

Gregory intentionally sorted his selection of Black designers by their legal names rather than the names of the brands they run. It was an effort to emphasize that fashion insiders should be able to list off names of designers such as Aurora James, Kerby Jean-Raymond, and Anifa Mvuemba just as easily as they can recall their respective brands, Brother Vellies, Pyer Moss, and Hanifa.

"Even up until a few days ago, I still hear people refer to Kerby Jean-Raymond as Pyer Moss, and that's not his name, that's the brand, and he is a person. And I think that happens all the time where Black people aren't known by name or by what their contributions have been to the industry and the fashion. I really don't want to live in a state where Black people are still living in the shadows of the industry," says Gregory. "They'll erase us from history so you don't know Black designers by name, and you don't know their contributions. That doesn't happen to white designers, that doesn't happen to Ricardo Tisci, or Kim Jones, or even a lesser known designer or at any fashion house. We deserve that same respect."

Though representation is often deemed a shallow, one-size-fits-all solution to the larger effects of systemic racism in the corporate world, the concept itself can still be impactful. For Gregory, creating a dynamic platform that highlights Black talent in fashion serves a greater purpose than solely providing a rolodex of who the industry is collectively ignoring. If anything, Black Fashion Fair showcases to a younger generation that there are people who look like you, are from where you're from, and can witness your talent being recognized and succeeding within the fashion world.

"People don't know that Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress, but that dress is a part of American history and she never got credit for it in her lifetime. Or the fact that Stephen Burrows helped America win The Battle of Versailles—without a Black designer and the Black models there, you might not have won that," continues Gregory. "
These little things that people just don't know are erased from the narratives. What does that mean for the future of fashion?"

For Gregory, Black Fashion Fair is also a physical representation of the power of Black community. For too long, there was a stigma within the industry that forced some Black designers to shy away from dressing Black celebrities. It's an antiquated belief—and a subconsciously racist one—that the definition for success as a designer is solely dressing white celebrities and figures.

"Oftentimes Black designers wouldn't align themselves close to Black artists. There was a time where they didn't want to automatically described as a 'Black' brand, and I think many black designers shy away from being labeled that way," says Gregory. "With Black celebrities, it was a thing to have the close association to European designers. More luxury, higher-end brands were deemed 'more interesting'—that thought process of, 'If I can attach myself to a luxury brand, that only elevates my status.' I think recently Black designers and Black celebrities realized that there's value in community and support through fashion. I think now we want to see more collaborative efforts between Black buyers, Black celebrities, and Black luxury."

Though the current coronavirus pandemic has shifted the way we view and consume fashion, Gregory has plans to make Black Fashion Fair a fully immersive experience when it's finally safe to do so. He hopes that in its final form, the platform will be utilized as an educational space meant to inspire the next generation of fashion creators. In addition, he wants to see burgeoning designers receive their deserved attention—focusing less on what a designer's claim to fame is and more on the integrity of their talent and who they could be.

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"I definitely see there being a Black Fashion Fair exhibition and I imagine that comes with being able to put on exhibits and having talks where we can show how to help Black designers sustain a business, but also while having fun. I see us having classes for students where we cover the technical parts of design that they may not learn in school or may not otherwise have an opportunity to learn unless it's being taught by industry professionals," explains Gregory. "It's about giving them the same access that they will give any other designer."

Even in a year where fashion's influence and importance has been hotly debated—due to coronavirus, the state of the economy, and of course the ongoing racial reckoning within the United States—Gregory is confident that fashion will find its footing again, but this time with diversity and inclusion at the forefront.

"People should continue to be excited about fashion because it tells a story. There's always a story to be told, and there's always some kid in the middle of the Midwest, looking through a magazine, and there's an editorial that inspires them," said Gregory. "Fashion is always inspiring. Fashion is always an example of the time, and an expression, and how people see themselves—and it's always going to be that way. Those things are never going to change," adds Gregory. "And that's going to always be important."

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