Building a Fashion Ecosystem for Diaspora Designers
NEW YORK, United States - What needs to change in the global fashion ecosystem to lay forth a path towards equitable inclusion and diversity at the highest levels? The short answer: a lot of things, a structural overhaul of the status quo. Yet the long answer is also a lot of things, including hiring and recruiting practices, compensation transparency, internal promotional processes, fair and inclusive vendor selection, dismantling media pay-for-play models, anti-racism training and the list goes on. Much of the changes need to take place before a designer even commits to sketching a garment and eventually building a brand; the fashion ecosystem has a way of drawing you into its intoxicating vortex and spitting you out once you cannot compete.
One might argue that what diaspora designers need is not very different than what any designer of any background needs; however, with the systemic odds stacked against you, the response for equity has to be far greater than the status quo would even suggest is required.
One of the biggest challenges for any creative entrepreneur is ‘smart money’ - that is capital that is accompanied by business expertise. Money on its own can be spent without any material result. Take VC investors who willingly invest in a scattershot of entrepreneurs with the expectation that only a small percentage will generate any meaningful returns and subsidize the rest of the profit-losing enterprises within the portfolio.
The notion of ‘smart money’ signifies the need for a businessperson who has experience running a fashion brand. A business person can be an operator, a marketer, or a financier, anyone whose day-to-day does not focus on the design or creative vision. Yet how does one gain experience running a fashion brand? One way is rising through the ranks of corporate America. But what happens when the corporate rank-and-file stall you in middle management with limited opportunities for advancement? You have far less managers who have had enough exposure to the diversity of business challenges to advise a fledgling brand. In American fashion, well-known business folks - Andrew Rosen, founder of Theory who later invested in Proenza Schouler and Rag & Bone or Rodrigo Bazan, chief executive of Thom Browne and former president at Alexander Wang both started their careers in traditional brand management.
Stephen Burrows / Photo Courtesy The Fashion Makers.
Alternatively, the growing crop of fashion business programs present another training ground for future executives, including Parsons School of Design’s Business Administration program. Another option for rising to the role of business partner is much more difficult, but possible via entrepreneurship by building from the ground up with a creative director and supplementing your skill set in real time.
The system at every level provides some element of issue. An awareness of the interconnectedness of matching experienced senior managers to emerging brands in the global fashion ecosystem bears a closer examination. Without experienced business partners, you face the frustrating stories like that of Stephen Burrows who caught the collar of the cultural zeitgeist, but did not have the business engine to cement a long-lasting operation.
Telfar Bag Security Program / Image courtesy of Telfar
The argument here is two-fold; firstly, the investment in black-led fashion brands via smart capital and secondly, the reimagining of the global fashion ecosystem. One of the key differentiators for black-led brands can be the moral element - your purchase from a black-led brand, which has been historically marginalized, has a feel-good effect that can have pretty dramatic implications for the bottom line. Consider Telfar, who launched a one-day-only pre-order sale on August 19, so that the beloved ‘Bushwick Birkin’ could be produced for all who were interested on the brand’s own terms and pre-defined schedule (orders to be shipped between December and January). The covetable bag speaks for itself, but the overwhelming demand solved for in a one-day-sale signifies the dearth of opportunities for black-led brands selling via traditional channels. With Telfar’s Bag Security Program, the brand can call the shots - a level of enviable freedom for any brand at any stage. Assuming some level of cultural cachet in the creative vision, the close management of the business operations is what separates the leaders of the pack from the rest. It is truly challenging to run a fashion business without a few key advantages, so having a prudent manager can alleviate some of the well-trodden risks.
The reimagining of the global fashion ecosystem is frankly of benefit to all players regardless of background - in particular, reducing the reliance on wholesale players who can easily run a business ragged with oversized orders, returns to vendor, and perpetual markdowns. What would it look like to run these brands as predominantly direct-to-consumer, to grow at an organic pace that prides profitability, to present collections on terms that align with the brand’s core values via whatever format makes most sense, to cater to a core customer base and forget the rest, and to shape the cultural lexicon with pieces that move conversations forward, enlighten, and/or facilitate dreams.
t.a, new concept store launched by Telsha Anderson / Photo courtesy @t.a.newyork
What would it look like to align with smaller, niche boutiques on mutually-beneficial terms that respect the production process and environment concerns, that limit the order runs to reasonable volumes and that merchandise thoughtfully with a peer-set of brands that speak the same language. What would it look like to shift the center of gravity back to the creative voice, to slow down the fast-paced machine with no end in sight and prioritize the maker, the craft, and the handiwork imparted into a garment to be purchased by a consumer who will cherish and protect the value beyond a few wears. What would it look like to be part of a vertically integrated model that takes a stakeholder approach to business (à la Brunello Cucinelli) considering the farmer, the seamstress, the corporate, and the front-line in every element of the brand. Perhaps it is all unrealistic, but the current times suggest a more open sense of wonder about what the future can hold.
Today, few industry non-profit groups offer capital and/or advice, including SCORE (mentors behind the launch of new concept store t.a. established by Telsha Anderson) and ICON360 (recently funded to the tune of one million dollars by the CFDA). While these groups have merit, the profit-driven money bags when matched with a solid business partner can offer a level of commercial rigor not always possible with a non-profit grantor. That said, the capital and resources allocated to black-led creatives and the scale of investment certainly needs to grow, in order to begin the journey towards a more equitable ecosystem.
LaQuan Smith / Photo courtesy of @laquan_smith
Despite the challenges, great partnerships between creative and business leaders for black-led brands exist, such as LaQuan Smith, designer of his eponymous label and brand director Kyle Bryan and the duo behind Christopher John Rogers, the namesake designer and his brand director Christina Ripley among others. It is notable that both of these brands launched in the 2010s, perhaps learning the lessons unfairly dealt to their legendary predecessors — that the only way to win this thing is to last.
Photo courtesy of Christopher John Rogers / @christopherjohnrogers.