Major Update: PROTOChic Founding Supporters

NEW YORK, United States — Since 2016, PROTOChic has been committed to bringing the best of fashion and culture from the diaspora and beyond. This mission has brought us through the ups and downs of an industry we adore — from historic highs in creative leadership and status-cementing designs to sector reckonings that have transformed the very ways brands are formed.

It is what makes us so proud to witness how many creative talents have thrived and transformed the landscape in just a few short years — today, designers like Sarah Diouf of Tongoro, Christopher John Rogers, and Laduma Ngxokolo of Maxhosa are held in museum collections around the globe. We wrote about Kenneth Ize and Thebe Magugu before their nominations and the latter’s win of the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2019. Before global mainstream media caught on, we celebrated nascent brand builders like Aurora James of Brother Vellies (who went on to found the Fifteen Percent Pledge) and Bubu Ogisi of I.AM.ISIGO (who marked 10 years in business this year with a moving presentation in Lagos). We’ve followed the journeys of creative entrepreneurs like Desiree Verdejo from her days of building a multi-brand beauty retailer in Harlem to establishing her own skincare line now sold at Sephora. Or how about Travis Obeng-Casper from his days creating community in Accra to debuting at Lagos Fashion Week under his own label? We could go on, but suffice to say, we are incredibly grateful to cheer on these trailblazers. What once felt like a quite niche space in diaspora fashion has exploded into the centerfold of a powerful cultural trifecta across music, film, and fashion.

Which brings us to our major update: we launched our first ever newsletter Weekly Dispatch earlier this year in order to bring more short-form content to our devoted readers and we are beyond elated to share our next iteration with our Founding Supporter membership. The work and research to build out these stories could not go on without the tireless support of our readers and building a reader-supported platform has been and will be our biggest priority.

As a Founding Supporter, you will receive access to our weekly newsletter, exclusive gift guides, bonus posts, and advanced access to special perks. We hope you will consider investing in our journey.

As always, please share any tips or questions at info@protochic.com. Until then, stay tuned!

Lead Image courtesy Freddie L. Rankin II / @flrsglobal