NYFW Celebrates Black History Month with Black in Fashion Panel

Fashion month, which kicks off in February during black history month is a great time to showcase the diversity of talent in the industry. This year NYFW held a panel featuring black creators from all areas of the industry to celebrate the "Black in Fashion" community. NYFW also featured a special showcase of designers called BLK Showroom that honored black designers. 

The panel featured several successful fashion industry professionals from the black community including Moana Luu Global Chief Content officer of Essence Magazine, Aurora James designer and founder of the 15 percent pledge, and Rashad Robinson President of the Color of Change. 

The panelists discussed the progress that had been made in the industry and what challenges still lay ahead. It was an empowering discussion full of positive energy! In recent years there has been an increased focus from corporations and the fashion industry as a whole on diversity and inclusion work. The panelists pointed out that despite increased commitments and funding from many corporations it is still hard to measure the results of these investments. One important point they all agreed on was increased accountability for such programs and funding. The panelists agreed it is important for everyone to know where this money is going and also pointed out that DEI work cannot be treated differently within an organization. "DEI cannot be the only place in a company that fails year over year. with no consequences." said Rahsad Robinson. 

This issue is not exclusive to the fashion industry but nevertheless, it was great to hear what is needed from the voices within the community.

Moana Luu brought up another important point when it comes to corporate structure. She highlighted the importance of having diversity at all levels of a company and ensuring that diversity was not just targeting one group but representing everyone including women, and people from all ethnicities. She pointed out that black stories are often told from a narrow point of view and they do not include people who identify with multiple ethnicities. She also spoke about the power of social media and how it has opened opportunities for people to share their voices and be heard. It was so informative to hear from the perspective of a woman who has worked for a large publication throughout her career. She said, "Social media has become the real media...the power is ours today not the media's". The panelists echoed her thoughts pointing out many black creators who were at first rejected traditional roles within the industry but found success and an audience on social media. She also pointed out that when diverse mentors are promoted it benefits the whole company and gives younger workers someone to connect with and learn from. This point about creating more accessible networking for young professionals in the industry is so important. She ended the panel with an inspiring statement telling everyone, "Life is about opportunity you have to ask for what you want."