First

With tag ‘black-owned businesses’ trending on social media since the recent protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd , Cosmopolitan has delivered a list of brands worth your time and money. The US monthly women’s fashion and entertainment mag has released its ’40 Black-Owned Clothing Brands You Should Definitely Know About’ list curated by Senior Fashion Editor Rachel Torgerson; Shopping Editor Alexis Bennett; Associate Fashion Editor Lauren Adha; and Fashion Director Cassie Anderson. And some of our celebrated Caribbean designers made the cut. “Designers of fashion brands like Cushnie, Laquan Smith, and Telfar truly take creativity and art to a new level,” reads the article. “Jewellery company Mateo also deserves your attention for their unique take on classic silhouettes.” Joining Jamaican-blooded designers Matthew ‘Mateo’ Harris of Mateo and Carly Cushnie of Cushnie are Grenadian fashion designer Felisha Noel of conceptual lifestyle brand Fe Noel and Bajan-blooded Rihanna of luxury fashion brand Fenty.

Then

Mateo New York and Cushnie were also spotlighted on Vogue UK‘s ’10 Black Jewellery Designers Who Deserve Your Support’ and ’19 Investment Black-founded Fashion Brands To Support Now & Always’, respectively. Also reppin’ the Caribbean were London-based designers of Jamaican lineage Grace Wales Bonner and Bianca Saunders.

Plus

For the first time in its 153-year history, American mass media and business information conglomerate Hearst has appointed an editor-in-chief who is a person of colour for Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Samira Nasr succeeds long-standing editor Glenda Bailey and joins from Vanity Fair where she has served as executive fashion director since 2018. Born to a Lebanese father and a Trinidadian mother in Montreal, Nasr says “…My worldview is expansive and is anchored in the belief that representation matters”. “My lens by nature is colourful, and so it is important to me to begin a new chapter in Bazaar‘s history by shining a light on all individuals who I believe are the inspiring voices of our time,” she continued. Nasr will head the magazine’s US edition and takes over on July 6, in the meantime SO has exclusive reactions from Trinidad’s fashion elite.