RAISE Fashion

The fashion industry appears to be delivering on their promise of supporting black creatives with such emerging programs as the Black in Fashion Council and the Kelly Initiative. The most recent of these efforts is RAISE Fashion, a group dedicated to providing free mentorships to black fashion designers and entrepreneurs. RAISE’s very name is a declaration of its commitment to helping black talent succeed, as it is an acronym for the words “Respect, Advocate, Inspire, Support, and Empower.” Seventy fashion professionals will be educating selected participants on all facets of the industry, ensuring that mentees will be versatile in their careers regardless of their areas of concentration.

RAISE Fashion was born from the Black Lives Matter protests attended by such exalted authorities as Roopal Patel from Saks Fifth Avenue, Cushie’s owner and namesake Carly Cushnie, and Elizabeth von Der Goltz and Nayla Touma of Net-a-Porter. Which of these figures will be mentors in the project itself remains to be seen. Nonetheless, protests and diversity programs like RAISE Fashion demonstrate that the fashion industry's strides towards inclusivity come from a genuine desire to effect positive change. Furthermore, oft-ignored black designers and business owners will not only have an opportunity to bolster their careers, but working with such a plethora of high-fashion labels will also undoubtedly lead to their own brands gaining the same level prestige in the future.

Photo Credits: Dribble, Vogue

Report: Nia Hunt