Month: June 2020

BET Awards Celebrate Black Designers and Stir Calls for Fashion Industry Change

By Marcella L. Bouffard 2 weeks ago

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There wasn’t an actual red carpet, but Sunday’s virtual BET Awards was an impressive showcase of Black style nonetheless, starting with host Amanda Seales, representing all Black-designed clothing, jewelry, hair-care and makeup brands, including a custom gown by Los Angeles-based rising fashion star Claude Kameni.

“We wanted to tell a story of Black creativity, pay homage to iconic moments of Black style, and amplify the work of these Black fashion innovators,” said Seales.

“The BETs are our Oscars, our Grammys, our everything, where we are able to show ourselves and have fun and show off,” said her stylist Bryon Javar of the 13 looks, using pieces from Pyer Moss, Romeo Hunte, Sergio Hudson, Sister Love, Brother Vellies, Grayscale, Bishme Cromartie, Dapper Dan-Gucci and more, and paying homage to iconic moments in Black style history, from Hilary Banks’ Nineties power wardrobe in

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Jessica Torres is a rising influencer you need to follow

By Marcella L. Bouffard 2 weeks ago

Jessica Torres is not someone who wants to shy away or hide anymore.

“I feel like being a plus-size woman existing in fashion, and doing what I do, is like a huge middle finger to society and their beliefs of what women should look like,” Torres told In The Know. 

Torres is a style blogger and body-positive advocate. Her mission is to empower women and abolish absurd beauty standards. She has more than 114,000 followers on Instagram, 46,000 subscribers on YouTube and co-hosts the Fat Girls Club podcast. Her blog is filled with fashion and beauty advice.

But the path to achieving this success within the fashion realm did not always seem possible for Torres. Her formative years were filled with fat-shaming comments that made her want to shrink away from any kind of attention.

“Everyone would always comment on my body,” Torres said. “Being fat was like,

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Nigeria’s Yoruba women announce their arrival in style

By Marcella L. Bouffard 3 weeks ago
Three models pose in A Ti De
Three models pose in A Ti De

Nigerian photographer Oye Diran reimagines the fashion of the Yoruba people in a stunning series of images.

Short presentational grey line
Short presentational grey line

When an aunt sent Oye Diran an old family photo, he was mesmerised by the high sense of fashion and style exhibited by the Yoruba women of West Africa in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The photo was of his mother and her sister adorned in iro and buba, the colourful two-piece outfit of wrapped skirt and top popular with Yoruba women in Nigeria.

Diran, a Yoruba himself and Nigerian photographer based in New York, noticed how the style of the iro and buba had evolved over time, but that the outfit still maintained its elegance.

Inspired, he ploughed through the internet looking for more vintage images of the outfit but was disappointed with what he saw.

“What I found were updated

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The Amazon Summer Sale Is Like Prime Day for Fashion and Clothing: Top Deals So Far

By Marcella L. Bouffard 3 weeks ago

Clear your schedule for the Amazon Summer Sale, also called The Big Style Sale, which focuses on discount summer fashions. Amazon’s Big Style Sale, Amazon’s biggest sale in fashion to date, kicks off Monday, June 22.

Not only does the sale include Amazon brands, but it also features luxury brand markdowns within Shopbop, which Amazon acquired in 2006. That means shoppers will see deep discounts on brands like Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Rebecca Minkoff, Marc Jacobs, Tumi, and many more.

According to CNBC, the online retail giant intends to jumpstart sales to sellers and retailers whose sales were drastically affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as the postponement of the annual Amazon Prime Day, which is usually held in July. The Amazon Fashion Summer Sale also serves as an opportunity for shoppers who have been hit financially in recent months

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