We were lucky to catch up with The Black Fashion Week recently and have shared our conversation below.

The Black , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about growing your team – how did you recruit the first few people, what was the process like, how’d you go about training and if you were to start over today would you have done anything differently?

Building a GOOD team is extremely hard to do. We’ve gone through several board members and associates before locking down a core leadership. The one thing we always wanted was anyone who joined our team shared our vision. “anybody can be a model” “fashion is for everyone”. In the fashion industry, most people don’t join for the purpose, they join for the perks. Too many people walk in a room and want to be the best, instead of helping others to do their best. We are not a platform for egos. So we had to go through a lot of bad apples. In the end, we developed a system . The core board of directors stays the same and the leadership team changes per show. The team consists of models who have participated in a show and show exemplary performance and a willingness to put others before themselves. From there, they can replaced or promoted just depends on the effort they put in. We also have interns who help out as well, interns are chosen by resumè.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

A clothing brand CEO, a photographer,, and a Poet walked inside a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but in reality, it was the start of a fashion Mecca. Three like-minded individuals all with different creative abilities merged to create something for a community that is overlooked.
Historically Fashion has not been inclusive to everyone. We set out to change that narrative; regardless of gender, ethnicity, size, or background.
What we do:
We provide high-level fashion shows, similar to mainstream fashion weeks, but specifically for minority communities. We coordinate the LARGEST All-Inclusive fashion shows of the south. Over 500 in attendance not including livestream, and our model base is continuously growing; our previous show featured 70+ models, 13 Designers and 25 small businesses.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

At The Black Fashion Week our mission is to supply minority businesses and creatives with equal opportunities to generate revenue and exposure. Our Motto is that “Anybody can be a model, regardless of age, ethnicity, or background”.
Our program trains experienced and aspiring models in European style and
Theatrical walks. Fashion is for everyone, and everyone should be able to experience it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson: A good resumè, doesn’t mean they are a good person.. We’ve had a lot of people with bad or self-serving intentions try and jeopardize our program. When one area falls short the entire show is at risk. For example: if We hire a model coach and that model coach is more focused on modeling and being picked the most by designers, the other models don’t receive adequate training.

Contact Info:

• Other: Tiktok @theblackfashionweek

Image Credits
Chase Portraits