Photo by Jamel Martin
To highlight Black fashion designers, Shopify’s Build Black team and AFROPUNK teamed up to host a fashion exhibit on July 13th.
The Build Black x AFROPUNK Black Fashion Accelerator is a comprehensive program created to support nine emerging Black fashion designers as they hone their skills and grow their brands in a competitive marketplace.
The results of the program were unveiled last night by AFROPUNK and Shopify’s Build Black, with BFA designers given the option to showcase their wares at Shopify SoHo in New York City.
“We’re truly honored to partner with Shopify to bring you this fashion accelerator program and play a key role in positioning nine of these incredible entrepreneurs for future success,” said Anita Asante, head of global strategic partnerships at AFROPUNK, in a press release. “During the Spinthrift Market at the festival, we saw a huge need to support the Black entrepreneurial community, and what started as a seed of an idea quickly grew into a behemoth of a robust curriculum program supported by the New Voices Family. We’re thrilled to have been able to provide live training, coaching support, and networking opportunities to help these fashion entrepreneurs scale their businesses to the next level, and we can’t wait to watch them take the fashion world and beyond by storm.”
AFROPUNK is a global music festival and integrated media platform that gives voice to the unspoken, the unwelcomed and the invisible. Through annual music festivals in Brooklyn, Paris, London, Atlanta and Johannesburg, plus five other cities around the world, we continually drive engagement and foster conversation through content, business and community.
“We’re thrilled to work with AFROPUNK and this incredible group of fashion entrepreneurs,” said Amena Agbaje, Black Entrepreneur Program Lead at Shopify, in a press release. “Black-owned businesses are underrepresented in the U.S., and Shopify is committed to making entrepreneurship accessible to anyone, anywhere. Nothing is more inspiring to me than giving Black entrepreneurs the tools and support to launch their businesses, and I have no doubt that this collective of creatives is destined for great success.”
Shopify is a leading supplier of internet infrastructure essential to commerce, providing reliable tools to help launch, develop, market, and run retail businesses of all sizes.
The fashion show showcased the designers’ amazing fits and clothing selections and put the spotlight on the BFA founders. Anita Asante, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships at AFROPUNK, Amena Agbaje, Black Entrepreneur Program Lead at Shopify (Build Black), and Monique Rodriguez, CEO of Mielle, were invited to give opening remarks before the show. Chris Bevans, Senior Creative Lead at Shopify and BFA Program Mentor, was also invited. Local R&B musician Laya performed as part of the celebration.
Mielle, Thread Beauty and PearNova also lent support to the Build Black x AFROPUNK Black Fashion Accelerator fashion show.
More photos below:
Raya (Photo by Jamel Martin)”> Githu was the energetic host of the evening (Photo by Jamel Martin)”>
