Through our research and the growing promotion on social media we have discovered, and rediscovered, some incredible brands founded and run by Black people and People of Colour that we would love to share with you.
Kemi Telford
Kemi Telford clothes are designed to be more than just clothes, they are loud, bold and say to the World - “Look at me, I am fabulous.” Some of the clothes sold here have a Nigerian influence, but with a western twist. The clothing is trans-seasonal and encourage the wearer to stop shrinking themselves and be bold!
Respect for people is at the core of the brand’s ethos. This includes their customers, employees, and suppliers.
AleroJasmine
AleroJasmine combines a blend of eye catching textures and prints with the vibrant dynamic culture of its founder, Aasiyah. Each piece bursts with creativity and minimal silhouettes. All the fabrics and materials are ethically sourced and handmade by a group of underprivileged Lagosian artisans, sustaining African artisanal jobs is important to the brand.
WE ARE KIN
WE ARE KIN is an emerging London based sustainable label founded by Ngoni Chikwenengere. The brand focuses on strong silhouettes, clean lines and statement staples that will elevate any closet, making their pieces timeless, wearable and help to reduce waste too.
VSMine
Slogan tees, but not as you’ve seen them before - VSMINE create minimal but highly considered T-shirts in either black or white, with simple lettering on the chest. Each part of the brand, from production to packaging, has been carefully considered.
Aliya Wanek
Founded in 2016, Aliya Wanek focuses on exploring the connection between one’s identity and style. The brand creates comfortable, stylish clothing ethically and sustainably as an extension of the wearer’s individuality. From production to the dying process, focus is always on taking into consideration ways to reduce the brand’s environmental impact.
Earth Toned Collective
Earth Toned Collective is a sustainable and ethical womenswear brand. Designing with the Earth in mind, using eco friendly, and revived materials. Each piece is meant to liberate, celebrate and connect you to Nature, the Earth Tone Collective designs to sustain life.
Island Tribe
Island Tribe is a womenswear lifestyle brand, founded with a strong commitment to sustainability and fair trade practices. Based in California, the dynamic free spirited community "the Tribe" embraces femininity, environmental consciousness and holistic living.
LaneFortyfive
Handmade clothes made the ethical, and sustainable way. LaneFortyfive’s ethos is simple ‘we are what we wear’. Clothes are our second skin, and they give them the importance and consideration they deserve. For every £100 a customer spends with LaneFortyfive, they plant 2 trees!
Rita Colson
Rita Colson is a London based fashion designer specialising in bridal couture and evening wear. Her unique style uses vintage lace and silk to create contemporary and bespoke pieces with an ethical twist, creating pieces fit for a variety of occasions. All fabrics and materials are sourced ethically and sustainably.
Chelsea Bravo
Born in Brooklyn, New York Chelsea Bravo moved to London at the age of two developing a personal style and identity through clothing, taking to fashion as a means of self-expression. She creatively infuses an artistic feel with simple and free shapes through a contemporary silhouette. Each piece is made-to-order in New York.
Sincerely Nude
Redefining nude - Sincerely Nude strongly believes in representing all women. Founded because of the need to change the perception around the colour ‘nude’ and expand it to envelope the full range of human skin tones. Sincerely Nude wants to empower women to feel beautiful in their skin tone no matter what shade or size.
Daughter of a Bohemian
Founded by Nuala Farrington in 2012, Daughter of a Bohemian up-cycles existing garments to create beautiful one-offs. It’s ethos centres on bringing people together to celebrate and appreciate the people and time involved in the process of creating these garments. They also run making workshops in London, something to keep an eye on when lockdown lifts!
LeyeLesi
Based in Scotland, LeyeLesi is a sustainable and ethical brand that infuses luxurious textures of locally sourced leathers and indigenous fabrics into every creation. It’s range includes handbags, purses, shoes and jewellery, every piece is handcrafted by a team of Artisans in West Africa.
AAKS Hand-Crafted
The essence of the A A K S design philosophy is a complex combination of thoughtful design, attention to detail and ethical values in production. A A K S combines bright exuberant colours with weaving techniques, handcrafted by the women of Ghana, creating sustainable jobs within Africa.
Tanaka
Tanaka is a Zimbabwean Shona name meaning ‘we are good’. The. London based brands mission is to create plant-based products to benefit and improve skin health whilst cutting out the usually unavoidable consumption of plastics from store bought shower gels and liquid soaps.
Freya Bramble-Carter Ceramics
Freya Bramble-Carter Ceramics is a London based ceramics artist, known for creating contemporary designs, strongly inspired by the beauty of nature. Marked by artisan glazes and handcrafted unique silhouettes, Freya's limited edition pieces are designed to elevate the details of your home.
Naked Clay Ceramics
Inspired by the natural colours and textures of the earth, Naked Clay Ceramics is a collection of quiet, tactile, minimal style tableware and homeware in black stoneware and white porcelain. Using a combination of hand building and slip casting, everything is made by hand in the UK.
Our Lovely Goods
Our Lovely Goods is a UK based family run business, passionate about creating products that are good for you, your home and the environment. They handcraft natural wax candles, botanical skincare and work with talented artisans in Nigeria to curate their collection of homewares. They also run workshops to promote well being and explore creativity, another one to add to your post lockdown ‘to do’ lists!
Bespoke Binny
Bespoke Binny is a British based business offering a range of handmade homeware and gifts items made from West African cloth. The founder, Natalie Manima, also offers online workshops to make your own lampshade, the perfect lockdown activity!
La Basketry
La Basketry was launched in 2017 as an online boutique, offering baskets and unique woven products for the home based on tradition from Senegal, La Basketry wants to celebrate all things woven – whether you buy a beautiful piece made by a skilled artisan or inspiring you to weave and craft your own creations in an online workshop or with one of their books.
Snacho’s
Sancho’s in Devon, UK, creates sustainable, stylish collections that stand the test of time. Everything they stock is made ethically, by fairly treated garment workers, and we only source organic and sustainable products. Fairness is at the heart of their business.
Prick London
Prick is the first London plant shop dedicated solely to selling cacti and succulents. Based on Dalston’s Kingsland Road, the shop was opened by Gynelle Leon, an award-winning black photographer and trained florist, in 2016. Currently the store currently closed but you can still support the store by ordering online.
These are but a few of the wonderful brands and businesses we have discovered and rediscovered in the last few weeks.
You can find more incredible BIPOC owned brands across many industries here.
If you know of any Black-owned brands or brands by People of Colour that you think we need to know about make sure to mention them in the comments below!
