So I checked out this documentary the day it came out, I had no idea it was releasing let alone being created until I saw someone post about it on Instagram the night it had released (which is one reason why I love Instagram and social media), even though I know I would’ve found out about it I’m glad I found out when I did and watched it immediately because my creativity has been wanting to watch something like this so bad but there’s nothing out that I’ve found that I haven’t seen already.
From beginning to end this documentary was amazing and finally fit Black fashion icons into the conversaton that they’ve deserved to be in since we were designing daily wear for the wealthy but they were paying us next to nothing and putting white designers names on our creations. The documentary featured many important people and Black Fashion Icons like Misa Hylton and everything she did for Hip Hop and Fashion, Dapper Dan and the amazing legacy he created that the gatekeepers of the Fashion industry tried to destroy, April Walker and the success of Walker Wear during the 90s, Kerby Jean-Raymond the creator of the amazing Pyer Moss, Bevy Smith and many more. This documentary is amazing to watch especially for young Black people that are trying to enter the fashion industry or just trying to learn more about Black people in the Fashion Industry and the impact that we’ve had.
For so long they’ve tried to X us out of the conversation and steal from us but pretend to pay us no attention like how they black-balled Dapper Dan then Gucci proceeded to steal one of his designs and put it on the runway decades later but were stopped in their tracks by the power of Black Twitter and how they continue to watch us to make their new collections but don’t want us wearing let alone buying their pieces.
The documentary brought the receipts and had conversation that needed to be started, it not only showed the impact of the before-mentioned icons but it showed the solidarity that some of them have with each other, the way that Dapper Dan and Misa Hylton support each other, the way Misa Hylton supports her daughter and can pass along her expertise, the way Black artists stood for Dapper Dan and still bought his pieces even after the fashion industry got his boutique shut down and he had to go underground, the way Black artists supported April Walker and Walker Wear even when they didn’t know that she was behind the brand, it shows the way that Misa Hylton and Diddy came together and Diddy scouted and pulled together the artists musically but Misa helped them to create images for themselves through fashion and their style. It shows the support that we have amongst each other even when media can make it seem like all Black people have a crabs in a barrel mentality.
The documentary is amazing and is definitely something I would watch again and highly recommend. I also loved seeing both April Walker and Misa Hylton wearing “Ghetto Until Proven Fashionable” Hoodies on a few of their scenes which was created by Nareasha Willis, we love seeing people with platforms support smaller businesses because that can give that brand so much exposure.
We love the documentary and can’t wait to see more projects like this featuring Black people and the work we’ve done in this trillion dollar industry and our stories.