If you aren’t familiar with SSENSE, it’s the online epicenter for buying luxury brands and high-end streetwear. Founded by the three Atallah brothers, the goal was to take away the obstacles and headaches that could arise from purchasing high-end fashion and democratize the latest, coolest brands.
More than any other platform right now, SSENSE does curation right. They’re painfully aware of which pieces from new collections are a fit for their audience. They show you what’s relevant and hot right now — prioritizing pieces you’ll genuinely like rather than what’s just being pushed by the brand. Now, SSENSE carries brands of all price points from Adidas to Versace.
Another highlight: SSENSE is known for its brand diversity. They often highlight Black-owned brands and showcase collections from people of color and lesser-known designers. To close out Black History Month 2024, SSENSE is teaming up with none other than ESSENCE: a pairing that makes perfect sense.
ESSENCE, the lifestyle publication geared towards Black women, is helping feature three designers and artists: Bianca Saunders, Mowalola, and Stanley Raffington. The series will showcase their designs and tell their story.
According to SSENSE’s site,
“The two brands are turning ESSENCE’s “In The Studio” print franchise into a video series hosted by Lynette Nylander. The series will spotlight the achievements and creativity of Black designers who have significantly impacted the menswear realm. With three episodes, each featuring a distinguished designer, the series offers exclusive insights into their creative processes and journey,”
Meet The SSENSE X ESSENCE Feature Designers
Bianca Saunders
Bianca Saunders
British GQ
Bianca Saunders’ clothing embraces masculinity in womenswear. Her jackets will always be a bit oversized, or the style will mimic a classic streetwear bomber that could have been borrowed from boys like Jeremy Allen-White and Jacob Elordi — a girl can dream.
“The essence of Saunders' clothing lives in the details, which point to how she subverts ideals often associated with menswear.”
Finding the intersectionality between workwear and streetwear, Saunders clothing is genderless and trendy. Some of her signatures include layered shirts, tucked waists, and somewhat minimalist designs.
@babyboyflame Buying Black: @Bianca Saunders #streetwear #menswear #blackownedbusiness #fashion #fashiontok #fashiontiktok ♬ Oldschool - Cookin Soul
Mowalola
Mowalola
Joyce NG
Mowalola, a highly sought after designer whose pieces have been worn by the likes of Rihanna and Naomi Campbell, is a bit of an icon in the fashion world. Her mantra for fashion is “do what you want to do” and that’s exactly the kind of energy Mowalola’s clothes give off.
Much like Bianca Saunders, Mowalola is known for her gender bending designs. Inspired by cinema, many of her collections revolve around movies. And this is on full display at her cinematic runway shows.
She brings an edge to her designs through textures like leather and intentionally placed cutouts. She’s not afraid to make public commentary on race and gender, making her runway shows incredibly popular.
“The British designer has shifted the cultural zeitgeist with her boundary-pushing collections inspired by the world around her.”
@i_d Replying to @JAC So are we! #ferragamo #maximiliandavis #tiktokfashion #mfw #mowalola ♬ original sound - i-D
Stanley Raffington
Stanley Raffington
ESSENCE
In a world where the Chanel black-and-white aesthetic hails ever-popular, especially amongst those emulating Old Money Style and Sofia Richie’s closet, it’s hard to find designers who aren’t afraid of a bit of color…enter Stanley Raffington.
Often incorporating Rastafarian colors of red, yellow, and black as an ode to his Jamaican roots, Raffington isn’t going to shy away from any hue. He quickly rose into fashion prominency when Madonna and FKA Twigs attended his show, which included 3D printed accessories.
Constantly inspired by his Jamaican roots and the nostalgia of past trends, you will see lots of Y2K nods in Stanley Raffington’s clothing. He’s embraced tech in the fashion world by utilizing 3D printing in many of his designs and runway shows, and he’s not slowing down now.
@yungstanz Process behind my 3d printed curve bag. Taking inspiration from the architecture of Zaha Hadid, mixing new technology with natural materials and craft. Available now exclusively at @SSENSE ♬ Never Lose Me - Flo Milli
For The Freedom Of People - Bayard Rustin's American Dream
Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo’s Oscar-nominated performance as Civil Rights activist and LGBTQ+ forefather Bayard Rustin highlights Hollywood’s spotty history of recognizing, portraying, and marketing Black life and culture.
Rustin, written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black brought renewed attention to the co-organizer (with A. Philip Randolph) of Martin Luther King, Jr’s 1963 March on Washington. The rally drew approximately a quarter-of-a-million people to the nation’s capital and featured Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The march is recognized as a seminal event in our country’s history and remembered as a milestone in Black America’s quest for freedom and civil rights.
RUSTIN | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com
Despite a lifetime of activism, Rustin was relegated to the historical sidelines. Some of the neglect is understandable – organizing is a thankless task and takes place behind the scenes. Rustin’s negligible public profile also stems from the fact that he was gay. As Seneca Vaught, Ph.D. has posted on the America's Black Holocaust Museum site: “During the civil rights era, his homosexuality was seen as a political risk, so he was not able to take the public role many other leaders did. Even today, some who see homosexuality as a sin may not wish to acknowledge him as a civil rights hero.”
Those prejudices are being altered – albeit slowly – and the film is a welcome step in the right direction. It drew mixed notices but Domingo’s turn as Rustin has been widely acclaimed. New York Times critic Manohla Dargis began her review with: “Every so often an actor so dominates a movie that its success largely hinges on his every word and gesture. That’s the case with Colman Domingo’s galvanic title performance...”
“There are three ways in which one can deal with an injustice.
(a) One can accept it without protest
(b) One can seek to avoid it
(c) One can resist the injustice non-violently"
– Bayard Dustin
The film is also noteworthy because it has prompted a fervent discussion about how films are rated. MSNBC’s Derrick L. Middleton believes that “the descriptors for the film’s Motion Picture Association rating make no mention of the specific type of violence present in the movie – which is frequently vivid in films about that period in American history.”
Middleton is speaking of racial violence. Not mentioning it or disguising it provides a distorted view of what audiences will see onscreen. “Given what we know about the psychological impact of depictions of racial violence,” Middleton posits, “there is an urgent need for comprehensive change in how we rate and understand media content.”
In a world where Black citizens are routinely the victims of violence, such misrepresentation “reflects the broader societal challenges in confronting and acknowledging racial issues openly and responsibly.”
“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers."
– Bayard Dustin
Rustin – Executive Producers: Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions – is directed by DGA Award winner George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to re-envision our entire world, and ignited a movement with a mighty march toward freedom.