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
Youth in Revolt: A Look At The Youth Movements That Changed The World
Movements that seek progressive social reform tend to be led by young people.
From the Magna Carta to the Civil Rights movement, social change has most often come at the edge of a sword or the end of a gun barrel. Each right, privilege, and freedom that we hold dear, however fledgling, was earned through collective action. The 8-hour work week, public schooling and so many of the things we take for granted were hard-won. I can think of no example when social change happened via inertia.
More often than not, movements that seek progressive social reform are led by young people. Maybe this is because young people are less risk-averse. Maybe it's because those who have their lives ahead of them have a clearer view of society's flaws. Whatever the reason, activists tend to be on the younger side.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was in his twenties when he began protesting. Marx and Engels were 30 and 28 respectively when they published the Communist Manifesto. There are some activists who are even younger when they're inspired to action. And many of the most famous social movements have been led by teenagers.
With this notion in mind, we've rounded up ten of the most important youth movements in world history.
Newsboys Strike (1899)
One of the major contributing factors to the United States' involvement in the Spanish-American War was the prevalence of anti-Spanish propaganda in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. Towards the end of the 19th century, these papers were in a vicious circulation war and used cheap, tabloid-esque tactics in order to gain popularity.
While circulation continued to climb, pay for New York City's newsboys stayed stagnant. Following a slew of strikes in the 1880s, their frustration came to a head in 1899. During the 1899 strike, the newsboys reduced the amount of papers in circulation and were subsequently successful in increasing their wages.
Vietnam/Cambodia Protests (1964-73)
From the beginning, the Vietnam war was heavily protested in the United States. The protests of 1968 following the Tet Offensive were worldwide, occuring not only in U.S. cities, but Rome, London, and Paris. More famously, after Richard Nixon elected to invade Cambodia in 1970, unarmed students at Kent State took up picket signs. During this demonstration, the national guard open fired upon the youth activists, killing four and wounding nine others. Their deaths spurred a 100,000 man march in Washington D.C. protesting the war, but the United States' involvement in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos would not stop completely until 1975, nearly five years later.
Black Panthers (1966)
The Black Panthers aren't typically thought of as a youth organization, but when the group was formed in 1966, Huey Newton was only 24. The group was originally formed to protect the citizens of Oakland from police brutality. Outside of this, their goals were socialist in nature and sought to free black Americans from the oppression of American Capitalism. While they officially disbanded in 1982, their mission lives on.
Tiananmen Square protests (1989)
These protests were conducted by large groups of students and intellectuals to protest the economic policies of China's Communist Party. While not entirely cohesive, the demonstrations were largely peaceful until the Chinese Army arrived, massacring between 300 and 3,000 citizens (reports vary widely). The next day, the famous video Tank Man was filmed. In it, a single man stood in front of a column of Chinese tanks and blocked their path. His fate is unknown.
Arab Spring (2010-2012)
The Arab Spring was born online and started during the Tunisian Revolution. Both violent and non-violent protests swept North Africa and the Middle East, and resulted in the toppling of several totalitarian regimes in the region. While these protests started out strong and cohesive, various interests began to collide, and some of the destabilized regions are still in civil wars today; the most newsworthy being Syria.
Dakota Access Pipeline (2016-2017)
The Dakota Access Pipeline was built from North Dakota to Southern Illinois and connects oil fields in each locations. Unfortunately, the pipeline runs through the Standing Rock Reservation and threatens the regions clean water supply. After a long, protracted struggle and hundreds of arrests, the pipeline was put on hold for an environmental evaluation. When President Trump was elected, he bypassed this evaluation and the pipeline delivered its first oil in the spring of 2017. The pipeline has already leaked several times and is proving to be exactly the type of ecological nightmare that the protestors were worried about.
Muslim Ban Protests (2017)
When President Trump signed executive order 13769, or the travel ban, protesters gathered at major airports all around the country, delaying flights and offering legal aid to various deportees. Following the protests, the U.S. Court of Appeals found the travel ban to be unconstitutional on three separate occasions.
March for Our Lives (2018)
Perhaps the most famous youth movement in recent history, March for Our Lives was a nation-wide rally advocating for stricter gun-control laws. Led by the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, it is one of the youngest (and largest) peaceful protests in American history and had close to 2 million people in attendance. David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, and the rest of the the Stoneman Douglas students who helped organize the rally showed tremendous resiliency and strength of character; this protest took place about six weeks after the shooting. While no gun control laws have been passed yet, the protests certainly have the nation's attention.
Palestinian Protesters Against Israeli Occupation (Present)
Palestinians have been protesting Israel's government at the Gaza border and are currently in a standoff with the Israeli military. Palestinian refugees are seeking equal rights within Israel and to be allowed to enjoy the same comforts as the Israelis. While the Palestinian protest has been a peaceful one, the Israeli military has already killed and injured several protesters, many of whom are mere teenagers.