No Sesso

16 Black-Owned Beauty and Fashion Brands to Shop Now and Always

Supporting black designers, whether small independent brands or established labels, helps put money back into the community and gives black creatives a voice.

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We have listed our top 16 Black-owned brands to buy from below, which range from beauty to clothing. Here is your chance to back up your claims, whether they come from larger independent brands or more modestly known fashion houses. Browse some of our favorite brands below, including well-known names like No Sesso, Denim Tears, and Brandon Blackwood, as well as gems like Golde, Telfar, and Charlotte Mensah.

All products featured on FARGOLIFE are independently and carefully selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.


Klur

The eco-friendly skincare line Klur by esthetician Lesley Thornton contains ingredients that strengthen the skin’s protective layers, such as vitamins C, B5, and E.

L’ENCHANTEUR

Dynasty and Soull Ogun, twin sisters, are the creators of the affordable staple that can be found in any black home: the durag. The Ogun sisters launched their brand in 2012 after years of honing their skills in the jewelry and textile industries. Their first product was a line of luxurious drapes made from silk, velvet, and denim.

Beauty supply durags typically sell for no more than $5, but L’ENCHANTEUR‘s fancy ‘rags have price tags as high as $130, elevating the cheap accessory to a statement-making item. But the products offered by the Brooklyn-based company do not end there. L’ENCHANTEUR’s collections also feature clothing, hats, jewelry, art, and more, all of which are inspired by shared interests in astrology, mythology, architecture, and magic.

Telfar

The man behind Telfar is Telfar Clemons, as his name might imply. Clemons, who was adopted by Liberian parents and was raised in the United States, relocated to New York City in 2002 to pursue a modeling career. The following year, Clemons started making pieces from vintage clothing that were deconstructed and sold in boutiques in Soho and the Lower East Side.

Following its success, Clemons formally introduced Telfar, his own line of unisex clothing, in 2005. Even though Telfar is well-known for its stylish sportswear and everyday essentials, one product in particular has caught attention lately: the shopping bag. Telfar’s shopping bag quickly gained notoriety as the “Bushwick Birkin” in NYC and elsewhere.

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Fear of God

Fear of God

Fear of God by Jerry Lorenzo is well known for its mastery of American luxury, which is characterized by its endless flourishing of relaxed, approachable silhouettes, high-quality materials, and minimalist color schemes.

Additionally, the ESSENTIALS line—whose cozy hoodies are a must—and the sportswear-focused, adidas-powered Athletics line are both produced by Fear of God. FoG has experienced game-changing success with tasteful partnerships with Ermenegildo Zegna and Nike, blurring the lines between luxury, sport, and streetwear.

Daily Paper

Jefferson Osei, Abderrahmane Trabsini, and Hussein Suleiman, who are respectively of Ghanaian, Moroccan, and Somali descent, co-founded Daily Paper in 2010 and it is based in Amsterdam.

Daily Paper combines traditional African aesthetics with contemporary and informal designs, drawing inspiration from the founders’ shared African heritage. Today, Daily Paper is a reputable fashion brand that has worked with PUMA, colette, the Van Gogh Museum, and Wizkid among others.

However, Daily Paper is not just a clothing company. Hussein Suleiman, a co-founder, describes it as “It’s a movement of ingenious creatives from all walks of life, brought together by shared passions,” We are fostering inclusion rather than exclusion in the community.

Denim Tears

Few people can rival Tremaine Emory‘s prominence, acclaim, and cultural respect in music, fashion, and in general. Denim Tears has been the driving force behind everything he has accomplished over the years, from starting No Vacancy Inn to becoming Supreme‘s Creative Director.

It is not surprising that Denim Tears byways of Emory is such a revered location and pillar of Black culture given its close ties to individuals like Ye, the late Virgil Abloh and his brand Off-White™, and Stüssy.

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Maximilian Davis

Maximilian Davis‘ stock is rising as a result of his recent appointment as the creative director of Ferragamo. The news of a Ferragamo move is welcome, but for this item, we are more interested in the designer’s own label.

Maximilian Davis, a fashion designer from Manchester, graduated from London College of Fashion and worked as a designer at Wales Bonner before launching his own brand in 2021. The company received immediate acclaim for its distinctive aesthetic, which draws inspiration from Davis’ Trinidadian heritage, Dalston club culture, and even 18th-century carnival costumes.

MIZIZI

MIZIZI

Paakow Essandoh established the company in 2015, and the name of the company means “roots” in Swahili. Essandoh decided to literally put the nations of the African diaspora on a jersey after observing a lack of representation among students at the University of South Florida.

In the summer of 2015, Essandoh released the first MIZIZI jerseys, and the designs were a hit. As of now, MIZIZI’s jersey represents several African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Of course, the African diaspora extends beyond the continent. Thus, the designs for the brand also feature nations like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and others.

The jerseys come in baseball, basketball, and soccer designs. Recently, MIZIZI also worked with Marvel on a “Wakanda” Black Panther collaboration and with Disney on a capsule collection for the Lion King that was released in time for the film. They even released a “Blue for Sudan” edition to support the nation’s uprising in 2019. Essandoh’s formula is obviously effective, but we kind of wish MIZIZI would also grow to include a full clothing line.

IVY PARK

Ah yes, IVY PARK, the Beyoncé brand whose infrequent drops trick the BeyHive into believing new music is on the way. Since the brand’s collaboration with adidas, IVY PARK has evolved into a renowned sporty-chic interpretation of Beyoncé’s fashion preferences, where color, bold prints, and curvy bodies thrive. It is been fun to see IVY PARK’s fashionable takes on adidas sneakers, like giving Super Sleek 72s pumped-up platforms and giving Stan Smiths slippery-suave soles.

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Charlotte Mensah

Charlotte Mensah

The vitamin E-rich manketti nut oils in Charlotte Mensah‘s eponymous beauty line are sustainably sourced and provide moisture, softness, and shine to Afro, mixed-heritage, and curly hair textures.

Golde

Golde

Golde, founded by Trinity Mouzon, is an independent, Brooklyn-born brand making superfood-boosted essentials for health and beauty.

Black Girl Sunscreen

Black Girl Sunscreen

The beloved Black Girl Sunscreen, which is renowned for its sun-protective salve that will not give users that bothersome white cast after application, was founded by Shontay Lunday.

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Oui the People

Oui the People

Oui the People, a company founded by Karen Young, sells goods that promote self-assurance, including her best-selling razor for sensitive skin as well as a shave gel, body gloss, and bikini-line sheet mask.

Brandon Blackwood

A modern accessories and goods company based in New York City, Brandon Blackwood was established in 2015. In 2020, Blackwood made a mini-tote with the words End Systemic Racism engraved on the front, which helped him become well-known around the world.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a group devoted to assisting racial and ethnic minorities find legal representation while pursuing civil rights cases, received a portion of the bag’s sales proceeds as a donation.

Suite Eleven

Arieal “Ari” Smith-Liburd founded the luxury nail care line Suite Eleven in 2015. It provides nontoxic, vegan, and cruelty-free options for those who enjoy beauty.

No Sesso

The fact that No Sesso has only recently released jorts and lace-up denim versions of vintage Levi’s proves that it is not your typical fashion brand. No Sesso, which is Italian for “no sex/gender” favors unconventional design over conventional standards of beauty and clothing, as evidenced by its knitwear lingerie, nipple-slip dresses, and tailored Daisy Duke shorts.

Its online community, which is made up of like-minded artists and famous people like SZA and Latto, speaks to the brand’s inclusivity.


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