Supporting black designers, whether small independent brands or established labels, helps put money back into the community and gives black creatives a voice. When so much of contemporary culture can be traced back to Black culture, the least we can do as consumers is pay the people who started it all.
We have listed our top 20 Black-owned brands to buy from below, which range from travel gear 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 Patta, Pyer Moss, and Telfar, as well as up-and-coming names like Anwar Carrots.
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.
Patta
The name Patta, chosen by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume “Gee” Schmidt to honor their Surinamese ancestry, is the Surinamese word for sneaker.
Since the pair opened their sneaker resale shop in their hometown of Amsterdam, the name has persisted. Since then, it has grown into a brand, store, and foundation that can be considered one of the pioneers of European streetwear.
Who Decides War
Who Decides War, led by Murder Bravado and his partner Téla D’Amore, asks a rhetorical question about the state of the world in its title and provides the answer through its avant-garde designs.
Who Decides War, an established partner of Virgil Abloh‘s Off-White™, upends the contemporary and streetwear scene with its deconstructed denim, “anti-666” messages, and strict focus on sustainability. Following the release of its FW22 collection, WDW raises the bar by collaborating with DITA on eyewear and Nike on footwear.
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.
Winnie New York
Two words that immediately come to mind are “style” and “substance,” which provide the building blocks for any worthwhile contemporary wardrobe. With appealing fabrications, silhouettes, and color schemes, all the bases have been covered, from cargo pants to shorts, suits, shirts, denim, and outerwear.
Pyer Moss
A new sense of excitement overtook September’s NYFW thanks to Pyer Moss. The CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund-awarded brand, led by Kerby Jean-Raymond, fuses fashion, art, and Black storytelling through distinctive silhouettes and well-regarded runway shows.
For their now-discontinued collaboration, Pyer Moss also infused Reebok with a new spirit of innovation and freshness, giving rise to initiatives like the Experiment shoe line. Pyer Moss’ presentations have never failed to be ones for the record books as the brand continues to grow with its in-house sneakers, first-ever handbags, and foray into couture.
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.
Martine Rose
In 2007, Martine Rose established her own clothing line. The Jamaican-British designer studied at Middlesex University and earned a degree in fashion design there before starting her own company.
A line of ten shirts from Martine Rose’s first collection served as its introduction as a men’s shirting brand. The company quickly released collaborations with Nike, MYKITA, Timberland, and CAT as well as a full menswear line. The designer made the LVMH prize shortlist in 2017. Rose collaborates with Demna Gvasalia as a menswear consultant at Balenciaga in addition to her own line.
Wales Bonner
Since she took home the Emerging Menswear Designer prize at the British Fashion Awards in 2015, Grace Wales Bonner has been on our radar. Her journey has since been one of the most fascinating to follow in all of fashion.
In each collection, the designer addresses racial and gender issues by drawing inspiration from ’70s cuts that were influenced by post-colonial theory and Black literature. The London-based CSM alumna has honed her skills at her Wales Bonner imprint in addition to leaving a lasting impression on sneaker culture with a number of sell-out adidas collaborations.
Carrots
Anwar Carrots, Joshton Peas, and artist Casey Veggies founded Peas & Carrots International before starting Carrots. The streetwear brand gained a cult-like following as a result of its vivid and colorful graphics. Anwar Carrots launched Carrots by Anwar Carrots in 2015 after parting ways with P&C International.
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.
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.
ASHYA
Ashley Cimone and Monya Annece founded the Brooklyn-based company ASHYA in 2017, with a focus on premium leather accessories like belt bags, pouches, and other accessories suitable for travel. Cimone and Annece discovered a gap in the market for chic, modern accessories while visiting India, and they saw this as a rare chance to pursue their shared passion for design.
Bricks & Wood
Bricks & Wood is a label started in 2014 by Kacey Lynch, a South Central, Los Angeles native. Most lookbooks for the brand use South Central residents as models, including Lynch’s grandmother, as a tribute to Lynch’s hometown.
Brick & Wood’s designs frequently concentrate on high-quality staples rather than overtly ostentatious designs, fusing modern streetwear with everyday essentials. The label lists The Hundreds as collaborators and Anderson.Paak and Tyler, The Creator as endorsers.
Union LA
In New York, the Union was founded. Mary Ann Fusco and James Jebbia, the store’s owners, debuted the business on Spring Street in Soho in 1989. The next location, in Los Angeles, opened in 1991. Chris Gibbs managed the store for ten years before purchasing it in 2008.
Union LA is a streetwear institution that is credited with launching numerous independent streetwear brands and bridging the gap between the US and European markets.
The year 2017 marked the biggest turning point for Union, as Gibbs introduced the shop’s first in-house line.
Joe Freshgoods
Designer and artist from Chicago named Joe “Freshgoods” Robinson. After producing one-off t-shirts and accessories for a while, Robinson established his very own streetwear company, Joe Freshgoods.
Robinson opened Fat Tiger Workshop with assistance from Vic Lloyd and Desmond Owusu while refusing to leave Chicago. The store, which is situated in the Goose Island district, also acts as a creative hub for the neighborhood and has started initiatives to support low-income families.
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.
A-COLD-WALL*
Since 2015, we have seen firsthand how A-COLD-WALL* has evolved under the direction of Samuel Ross, a student of the late Virgil Abloh. This development has been influenced more and more by a luxury mindset.
Within its first three seasons, retailers like SSENSE and Selfridges were already carrying the brand. Since then, the brand has only grown stronger, making it to the LVMH Prize finalist round, working with companies like Nike and Beats by Dre, and moving its fashion shows to Milan as the company reaches a new level of maturity.
Atelier New Regime
From Montreal, Canada, comes the streetwear company known as Atelier New Regime (or ANR). Setiz Taheri, along with the brothers Gildas and Koku Awuye, co-founded the company ANR, which stands for “creating uniforms for the marginalized.”
Strong messages like “Fight the power,” “We learn all our gang shit from the government,” and “Fuck racism” are frequently printed on T-shirts, hoodies, and work jackets in the label’s collections. Orange jumpsuits and t-shirts, as well as uniform-inspired padded vests with “Dressed to kill” printed on the front, are among the more provocative designs.
Bianca Saunders
London designer Bianca Saunders draws inspiration from her dual British and Jamaican heritage to create the cross-cultural feel of her eponymous line. The collections of the designer also blur the lines between tradition and modernity.
After being established in 2017, Bianca Saunders has experienced a swift ascent to success. She was named One to Watch by the British Fashion Council in 2018 and went on to win the 32nd Andam Grand Prix Fashion Award the following year.
Since the beginning of London Fashion Week, Bianca Saunders has presented collections there; her relocation to Paris in January 2022 was a foreshadowing of this label’s future. It is already too late if you are not paying attention right now.
