Harlem’s Fashion Row has formed a partnership with LVMH in North America to support the next generation of designers of color as part of an initiative for the organization to move toward a more diverse and equal fashion industry.
At a press conference on August 17 in New York, the partnership was unveiled and marks a commitment by LVMH to support Harlem’s Fashion Row’s mission to discover, mentor and showcase emerging POC talent through high-visibility events and pipeline programs personalized, starting this special partnership with New York Fashion Week.
For the event, LVMH will act as the title sponsor of the 15th annual Harlem’s Fashion Row fashion show at the start of NYFW in September in Harlem. In supporting a new generation of emerging BIPOC designers, LVMH’s role will not only be to commit resources to address the issue of diversity, but to connect young BIPOC designers with brands within the LVMH group, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. , Christian Dior, Fendi and Sephora.
“This is the largest partnership we’ve ever had in North America, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Of course, there is a D&I component to this, but first and foremost this is about celebrating Harlem’s incredible wealth of heritage, history, culture, art and innovation and bringing it into our world. We search the world for creative talent, it’s our competitive advantage. It is the future of each of our brands,” said Anish Melwani, chief executive of LVMH in North America at the press conference.
“Through this partnership, HFR and LVMH North America look forward to continuing their mission to give designers colorful access to the individuals and organizations that can help shape their future,” said Brandice Daniel, CEO and founder of HFR. “We’ve successfully introduced a host of diverse designers to a world-class fashion curriculum comprised of invaluable tools and resources to grow their businesses and educated Gen Z on how they too can change the course of fashion. Together, we’ve created opportunities for young people to engage as early as high school, meeting the marginalized, especially HBCU students where they are in their fashion careers.”
For the Harlem’s Fashion Row show, three emerging designers will show their work on September 6 for the runway show. Clarence Ruth, Jonathan Hayden and Nicole Benefield are the designers chosen for this opportunity.
“LVMH is committed to having a positive impact on our communities and realizing the path forward set by Virgil Abloh and others who helped foster equality and inclusion in the fashion industry by supporting and building a diverse pool of creative talent.” said Smith. it is critical for LVMH as an organization to continue to develop color talent in-house, while ensuring the relevance of our brands and products in an evolving and diverse consumer landscape. We see this partnership with HFR as a wonderful opportunity to focus on values, culture, business and community all at the same time, as these notions are not mutually exclusive, but interrelated and mutually reinforcing.”
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