Harlem’s Fashion Row Host their Annual Black History Month Summit
By Tyshca Nicole
Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) celebrates Black History Month by putting on their 5th Annual Black History Month Summit, featuring panelists from Tommy Hilfiger, LEVI, HBCUs, American Apparel, and many others.
They are recognizing companies who are working to effect positive change and providing a forum for creatives to voice their opinions. Discussions during the summit were centered on the progress made toward meeting the needs of Black and Latino consumers in the retail and fashion industries.
Founder of Harlem’s Fashion Row, Brandice Daniel
The sessions included: All Things HFR, Style Gods with the BET Network, The Movement with Dominique Drakeford and Allyson Bennett, Let’s Talk Education, HFR HBCU Summit With Tapestry and Bowie State University, The New Legacy with Randy Cousin of the People’s Place Program, Peanuts (Yes the Charlie Brown crew) and their collaboration with HFR, Let’s Talk Diversity and Inclusion with LVMH, Nike’s Serena (THEE SERENA WILLIAMS) Design Crew, Hip Hop and Fashion: Celebrating the 50th Year of Hip Hop, The Battle of Versailles with Robin Givhan, Gen Z Outlook, Creative Direction with Brandice Daniel and Khory Simon, Designers Point of View, and the Closing Keynote with Dapper Dan.
The Tribute to Hip Hop with DJ Miiiks set the tone for the summit by playing some of the best artists that made major contributions to the music that is our culture.
DJ Miiks in the building playing all the Hits!
Brandice Daniel, the founder and CEO of HFR went into details about the upcoming events and collaborations that HFR has coming up this year, with the announcement of HFR’s new book, Fashion in Color. Along with the book, and other exciting happenings, HFR also partnering with Amazon Drop.
BET shared their new documentary, Black + Iconic Style Gods. The Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Billy Porter serves as presenter and narrator of the documentary, which "celebrates Black cultural giants, pioneers, and activists and their effect, influence, and legacies in fashion."
The first episode of Black + Iconic: Style Gods airs on BET, BET Her, BET+, and VH1 on Saturday, February 18 at 8 p.m. ET/7p.m CT.
The HBCU summits shared the collaboration HFR has with some HBCUs and their fashion students and the opportunities awarded to them through this partnership.
In the HIP Hop x Fashion Celebrating the 50th Year of Hip Hop session, Daniel was joined by two Hip Hop legends, April Walker, CEO at Walker Wear and Jeff Tweedy, Former President and CEO at Sean Jean.
Hip Hop + Fashion
Sean John, a renowned clothing and lifestyle company started by Sean Combs, with Jeffrey Tweedy as its CEO. After 14 years in charge, Tweedy stepped down as CEO in March 2021 and is now Sean Jean's brand advisor.
Hip Hop + Fashion
April Walker is a legend in hip hop, a pioneer of hip hop, a trailblazer, and the first woman of color to launch a streetwear company and a clothing store at the same time in the heyday of the genre.
“This 50th [Hip Hop] celebration has been great and as much as we give accolades to the fashion industry and the brands, fashion came after hip hop and that’s something that happened in our history that’s important to fashion,” Tweedy said.
The closing keynote with the iconic Dapper Dan was the icing on the cake. He expressed his appreciation for Black women and Black Twitter and the support that has been given to him. he expressed his thoughts on how Hip Hop is still here after 50 years. “When I was a kid Rock and Roll had just come out and it was a musical genre created by us, people of color, and now after 50 years, we are getting the recognition in Hip Hop that those in Rock and Roll are getting and that’s impressive.”
He’s always known that fashion and music went hand in hand and he knew that Hip Hop needed it’s own look and it sets the pace to define fashion. “It’s the reason why I’m still relevant and have that longevity because I know that the music keeps moving and I move right along with it,” Dapper Dan said.
The theme of the summit was “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” and this lit a fire in the participants who left feeling energized and ready to keep this mission. It’s one of those situations that you had to witness to feel the excitement and if you missed this summit, you truly missed out.
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