Black-Owned Beauty & Fashion Brands
Black-owned businesses should be supported now and always. Here at HollywoodLife, we find it incredibly important to highlight the achievements of the men and women in the Black community, surrounding our progression forward as a society and our commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement. Rihanna’s FENTY Beauty was created in 2017 with a promise for inclusion for all women of all shades, and it has remained true to its word. The singer’s original foundation launch included 40 shades, and has since expanded to 50. Additionally, the extensive shade offerings now include lip colors, concealers, setting powders and more products. FENTY set the standard for other mainstream beauty brands to follow to be more inclusive to women of all color, and specifically black women. However, other brands like Beauty Bakerie and SheaMoisture have been beauty tokens in the Black community for years and we’re highlighting those beauty brands, along with black-owned fashion brands that we love!
Click through our gallery for some amazing black-owned beauty and fashion brands!
SheaMoisture
SheaMoisture was founded in 1991 by Liberian immigrants Nyema Tubman and Richelieu Dennis. Inspired by Dennis’ grandmother Sofi Tucker, who sold shea butter at a village market in Bonthe, Sierra Leone in 1912, the company grew to be an empowering giant in the beauty industry. Using Shea Butter sourced from women-led collectives in northern Ghana through Sundial Brands’ Community Commerce program, whose mission is fighting generational poverty and ensuring Ghanian women gain more profit from their labors, SheaMoisture offers a wide range of haircare and skincare products. These include the fan-favorite 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Daily Hydration Shampoo & Conditioner, and the Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Treatment Mask. The newly-appointed CEO of Sundial Brands, SheaMoisture’s parent company, Cara Sabin continues the brand’s commitment to giving back to communities of color with a COVID-19 relief fund for minority business owners.
Pyer Moss
Pyer Moss was founded by Kerby Jean-Raymond in 2013 and Jean-Raymond was recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 in in Art And Style in 2015. He was recognized in 2016 after his Spring 2016 Menswear Collection show at NYFW highlighted police brutality.
Briogeo
Nancy Twine, founder of beauty brand Briogeo, left her high-paying job on Wall Street to become a ‘green beauty’ entrepreneur. Inspired by her family’s tradition of creating DIY masks and beauty products, Briogeo’s haircare products are sourced from high-nutrient and all-natural superfoods that are perfect for all hair types.
LaQuan Smith
LaQuan Smith started his label of the same name at the age of 21 in his hometown of Queens, NY. He quickly became a celeb favorite, catching the eye of fashion’s biggest names like Rihanna, Beyoncé & Lady Gaga. Since the brand’s debut in 2013, stars have flocked to his one-of-a-kind garments with Smith’s signature attached to them.
Unsun
Katonya B. Breaux founded Unsun in 2016 after years of personal frustration by the lack of clean sunscreen products available. Katonya, who happens to be Frank Ocean’s mom, launched her brand with a $29 bottle of SPF30 tinted sunscreen, with a formula that didn’t leave behind white resiude, which is notably bothersome for people of color. Even so, Katonya has reiterated that Unsun is for everyone. The line’s latest expansion comes with a $12 lip balm and a $27 hand cream.
Pat McGrath
Pat McGrath has been a trademark name in the beauty industry since the ’90s. In 2015 she launched ‘Pat McGrath Labs.’, her own line of beauty products which by 2019 had become a $1 billion company and becoming the biggest selling beauty line at Selfridges. Often referred to as ‘Mother’ in the beauty industry, Pat McGrath’s conceptualization of color and looks have made her a household name for years.
Victor Glemaud
Haitian-born Victor Glemaud launched his eponymous line in 2006 and has become a household name in his gorgeous, genderless designs. He was a finalist in the 2017 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and honored for his achievements by the Ambassador of Haiti to the United States. Celebrities like Ashley Graham, Margot Robbie, Michelle Williams, Iman and Selena Gomez and donned Glemaud’s designs that combine comfort with style.
lemlem
Founded by supermodel Liya Kebede, lemlem is an artisan-driven sustainable fashion label for women, men and kids. Each stunning design is made in Africa by local artisans, with the most recent Resort collection being handwoven in Ethiopia.
Brother Vellies
A favorite of Meghan Markle’s, Brother Vellies was founded in 2013 by Aurora James. James launched the luxury accessories brand with a goal of keeping with traditional African designs while creating and sustaining artisan jobs. Now, Brother Vellies creates gorgeous, handmade designs across the world that are adorned by many of the biggest celebs.
JADE Swim
JADE Swim founder Brittany Kozersky Freeney saw a void in the swimsuit market as a former fashion editor & stylist. And thus, she created her luxe line of swimsuits that scream jetsetter & vacation mode. “I wanted to provide a go-to line of swimwear with styles that shape and accentuate the body, give minimal tan lines and also seamlessly pair with your closet essentials,” she explained. Her versatile line of suits do just that and more!
Cushnie
Carly Cushnie, who is now acting as CEO and Creative Director of her namesake label, has taken the brand once known as Cushnie et Ochs into a diversified label that has embraced the next generation of fashion. “As a Black designer, it’s very easy to be pigeonholed based on what the industry assumes you will do. It took a lot of work for me to break those preconceptions, especially when there are very few examples to aspire to,” she told Essence of being a black female designer.
Thrilling
Shilla Kim-Parker founded Thrilling, a digital marketplace for vintage shopping sourced from local stores across the US and a must-visit — because you know that the old trends always come back in style! Different from Poshmark and Etsy, Thrilling scours the country’s best vintage boutiques and second hand stores, carefully curating a selection of one-of-a-kind items for online shoppers everywhere.
Jerry Lorenzo founded luxury streetwear label Fear of God
Jerry Lorenzo founded luxury streetwear label Fear of God, whose seventh collection is currently available for preorder after being shown via Zoom in mid August. The designer highlights his ancestry and the Black community in the new line, with the addition of cashmere or terry pieces embroidered or printed with graphics marking the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, one of whose teams—the Atlanta Black Crackers—featured Lorenzo’s grandfather as a player.
