#MIRRORBLACK
TEdward Enninful, the editor of Vogue he emails had been flowing back and forth, and the meeting was potentially looking very positive. But, says Phyllis Taylor, the moment she walked into the room, everything suddenly changed.
The 40-year-old ethical fashion company founder says: “I had an incident where I got an email from a well-known high street brand to come in for a meeting, but the energy changed the minute she saw me.”
London-based Phyllis, who launched Ghanaian-influenced Sika Designs 15 years ago, adds: “It’s not clear from my name where I’m from.
“But I felt like the minute I entered the room the energy changed, and it just went downhill from there.”
The fashion industry has long had a problem with a lack of inclusion for black models and designers, and it is the same for stylists, photographers, writers and art directors.
The appointment of Edward Enninful, the first black editor-in-chief at the helm of British Vogue in 2017 was widely welcomed.
And if you’re talking make-up, Pat McGrath, a black Brit from Northampton of
Jamaican heritage, is the world’s most in-demand and influential artist, as well as the founder of luxury cosmetic brand Pat McGrath Labs, worth a reported $1billion.
Black designers including Princess Diana favourite Bruce Oldfield, Ozwald Boateng, the first black designer to open on London’s Savile Row, and the late Joe Casely-Hayford who dressed rock stars and prime ministers, have blazed trails in the UK since the 1980s.
And a new crop of talented contemporary black British designers, among them Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner and Samuel Ross, is emerging.
But the high cost of further education, and accusations that top fashion schools such as Central Saint Martins are elitist, may explain why there aren’t more.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police, the spotlight has been shone on the systemic racism that affects the lives of black people globally – and fashion has been caught in its glare. In an internal memo to Conde Nast staff, Dame Anna Wintour, American Vogue’s editor-in-chief, apologised to the company’s staff for not finding “enough ways to elevate and give space to black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators”.
Arguments over cultural appropriation, earnings disparities and a lack of visibility in fashion magazines means being black and working in fashion means fighting for a seat at the table – or having to create your own.
Jermaine R Robinson, a music stylist and image consultant from London, says: “I feel like at the moment there’s a huge focus for black brands.
“I know a lot of people who want to invest in that but didn’t know what brands are out there.”
Jermaine, 26, who has worked with