The ones to watch
A fashion film series celebrates Black excellence
designer Victor Glemaud revealed what he’s been working on over the last few months. It wasn’t a look book for a new spring 2021 collection, but instead, a look forward into a new and more inclusive future for the industry. Victor launched a new organisation called In the Blk, which is a networking concept for Black designers and creatives around the world. Members include stylist Jason Rembert, designers Virgil Abloh, Carly Cushnie and Thebe Magugu, along with designers and brands including Romeo Hunte, Fe Noel, Abrima Erwiah of Studio One Eighty Nine, Stella Jean, Daily Paper, and Bantu Wax, among several more, all of whom will work to provide connections and resources to Black fashion and creative businesses large and small. The idea is to break down the traditional entry barriers to the industry, those that have historically shut out BIPOC individuals as well as unknown names. The founding members meet virtually every Friday via Zoom or phone to discuss new initiatives and provide mentorship to those whose companies are still in the early stages of growth and exposure. As of now, there’s no official way to enter into In the Blk, and Victor, along with the other founding members, field requests and inquiries via email and DM.
The official launch of In the Blk happened at Paris Fashion Week, with a bold new video series that showcased the work of designers from around the world, and Black writers, directors and stylists. In fact, the entire team who worked on the project, from the publicists to the producers to the back-of-house staff, is Black. Titled Film Noirs and produced by the Blackowned, New York–based
creative studio Equator Productions, the series features the new collections from designers such as Ashya, House of Aama, Kenneth Ize, Off-white, Stella Jean, Sergio Hudson, and more. Costume designers Ade Samuel and Memsor Kamarake led the styling of the videos, and the five directors include Ademola Falomo, Anthony Prince Leslie, Elisha Smithleverock, Numa Perrier and Sean Frank.
Film Noirs opens with a statement from Victor in which he explains the necessity of In the Blk right now and notes that the organisation is founded on three distinct pillars: “politics, economics, and innovation.” Victor also emphasised that “the idea is to use Film Noirs as a global introduction to In the Blk.” The films were shot on location in Los Angeles, London, New York, and Lagos, Nigeria, and for each narrative and setting, the clothing was chosen according to which designers are based in each city. Victor said that he and the rest of the In the Blk team wanted the narratives of the films to feel expressive of the wider world of Black culture and not just reflective of the social justice movement happening right now. “The Black experience and racial injustice do not only exist in America,” he said. “Through our films, we chose to collaboratively create and amplify our storytelling focused on the layered excellence of global Black life.”
It was no easy feat either according to Memsor, who said that the five films in four locations were all shot in 30 days. “At times I felt like an air traffic controller rather than a fashion director,” he said jokingly. But despite the tricky deadlines and the restrictions they faced due to Covid-19, Memsor noted that this was one of the most rewarding and inspiring projects he’s ever worked on. “I loved the energy of having samples from RISD student Fisayo Quadri’s brand Loveohlou hanging on the racks next to designs from industry powerhouses like Virgil Abloh and Stella
Jean. That friction was exciting,” he said. “I was further inspired on a much deeper level by the designers’ desire and willingness to collaborate with other Black creatives on this brand-new project – their trust was the ultimate inspiration.” This project was also personal to him: “I looked through their collections and read their scripts, and I instantly knew the characters they were trying to portray. I know these people because they are my people.”
Poetic imagery in the films features Black women wandering through fields and lush landscapes, with original songs sung a cappella or with the melancholy strings of a guitar accompanying them. There are joyful ‘goddesses’, as one film title refers to them, laughing and smiling joyfully while parading down a palm tree-lined street in bold fashion. Former model and fashion industry pioneer Bethann Hardison makes a cameo in one of the films too, playing a wise, spectacularly dressed grandmother. As Ade explains further of the styling in the films, “You will see bold colours and textures, unique layering, and a mix of silhouettes that highlight the unique fluidity of the clothing in the new age of fashion.” These films reflect the important and very urgent ethos of In the Blk as a whole organisation, and as Ade notes, “This collective is a safe haven for like-minded creatives who want to see a change not only in the industry but within the world.”