As Canada continues the discussion on diversity, especially surrounding the Black community, the discussion is starting on a new front― the fashion industry. Long-time shoe designer and fashion industry vet, George Sully, recently announced the launch of Black Designers of Canada, the first-ever interactive index of Canadian Black designers.
The Sully Wong and House of Hayla co-founder, known more recently for being the designer of Starfleet Boot for CBS’s STAR TREK Discovery, launched the new platform to celebrate and increase visibility for Black designers, who often go unnoticed in the Canadian fashion landscape.
“I wanted to create a platform where we can be found,” says Sully, “in the likely case you didn’t know we ever existed in the first place”.
The initiative was born when Sully took to his social media platforms to ask his followers to submit the names of their favourite Black designers and received over 150 submissions. Canadian can continue to submit their favourite Black designers at blackdesignersofcanada.com or on the movements Instagram account at @blackdesignersofcanada.
A GoFundMe has been setup to help with the startup costs. Funds can be donated at www.gofundme.com/f/black-designers-of-canada.
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