NYFW // Spring Summer ’19

Well just like that, New York Fashion Week has come and gone again, but this year I thought I would do something a little different, and here’s why.
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SO I like fashion week and I’m really horned that I get to attend. It’s something I always dreamed of doing, but to say it lives up to my expectations would be false. It doesn’t. It’s a lot of pitching yourself to brands that you’ve supported for years but wont respond to your emails. It’s a lot of fake encounters with other bloggers who pretend to forget your name, even tho you met them yesterday and the day before that, and last year and they just commented on your photo – its fine. It’s a lot of feeling like you don’t belong because of your skin tone, your body shape or your brand or at least that is how it feels in my case.

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During fashion week, I sometimes spend more time in a Uber feeling bad about myself in-between events then I do being happy I’m in attendee. And maybe thats because there is something wrong with me, but I am more inclined to believe its because there is something wrong with the industry.

To be fair – its not this way for everyone. Some of my friends have a great time at fashion week and I also love attending shows and creating content around this epic event, but it doesn’t mean it comes without a bit of a cost. I find myself feeling the most rejected in the weeks approaching fashion week by an industry that I feel doesn’t want to accept me. I wrote a few weeks ago in my not a fashion blogger post about some of my specific issues I have with this industry and their lack of inclusion, and that continues or if anything is just further amplified with NYFW. I’m not sure if this exclusion for me occurs because of my style, weight, race or by coincidence but I just call it how I see it. These insecurities and feelings of exclusion are things that so many of us face for whatever reason. For me, it’s fashion week, so I thought I would spend my week trying to make others never feel the way I do in the industry – and here’s how.

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I decided to do a mentoring program for fashion week. I selected a school in Brooklyn with a black girl magic program thanks to a follower who pointed me in the right direction. There, we were able to identify 3 girls interested in the industry but maybe set back by certain insecurities aligned with their race, where they come from or general fear of trying to enter an industry that works so hard to exclude them. For each girl, I created an immersive experience centered around fashion week but not completely tied to it. Each day provided them with exclusive access to the industry through my eyes and connections in hopes of helping them jump start their future careers and increase their current confidence. We spent the whole day together riding around in Ubers and talking about everything from pop culture to current issues and lack of diversity in the industry.

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As I was preparing, this program included identifying the girls, meeting with them at their school and planning their days. I had the idea to share this project with a bigger stage and hopefully help more than just the three girls. When I was working on this, one key partner stood out to me as a brand that I knew would support my mission here because it aligned so closely with their own: Uber. I have been working with Uber all year on a variety of big projects and initiatives:, I love working with Uber because I feel they’re committed to making changes in their organization and surrounding communities. When they wanted to activate Brooklyn for instance as a community, they used iconic Film Maker and Brooklynite Spike Lee — someone with a deep and meaningful connection to the community. This is the right way to spread a message. As a result, I thought there would be no better partner than Uber to help me tell these stories.

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I’ve got to work on some really cool projects this year and I’m super grateful for that, but being able to introduce smart black women who I have no doubt will make a positive change in the coming years to an industry that so often excludes them has been one of the most rewarding opportunities of my blogging career. I can’t wait to share the story with you of what we did during NYFW and how it will hopefully help impact these young women and empower them to continue to pursue change. I’m also extremely grateful for being able to work with a corporate partner like Uber who realizes the importance of hustle and lifting underrepresented voices to empower me to tell these stories.

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