A group of Black stylists, make-up artists, and hairstylists have come together to form an organisation that will support and protect black creatives within the fashion and beauty industry.
Co-founded by Jason Rembert and Lacy Redway, The Black Fashion & Beauty Collective will serve as a kind of “black glam union” for behind-the-scenes creatives, stylist and board member of the collective Jason Bolden told Business of Fashion.
Committed to influencing forward progression within the industry, the non-profit organisation will work to create education and career advancement opportunities for aspiring creatives, develop industry diversification standards for brands, and provide community and resources to support its members. The Collective will also focus on charitable endeavors, the first being a partnership with organisation My Block, My Hood, My City to provide support for businesses affected as a result of the high tension surrounding police brutality.
“We wanted to come together as beauty and fashion creatives to see changes in the spaces we occupy not just for us but for the younger black artists that are coming up as well,” says co-founder Redway, a hair stylist whose long list of clients includes the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Zoë Kravitz, and Naomi Campbell. A project that has been in the works for over a year, Redway says they recognised the importance of unifying to help people that look like them as much as possible.
“As black artists we are often overlooked. When it comes to big jobs, we are often not in the conversation with publications, advertising companies, photographers, unless they are shooting a black talent,” she says. “We would love to see that narrative change and for there to be a space for artists coming up after us not having to experience similar struggles we have in the industry.”
Alongside co-founders Rembert and Redway, the Collective’s board members include Rachel Johnson, Wayman + Micah, Kesha McLeod, Apuje Kalu, Jessica Smalls, Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks, Jason Bolden, and Nai’vasha. They are welcoming other black creatives in the glam space to join in support of their mission as they work towards changing the industry to be a more inclusive space.
When Dazed Beauty interviewed Redway in January, the hairstylist spoke of her commitment to using her platform in the best way possible. “Which, for me, means making sure that before I leave this industry, women of colour are perceived differently than we have been in the past and that we’re given equal opportunities.”
