Lauren Harwell Godfrey is committed to serving a purpose bigger than herself. Godfrey has stopped at nothing to be an aid to communities surrounding her very own testimonies. She, too, has found healing through Harwell Godfrey as she connects with her culture.

What encourages you to bring your roots in ancient textiles and ethnic patterns to Harwell Godfrey?

You know, there are a few different reasons; it is what appeals to me first of all. I make a lot of things that I like, and in turn I think other people probably like too. Patterns and textiles and that sort of aesthetic really appeals to me. I surround myself with it in my life and  I was not seeing a story that felt like that. So I thought there was an opportunity there to have that be an inspiration. I definitely do not literally translate those things, but they certainly provide inspiration for me.

I also feel as a Black American, connecting to my culture and my heritage is really interesting to me. My parents divorced when I was very young, and my father actually passed away. He was my Black parent. I am mixed race; my mom is white. It is like my whole life, I have been searching for meaningful ways to connect to that side of my family, which I did not get to have as much connection to. Through this work, I find that it is almost healing to be able to search, study, and take in Black culture. I feel more connected to that side of my family.

How essential is it for you to create jewelry that is significant to our current times?

You know, it is really interesting, because jewelry is so ancient as a form, so to pull it in modern times, it is this interesting thing. I I think the stuff that I make actually transcends a lot of space and time. And that is what I love about jewelry. You can pull in little keeps that have been around for a long time, like the crescent moon. I just released some animal jewelry. There are different things that I am doing that are very ancient, but I try to pull it into a place that is modern. It is the way my brain thinks, my brain interprets it. It is really this interesting kind of interplay of old-meets-new, if you will. It is essential for me to create glory that is significant to our current time, because you want people to connect to it. There is this thing inside of us that is connected to things that have been around forever.

How has it been navigating a competitive industry that many wish to be included in?

It has not been the thing that I thought about, if you will. I did not come into this thing and like, wow, this is a competitive industry. How am I going to do it? I just started making jewelry. When I first started, which was about seven years ago, I was making stuff out of leather, crystal, very sculptural things. I made jewelry that made me happy. Then I decided to change to doing more fine jewelry. I really wanted to find a way to make it profitable so that I could keep doing it. I was not trying to seek out a spot in the fashion industry. That happened naturally, because people responded to work.

Can you imagine creating Harwell Godfrey jewelry without a true purpose?

Purpose is an interesting thought. What does purpose mean? What is not my purpose? My purpose truly is that I am a creative person. My purpose, in a lot of ways, is to keep that going, and to also be a contributing part of my household with a brand that allows me to do that. My other purpose is to be able to use this to give back, to create a broader narrative, and to hopefully keep establishing a luxury brand that is Black. There is a lot of amazing black luxury out here and there are a lot of people doing amazing work. I am excited to be part of that conversation in driving that narrative forward.

What particular experience led you to use Harwell Godfrey as an outlet to speak to social issues?

I have always been somebody who speaks to social issues before I even started designing, so it is a natural thing for me to pull in. I am on the board of a nonprofit called Futures Without Violence that does a lot to protect children internationally against different forms of violence. I know it is really important for us to be able to support the world that we believe in and that we know is right –especially with the way things are going, politically and socially here in America. It is extra important that if you have the ability to do it to do it. People need help right now. As a person who has experienced inequities in my own life and who also sees them among other people, you want to do something to help. And I feel like I actually have the means to do that right now and it is exciting to be able to leverage my work in that way.

In what ways does the Black onyx stone that symbolizes strength and grounding represents Harwell Godfrey’s overall brand identity?

The most prominent and successful piece I have made with that stone is the heart I made, where the 100 percent of profit goes to NAACP. I believe I have been able to donate around $150,000 because people have bought that particular stone. It represents my overall brand identity in the sense that it is a stone of healing and I do try to incorporate that kind of stone into my work. I believe jewelry itself has energy. I certainly find it to be important to create jewelry that has positive energy for people to connect. Positivity and optimism are big parts of my brand.

How are you keeping conversations revolving around social justice through your brand initiatives as they often fade away in fashion?

Unfortunately, I do not think these issues are going away as much as we want them to. People keep perpetrating crimes against humanity that are not right. So there is a reason to keep the conversation going. For me, what I have done with my work is create something that will keep existing. It is not like, ‘hey, for the month of August, you can buy this thing and I will donate something, and then in September it is gone.’

This is evergreen on my website. I have a charity heart series. I donate 100 percent of the profits to the particular charity the heart represents. And then I am also introducing new hearts for new causes, this runs pretty deep. There are a lot of issues that I feel deserve financial support and I will support them. I am actually launching a new heart in September. Every time I launch a new one, it kind of brings some energy to the other ones that already exist. And this keeps going, it is always going to be there. It is not something that I am taking away or ending.

Why are you committed to social change?

It is the world I want to live in. It is the world I want my son to live in, my family to live in, my friends to live in. There is good stuff happening, but obviously, what we have seen happening politically, especially in our country and with the police force and with guns, it is like there is a lot happening that is detrimental to us. I have to stay committed to it because I want to live in a different world. I do not want to live a world where women’s rights are taken away, and my gay and trans friends are afraid that they are not going to be able to get married or play sports. I am not okay living in that world where my kid goes to school and I am worried he is going to get mowed down in the classroom by an assault rifle. You have to stay committed and when you live in a way that is positive, positively comes in.

How does resilience guide you in making essential career decisions?

I think resilience is really important in anything you do because there will always be roadblocks. There is always going to be somebody who you perceive as competition. There will be a reason why you should not do what you believe is best for you. It is very easy for us to talk ourselves out of what we deserve. But amazingly resilience has helped me, I tend to look past things as much as I can where. I have a creative drive that allows me to get around the past.”

How are you motivated to not become stagnant to cook up bigger milestones especially as a Gem Award recipient?

I take this recognition really seriously from CFDA’s Fashion Fund as well as the recognition as CFDA interim member. And to me what they’re saying is, ‘We believe in you. We see something in you.’ And that is motivation to keep going. This kind of recognition is great. But it is not the end, it is just the beginning. Now I have all this opportunity to be seen and keep pushing harder to do more.

Then vs Now is a series that reminds of how far we have come from our very beginnings to appreciate our present. The stories highlight each of the 2022 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists’ beginnings in design. The designers speak to how they have developed and conceptualized their purposes in fashion.