“We can’t even speak about equity until the fashion industry, as a whole, is willing to have a conversation about the inherent anti-blackness that has been sewn into the fabric of the industry. For instance, when I was starting out, internships were unpaid and so the only people who could afford to actually have an internship, typically, were rich white women. This created a hierarchy because now those people had things to add to their resume and were first in line to receive a paying job in the industry.

Things have changed a bit, but Equity to me is giving every person an equal chance to show their talents, to be heard and to be hired and paid a wage commensurate with the wealth of talent that’s out there. Black professionals are some of those most talented people in the industry, but their voices are never heard because they don’t even have an opportunity to run the race! Gatekeepers need to stop being reactionary as their default. We cannot keep reverse-engineering the hiring process, once these brands, fashion houses and agencies make severe cultural mistakes. The powers that be in the industry must be heading out to places like my alma mater Howard University and taking a look at these incredibly bright, talented kids and building programs to support their efforts before they have even graduated.

They need to create programs from ateliers to offices to support talent and find talent and grow talent from within. They need to not ask us to beg for seats at a table, but create those seats and allow us to sit at those tables and not feel like we are indebted to them and should be overly thankful for the extra piece of wood they had to add for us. They wouldn’t have to add to the table if they just got a big enough table to begin with.”

– Crystal Anderson, Manager of Creative Production, Man Repeller