People may question why Shanel Campbell dresses brown mannequins for her brand BED ON WATER. For Campbell, she is inspired to use what she has to create what she desires. In 2020, the global pandemic pushed Campbell to mirror the realities she experienced as a Black woman in fashion. Despite setbacks, Campbell is now encouraged to express her truth through her brand making waves as she introduces her painting techniques in new collections. Let’s not call it a comeback – fashion and design have always been Campbell’s true calling.

How did Bed on Water lead you to step out of your box and into a self-curated universe?

“Because it is fully my own, I do what I want with it in a way. I do not look at fashion trends or what is sexy or what would sell or whatever. I wanted to find my design identity and leave myself completely open to what I am working on. Once I put my work out there and see who responds, I look at my favorite things from what I have done and then kind of edit from there. So it was my own outlet to do what I wanted.”

Where did your idea to use Brown mannequins derive from? Did you notice how the choice of mannequins overlooked narrowband beauty standards?

“I use Brown because I try to get something close to my skin color. I do not know how original it was to use brown mannequins. But I try to make them the center of my brand because mannequins are used a lot in the industry. I wanted to make them the muse more than like another person or model . I have tried to take it a step further by presenting custom mannequins in different sizes; all the mannequins I have used are the same size too, extremely thin. I think that could be even more amazing. But I used brown mannequins during the beginning of Covid because I could not have a lot of models on set.

So then I went deeper into it by acknowledging how the fashion industry is a very fat-phobic industry. There were a lot of layers to using the mannequin. So I kept using them because they stand for more than just using a prop. And they are kind of creepy too. They work in a lot of ways for my brand identity.”

How has the mysterious story behind your brown skin and beautiful smile played a role in Bed On Water?

“I think a part of it is showing up every day, it is a combination of things. Yes, of course there is beauty in my brown skin. And there are also other layers of me. I have tattoos on my body and if I am wearing clothing that reveals skin then you can see my tattoos. Sometimes I wear my hair in a crazy style. To pull it all off, you have to exude a lot of confidence, which can be a little bit jarring for certain people. I know that being confident in my skin with unique features of my appearance shows me how much I am that girl.

There was a time when I internalized self hate, which had nothing to do with my brown skin. Instead, the hate came from my body type. I believe there is a certain body type that is popular within this industry. So it was very hard for me to love myself, I was shorter and a little bit thicker. Then I reached the point where I was like ‘This is who I am. I love myself and I love what I come with.’

My brand is a reflection of how I see myself and people around me. I love an alternative Black girl. I love a girl with tattoos. I love a girl with crazy makeup, I love a girl with shaved eyebrows off, I love a girl who can cut her hair off. I just love an alternative Black woman to pieces. I love alternative Black boys too. When I work on my brand or collection, the people who I gravitate towards might be considered a little bit alien, extraterrestrial.” 

How did your most uncomfortable season in fashion catapult your career?

“I think my most uncomfortable season was during the pandemic. I think everyone had big hopes for 2020. We thought it would be a major year, then the whole world shut down. The experience was a bit jarring collectively because it was the first time that ever happened to anyone. During the pandemic in 2021, I put out a collection. When I look back, I recognize that the collection was random things I wanted to try and details I wanted to get out, just to do something. The collection was not the most cohesive because I kept adding random things, just adding to and adding to it.

I am a former fashion professor and there are certain things you expect from students yet I was not holding myself to the same standard. I am now creating a collection in the same way that I would encourage a student to do. First, I sketched out everything, got all my swatches, got all my hardware, got all my prints and paintings out and then did my schedule. That is what I have done before I even started cutting anything or buying any fabric.

Back to the 2021 collection, I did it completely backwards. I just like doing stuff but I honed on detailing and my sewing skills were refined more. But, at the end of the day, it is hard for a consumer to engage a collection that feels like an incomplete conversation. I started painting and drawing in different ways because I did not have the resources to do anything fashion related at all. Then these paintings turned into prints which became my collection that was released in June 2022.”

What inspiration have you developed from your mistakes in fashion?

“I believe not giving myself any limitations was my biggest mistake. When you come from a school program, you have to work within these boundaries. You have someone telling you no to this and no to that even if they do not understand the direction you are trying to go in. I really was like ‘forget all that.’ That is a huge mistake. You can do what you want but you still have to work within boundaries that you set for yourself. You need to develop your color story and stick with it for this season. If not, you will buy the crazy fabric because you think it is pretty. Then you have a collection that is a little off. You can go out of the box but first, develop a singular universe. Then after you make pieces within that universe, you can add in other layers. The mistakes have been the best things to happen to me.”

How does your darkness illuminate your inner light?

“When you are working from a dark place, you are not thinking of how other people can look at your work and be like, ‘Wow, this is actually really calming. This is relaxing, this makes me feel happy.’ I do not consciously try to make things that people will find a light in, I just make things that feel real to me. But I do really appreciate it when someone finds beauty, happiness, or lightness in my work, even though it might have come from a dark place. I went to a Catholic school between 2nd and 8th grade wearing a uniform, going to church once a month, and confessing to a pastor. I have never spoken about my extremely religious Catholic school upbringing in fashion. Now I am realizing it does affect my work because I believe in just laying it all out there, whether it is dark or hard for people to hear. And they can feel how they feel when they see it.

I am grateful to have a space. I am grateful to be given second chances. I walked away from fashion and then it called me back. I am super grateful for that because if it was not for Made reaching back out last year, I do not know where I would be right now. I had been in terrible mental states. I am grateful for the universe not giving up on me. I am now at a place where I feel like I am the best that I have ever been.”

How do you believe Black history guides the future?

“I think Black history is the basis for everything.. it is the foundation. I am definitely inspired by Black and radical women and anybody who puts their life on the line for what they believe in. I have not put my life on the line. I have not done as much as them. Absolutely not.

I read a lot about James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni and Asata Shakur. There are modern day people I am super inspired by like Solange Knowles. She really does whatever she wants and she does it beautifully. And, of course, the Sun Raw Collective with Freddy Z, who are living in the future and doing what they want.

I have done my research, but now, what do you do with your life? I do not want to exploit my culture’s history or anyone else’s history. I try to make my own history by doing things that I feel are super original and have not been done before, which people say you cannot do. I am a black girl, I can do it. Black people’s stories have not been told to the point where we can not present original work. We have not always been able to tell our stories, but now we will through creativity.”

Your Your Story Told Your Way Black History Month series celebrates fashion leaders and creators via curated conversations that welcome authenticity and honor brand identities. These conversations steer clear of trauma to encourage fashion leaders to also be a beacon of light.

Photographed by Kendall Bessent at the historic St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, the first parish for Black people, architected by Vertner Woodson Tandy.