Black-owned, fair and beautiful fashion brands taking the global fashion world by storm with ready to wear, accessories, footwear and jewellery collection inspired by the designers' roots. ECOLOOKBOOK has found you some of the coolest ethically made and sustainable fashion brands created by people of colour we all should know and follow.
AAKS
AAKS | Akosua (Ghana) based sustainable accessory label was founded by Akosua Afriyie-Kumi with the goal of introducing the world to her favourite weaving techniques by the women of Ghana, while also creating and igniting sustainable jobs within Africa. Handcrafted in Ghana, A A K S creates bags in styles that maintain the spirit and durability of their ancestral counterparts, characterised by bright exuberant colours. aaksonline.com
BROTHER VELLIES
BROTHER VELLIES | Brooklyn based shoe and accessory label, handcrafted sustainably with artisans spanning from Nairobi to New York. The label's founder, @aurorajames is committed to honouring the people who make the products and the places they are made. brothervellies.com
BUKI AKOMOLAFE
BUKI AKOMOLAFE | Berlin based contemporary clothing label founded by Buki Akomolafe in 2016. The founder's designs are influenced by her German and Nigerian heritage which brings together tradition, handcraft and modern design. All pieces are made handmade or manufactured in Berlin with high quality and eco-friendly materials. buki-akomolafe.myshopify.com
CUSHNIE
CUSHNIE | New York based luxury ready-to-wear and accessories label for the modern woman. The designer @CarlyCushnie creates artfully crafted collections with clean and sculptural lines to achieve the perfect fit for the female form cushnie.com
DISA ALLSOPP
DISA ALLSOP | London based jewellery label creates beautiful and colourful pieces inspired by the roots of founder Disa who grew up in Barbados. Disa personally selects each stone - golden citrines, warm garnets, rubies, sapphires and morganites - and combines them in unique and timeless settings. All work is individually handmade in Disa’s London studio and a large percentage of the metal used is recycled and certified. disaallsopp.com
FE NOEL
FE NOEL | Brooklyn based label, founded by Fe Noel, creates vibrant and bold collections inspired by Caribbean nature and Renaissance art. Currently, everything under the Fe Noel label is made in a small production house in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. fenoel.com
FRONT DE MODE
FRONT DE MODE | Paris based contemporary Africa-inspired fashion label of the famous eco fashion workshop Front de Mode. Front de Mode was founded by Sakina M’Sa who was born in Comores and graduated from L’institut Supérieur de Mode in Marseille. Her name is well established in the contemporary Africa-inspired French fashion world. frontdemode.com
HANIFA
HANIFA | Contemporary ready to wear fashion for women without limits. The founder hopes to inspire all women to stand tall in their power and, like the Democratic Republic of Congo, to use their history, whether pretty or painful — to redesign their future. hanifa.com
JOSE HENDO
JOSE HENDO | London based and founded by Uganda-born British eco-sustainable designer José Hendo. The ethical label takes a fresh approach to fashion design, challenging throwaway culture. Hendo promotes the use of organic, eco textiles and recycled materials to create unique, often avant-garde garments and accessories for both women and men. josehendo.com
LEMLEM
LEMLEM | New York based sustainable fashion label that creates artisan led collections of fashion and home goods made entirely in Africa. Supermodel Liya Kebede was inspired to launch the brand following a trip to her native Ethiopia where she met a group of traditional weavers who no longer had a market for their craft. lemlem.com
LIHA BEAUTY
LIHA | The London based sustainable skincare label creates beauty products that are, like its people, a mixture of natural African roots and a quintessentially British attitude. The duality of Liha's community is rooted in African diaspora and travels throughout the world to share the power of wellness, slow living and self-care. All packaging and materials are made, designed and produced in the UK by other family run businesses. All packaging is recyclable and reusable. lihabeauty.com
LISA FOLAWIYO
LISA FOLAWIYO | Lagos based fair and sustainable fashion label that creates feminine silhouettes with nods to traditional African aesthetics. Each garment boasts a handcrafted and unique history from inception to construction. Folawiyoʼs expert artisans hand embellish each piece, on average a 240 hour process reflecting the brandʼs focus on design integrity. lisafolawiyo.com
MAYAMIKO
MAYAMIKO | London based sustainable fashion brand, established by Paola Masperi, produces clothes, accessories and homeware made in Malawi. All collections are cross-seasonal and are inspired by African artisanal traditions and prints, with ethical trading and sustainability at its core. The designs are made for the global modern woman, while giving ode to their birthplace through the use of traditional African techniques and local printed fabrics, locally referred to as Chitenje. mayamiko.com
STUDIO 189
STUDIO 189 | Ghana based artisan produced fashion lifestyle brand and social enterprise creates beautiful and contemporary collections. The label has recently won the prestigious CFDA Lexus Fashion Initiative for Sustainability. The brand is made in Africa and produces African and African-inspired content and clothing. studiooneeightynine.com
TONGORO
TONGORO | Dakar based and locally made fashion label designs stylish, high-quality and diverse collections at affordable prices. The Senegalise label sources all its materials locally and works with African tailors. Its mission is to create a new dynamic for Africa based manufacturing and foster the economic and social development of artisanal workers in Western Africa. tongoro.com
TRIBE + GLORY
TRIBE + GLORY | London based and Uganda inspired accessories label. Tribe and Glory invests in female entrepreneurs to give them the power to change the global stories of gender inequality, and extreme poverty. The label gives women previously living below the poverty line access to debt free start up capital through short term employment. All pieces are crafted by hand in East Africa from locally sourced Ankole cattle horn and recycled brass. tribeandglory.com