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If you’re looking for ways to celebrate Black History Month, shopping Black-owned businesses is one of many. Spending your hard-earned dollars at these independent brands is not only an awesome way to support Black CEOs, it’s as easy as checking out on Amazon. The online mega-retailer boasts several incredible, fashion-centric companies founded by passionate Black entrepreneurs, ranging from high-end lines approved by the likes of Beyoncé and Rihanna, to casual graphic tees that anyone can rock.

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Below, we’re shining the spotlight on 9 popular Black-owned fashion brands that you can scoop up from Amazon today.

1. Cloth & Cord

Add Pan-African flare to your wardrobe with statement necklaces from Cloth & Cord.

Founded in 2015 by designer Ellana Kone’, Cloth & Cord sells jewelry, apparel, and accessories that the brand terms “wearable art.” From knotted headbands to some of the most dynamic statement necklaces we’ve seen in years, Cloth & Cord is leading the charge in producing jewelry that celebrates the diversity, brilliance, and beauty of the pan-African diaspora. It’s hard to pick just one of their creations, but if we had to choose, it would either be the Queen Africa Print Bib Necklace or the African Maroon, Brown Wood Bead and kobo bead Necklace. The necklaces make clever use of wood beads and Ankara-print textiles without sacrificing style.

2. Grace Eleyae

Grace Eleyae's headwear is lined in satin to protect and nourish your hair.

Grace Eleyae experienced the negative effects of chemical straightening firsthand, and established her eponymous brand of headcovers designed to enhance hair growth, hydration, and style. Grace Eleyae carries satin-lined beanies, baseball caps, turbans, and more—ready for all of your protective styles.

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Lagos designer creates zero-waste fashion brand

A Lagos-based fashion designer is producing zero-waste garments made out of doilies, duvets, sheets and textile waste as raw materials, using environmentally friendly techniques such as smock, embroidery and crochet.

Jéssica António, 28, handmakes fashion pieces in her studio in Praia da Luz. Some with fabrics she buys, others with material she receives from people and a second-hand shop in Lagos, which donates clothing that is too large or cannot be sold.

“Some pieces are 100% zero waste, made using techniques, such as ‘smock’, which is an English technique that I use in many of my pieces”, she says. It is a “very delicate” technique she learned in Denmark, in which a small manual machine with curved needles produces details for parts and accessories.

Using the name J-ANT – the ‘slow fashion’ brand Jessica began developing in 2020 – the designer sells pieces on her website and international platforms. Her clients are mostly foreigners, American or Japanese, or residents in Portugal, such as Brits and Russians, since “it has been difficult, for now, to reach the national market”.

“Most of my customers are foreigners. The Portuguese show interest, but we have to be realistic: they might nothave the money to spend on a piece like this”, notes the designer, defining the style of her creations as “raw” and “relaxed luxury”, in which neutral tones predominate, with a romantic and traditional touch.

J-ANT dress
Photo // Marinka Grondel @marinkagrondel

Her collection – for which she only uses natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, wool or silk – includes coats, tops and bustiers and, soon, bags made with reused duvets, doilies converted into tops and other pieces made from sheets.

“We also use a lot of men’s suits, which are deconstructed to recreate new pieces”, like the blazer that Carolina Deslandes recently wore

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Small fashion firm House of Zana wins legal fight with Zara over ‘identical brand’ claims

Amber Kotrri outside House of Zana in Darlington (Tracy Kidd Photography/PA) (PA Media)

Amber Kotrri outside House of Zana in Darlington (Tracy Kidd Photography/PA) (PA Media)

A small fashion company has won a tribunal against high-street giant Zara over claims it had an “identical brand”.

The retailer had threatened legal action against Darlington-based firm House of Zana.

Owner Amber Kotrri launched the clothing brand online in 2018, and opened her first store in Darlington a year later.

When she attempted to trademark the name House of Zana, she received a notice of opposition, followed by a letter from lawyers representing Zara saying the brand was “conceptually identical” to theirs, and “confusingly similar” for customers.

I really believed I would win – that’s why I fought it so hard

Amber Kottri

Mrs Kottri said she was urged to rename her business and remove all existing branding, but she refused to sign the agreement, saying there was “no risk of confusing us with Zara” and the change would “cause irreparable damage” to the business.

Now a tribunal judge has sided with Mrs Kottri and ruled that House of Zana can keep its name.

Judge Matthew Williams said: “I am satisfied that the differences between the marks … are sufficient to rule out the likelihood of  direct confusion on the part of the average consumer.”

The tribunal judge added: “I accept that the choice of name is prompted by Ms Kotrri’s Albanian heritage  and the idea of clothes manufactured with the magical delicacy of fairies, and I find no  cynical motive in the use of the name.

“Even for those who, based on their perception of the similar component, call to mind the word ZARA, I am not satisfied that the mental link would be more than fleeting.”

Mrs Kottri told the PA news agency: “I’m so pleased. It literally does feel like a weight being

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Aesop’s New Regent Street Store Is All About Georgian and Regency Architecture

LONDON — Australian skin care and fragrance brand Aesop is expanding and unveiling a new store on Regent Street in central London.

This is the brand’s fifth store in the British capital. It has other locations in Covent Garden, Seven Dials, Soho and Shoreditch.

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Aesop has moved into the space previously occupied by clothing and outerwear brand Matchless London, which opened a London flagship in May 2021.

The new outpost draws inspiration from the style of Georgian and Regency-era architect John Nash, who designed the Royal Pavilion in Brighton; Marble Arch; Buckingham Palace, and Regent Street with his collaborator James Burton.

The large, minimal space is meant to be an oasis of calm on the busy shopping street, and channel the essence of Aesop.

The oversized, stately basin in the store’s principal room is an ode to the water fountains of Regency architecture; the arched ceilings point to the cupolas of classical design. It’s a first in the U.K. besides Australia where customers can test out the products on their faces.

There are two doors inside: one leads to the Sensorium, which the brand describes as “an intimate space” where customers can sample the fragrances and even diffuse an item of clothing with their chosen Aesop scent by placing the garment on a hanger that’s sprayed and left to linger for a few minutes.

The other door opens to the facial room, which is meant to emulate a cozy living room with soft furnishings complemented by muted timber and cork.

Each Aesop location is distinct, but still keeping with the brand’s minimalism design DNA. - Credit: Courtesy of Aesop

Each Aesop location is distinct, but still keeping with the brand’s minimalism design DNA. – Credit: Courtesy of Aesop

Courtesy of Aesop

Each Aesop location is distinct and in character with its neighborhood, but in keeping with the brand’s minimalist design aesthetic. The Covent Garden

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Small fashion firm wins tribunal against Zara over ‘identical brand’ claims

A small fashion company has won a tribunal against high-street giant Zara over claims it had an “identical brand”.

The retailer had threatened legal action against Darlington-based firm House of Zana.

Owner Amber Kotrri launched the clothing brand online in 2018, and opened her first store in Darlington a year later.

When she attempted to trademark the name House of Zana, she received a notice of opposition, followed by a letter from lawyers representing Zara saying the brand was “conceptually identical” to theirs, and “confusingly similar” for customers.

Mrs Kottri said she was urged to rename her business and remove all existing branding, but she refused to sign the agreement, saying there was “no risk of confusing us with Zara” and the change would “cause irreparable damage” to the business.

Now a tribunal judge has sided with Mrs Kottri and ruled that House of Zana can keep its name.

Judge Matthew Williams said: “I am satisfied that the differences between the marks … are sufficient to rule out the likelihood of  direct confusion on the part of the average consumer.”

The tribunal judge added: “I accept that the choice of name is prompted by Ms Kotrri’s Albanian heritage  and the idea of clothes manufactured with the magical delicacy of fairies, and I find no  cynical motive in the use of the name.

“Even for those who, based on their perception of the similar component, call to mind the word ZARA, I am not satisfied that the mental link would be more than fleeting.”

Mrs Kottri told the PA news agency: “I’m so pleased. It literally does feel like a weight being lifted off your shoulders.

“I really believed I would win – that’s why I fought it so hard – but in the last bits of the court hearing when

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Johnny Depp is back as the face of Dior. Is it a branding masterstroke or disaster?

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Actor Johnny Depp has renewed his ambassador contract with Dior, reports suggest. Source: Instagram/Dior Beauty

Actor Johnny Depp has reportedly signed a seven-figure deal with international fashion company Dior just months after a high-profile defamation case heard abuse allegations from his ex-wife — raising an important question about redemption in the age of ambassador and influencer marketing.

This week, Depp was reinstated as the face of Dior Beauty fragrance Sauvage on Instagram reportedly after senior Dior figures and fashion photographer Greg Williams attended one of Depp and Jeff Beck’s rock concerts in Paris.

The actor first signed with Dior back in 2015, but the campaign was put on hold following Amber Heard’s allegations about emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Depp — allegations that were found to be “substantially true” by a UK court.

But following Depp’s win this year in a US-based defamation case, the actor has been granted a second chance in Tinseltown, first by Dior, and now by a French film company which released depp-jeanne-du-barry-first-look-king-louis-xv/”first images of his new role in a biopic today.

It comes as more than a dozen celebrities have quietly removed their support from an Instagram statement Depp posted in the wake of his success in court, after unsealed documents rehashed his history of alleged misconduct with testimony from ex-agent Tracey Jacobs and ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin.

By reinstating Depp as the face of the brand’s fragrance, is Dior alienating a large chunk of its consumer base who may be disturbed by Depp’s dark past, or is working with Depp as an ambassador a brand masterstroke in guaranteeing headlines while speaking to consumers who believe Depp was innocent of all allegations?

Two brand experts weigh in.

‘A 

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