"Tastemakers" is a new series prompting the Grailed community to share their style point of view. Respond to the prompt below with links to listings found on Grailed that fit the theme. The Grailed Team will review the submissions and curate a collection with your picks. The Grailed fees generated from this collection’s sales will be donated to Black and Brown Founders, an organization that provides community, education and access to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, allowing them to launch and build tech businesses with modest resources.

It should go without saying, but without the direct influence of designers of color—especially Black designers—we wouldn’t have the fashion industry we have today. From the secondhand sneaker market to generation-defining runway collections, it’s Black culture that has driven the hype market, directly influenced classic luxury houses and played a key role in shaping the emerging archival fashion scene. Even focusing solely on the cultural reach of Kanye West (including those in his circle) surfaces notable designers Jerry Lorenzo, Heron Preston and—of course—Virgil Abloh.

To pay homage to this longstanding influence, we wanted to ask our community—who is a Black designer or creative you admire? From the groundbreaking legacy of Dapper Dan, to the modern-day masterworks of Martine Rose, Kerby Jean-Raymond, Grace Wales-Bonner, Telfar Clemens or Samuel Ross—let us know who you think is shaping the fashion space today.

Check back tomorrow to browse the collection curated with your picks. We'll donate all of the Grailed fees generated by this collection to Black and Brown Founders, an organization that provides community, education and access to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, allowing them to launch and build their own tech businesses.

Tastemakers Prompt 2:
Share with the community a Black designer you admire and piece they've created that you love.

How to Submit:

  1. Comment below with your favorite designers and pieces, linking to a listing on Grailed.

  2. Check back tomorrow to browse a collection comprising submissions from the community.

  3. We will donate the Grailed fees generated from this collection to Black and Brown Founders.

Image: Highsnobiety, 2018

Tags: samuel-ross, telfar-clemens, martine-rose, heron-preston, jerry-lorenzo, virgil-albloh, tastemakers