In light of recent protests for racial justice and against police brutality, the Accessories Council is highlighting some of its brands created by black artists and entrepreneurs. Several of these brands have won awards and have been worn by celebrities and trend-setters. The AC invites readers to join them in celebrating and supporting these businesses.
Ashya
Established in 2017 by Co-founders Ashley Cimone and Moya Annece, Ashya (pronounced “agh-shya”) is a New York-based design label featuring unisex travel accessories. Ashya is dedicated to creating well-crafted, purposeful designs.
Ashya exists as a vehicle to diversify cultural perspectives through broadly-researched narratives and design. By documenting and sharing cultural stories and designing multifunctional accessories, the brand hopes to help the modern-day explorer move more thoughtfully and fluidly throughout the world. Each collection emerges as an “ode to exploration,” a motto that speaks to the process of understanding a diverse array of cultural narratives.
The design label is a recent award recipient for the 2018-2019 Council of Fashion Designers of America Inc. (CFDA) and Accessories Council Elaine Gold Launch Pad Fellowship.
Brother Vellies
Brother Vellies was founded in 2013 with the goal of keeping traditional African design practices and techniques alive while also creating and sustaining artisanal jobs. Now handmade across the globe, Brother Vellies creates luxury accessories that celebrate cultural histories and timeless design.
As a Toronto native and New York City transplant, Creative Director and Founder Aurora James amassed an impressive résumé of fashion industry experience prior to starting Brother Vellies. Her background in fashion, journalism, art, music, photography and horticulture joins a forever-passion for artisanship, design and humanitarianism to create one-of-a-kind pieces that will remain in wardrobes forever.
Enform
Enform customizes the sales team learning experience. Teams can follow brands they love, view video and lookbook content and get product training before new collections are shipped.
By clicking on an item, sales teams can review product descriptions, pricing and size and leave comments for brands and other associates. The program is designed to increase sales associate engagement, sales and overall business results.
“Sales teams are competing against algorithms,” said Felita Harris, co-founder. “The single most powerful tool to optimize business is arming sales teams with unparalleled product knowledge. Only then can we truly transform the customer experience.”
Keith and James
Known as the “Gentleman Milliner,” James Keith was born and raised in the small, tradition-steeped southern town of Riegelwood, North Carolina. Hats were a part of Keith’s life for as far back as he can remember; a true gentleman never left home without a finely crafted fedora, and on Sundays, women broke free from their uniforms and embraced their individuality by donning elaborately adorned hats. Over the years, Keith’s affinity for the strong values and traditions of his hometown morphed into his love of design and style.
In 2016, Keith set out to create his own line of quality hats that would serve as a modern symbol of the cornerstones of his heritage: strength, unity and love. The result was a stylish and chic fedora, mixing classic lines and silhouettes with modern materials and colors. It became immediately clear that Keith had created something special. He quickly formed a new company by the name of Keith and James, placing his family name ahead of his own to further demonstrate the importance of core family values and that, no matter what, family always comes first.
Soon after creating his first prototype and forming his new company, Keith debuted his first collection, The Coronation Collection. An instant success with major retailers, such as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, the initial collection featured three fedora styles for both men and women in a variety of bold colors and boasting the Keith and James signature red under-brim. Each hat also includes the iconic “Circle of Love” red logo in the form of a brilliant red button meant to symbolize unity and love.
Keith’s statement-making brand has quickly and organically become a favorite of many celebrities and public figures and is fast becoming one of the most recognizable brands in the luxury accessories industry.
Khiry
Jameel Mohammed founded Khiry in 2016 as an undergraduate studying political science at the University of Pennsylvania after being pointedly told by the CEO of a preeminent luxury goods company that true luxury brands could only emerge from Paris and Milan. Khiry was founded to channel the beauty, art, heritage and culture of the African diaspora into modern, luxurious vermeil jewelry with the ultimate goal of establishing a complete fashion house.
Khiry’s first offering is a collection of polished and sculptural semi-fine jewelry in gold vermeil and sterling silver. Sleek forms evoke themes throughout the African diaspora, embellished with natural materials including semi-precious stones and hand-woven leather.
Mohammed began a career in design at 16, interning for Nicole Miller and Narciso Rodriguez while still in school at Phillips Exeter Academy. In 2013, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to begin a bachelor’s degree in political science. When the necklace he designed caught the eye of the chief operating officer and fashion director of Barney’s New York in 2014, he decided to focus on jewelry design and accepted an internship at the company.
Love and Mercy
Based in Los Angeles, California, Love and Mercy was birthed
from the journey and vision of Founder and Designer Desireé LeSassier. The inspirational jewelry line is a source of motivation for the challenges and triumphs of everyday life. The brand name itself encourages people to embrace their moments, milestones and experiences and use that to fuel their fires.
As a teen mother turned entrepreneur, LeSassier was always a visionary that let nothing stop her from achieving her goals. Growing up in Inglewood, California, her journey has been one of roadblocks, speed bumps, hurdles and closed doors. After becoming a mother at the young age of 17 and again at 20, she managed to defy the odds and graduate from high school and receive a Bachelors of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University. She struggled with finding a career that fit the lifestyle of a young single mother with two small kids. Working a day job to maintain a stable home for her children, her creativity and passion for fashion always led her back to designing. She’s made everything from candles to jewelry and clothes, all of which she sold out of her home. After gifting her friends with some of her jewelry designs for Christmas, they encouraged her to start a business and inspire the world.
Love and Mercy was born from her journey: hustle, fight, passion, faith, grace, love, ambition, drive, humor, spiritual, style, adventure, emotions, attitude, sexy, strength, street, courage, motivation, confidence, survival, growth and inspiration.
Just a short time after launching in December 2018, Love and Mercy’s unique designs and competitive price point expanded its reach to over one thousand new customers, celebrities and athletes. By March 2019, Love and Mercy became popular within the NBA, and it was worn by celebrity athletes, their significant others and influencers. Love and Mercy continues to expand through all social media platforms and hosts several trunk shows throughout the city of Los Angeles.
McKenzie Liautaud
In 2010, McKenzie Liautaud launched a capsule collection of men’s accessories, including bespoke bow ties and hand-finished pocket squares using recycled fabrics embellished with hardware, crystals and metal findings.
After the success of the men’s collection, Liautaud introduced women’s jewelry. His first collection, “Tribal Disruption,” examined the relationship between tribal style and western design. The collection was launched at Fivestory, one of New York City’s preeminent retailers.
The Haitian-American designer draws inspiration from his travels around the globe, finding the heartbeat of each collection through inspiration he discovers along the way. From Dubai to Mykonos, Milan to Paris and Mexico to Morocco, Liautaud infuses each season with international style. He’s created capsule collections and has collaborated with designers Pyer Moss, Donna Karan and Victor de Souza.
Liautaud, who has been touted as “one to watch,” has been featured in publications including New York Times, Black Enterprise, W Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Elle Arabia, People Magazine and Time Out NY. His multicultural style has caught the attention of stylish celebrities, including Rosario Dawson, Shakira, Eva Longoria, Kelly Ripa, Billy Porter, Will.i.am, Young Paris and Jeremy L. Carver, all of whom have worn his pieces on the red carpet.
Liautaud’s goal is to bring balance and harmony to the world as he builds a conscious brand. Each McKenzie Liautaud piece is beautifully hand-crafted using ethically-sourced precious and semi-precious materials.
MinkeeBlue
Sherrill Mosee, inventor and designer of MinkeeBlue, set out to solve a problem she calls the “overload bag syndrome.” Like many women, Mosee carried two or three bags to work: a purse, laptop bag, lunch bag and sometimes shoes in her purse. She wanted to create an organizational fashion bag for busy women whose role changed throughout the day, perhaps from an executive to fitness enthusiast, daily commuter and mom. MinkeeBlue is her solution.
Mosee is the former president of Family Care Solutions, a nonprofit organization she founded to promote higher education among low-income women with children. The organization awarded over $3 million in childcare scholarships to help women with children stay in school and earn a college degree.
Mosee put her degree in engineering to work and came up with the patented MinkeeBlue design. She describes MinkeeBlue as a reflection of “who we are” and “what we do” in our daily lives — “your day is in the bag.” Mosee has a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University. She is also an alum of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s.
Third Crown
For Third Crown, New York based co-designers Kristin and Kofi Essel fused their love of geometric shapes with the details found in their architectural surroundings to create their collection of men’s and women’s jewelry. Their shared desire to delve into the accessories world came early on for the co-creatives. After graduating from Florida State University with a B.S. in apparel design, Kristin interned at David Yurman before stints at Reed Krakoff (on the jewelry team) and Eddie Borgo. Kofi studied Menswear at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and went on to spend time at various men’s apparel brands.
Applying their collective experience and passion, the husband-and-wife team launched the brand and named it Third Crown to celebrate the merging of two forces coming together to form something new — a powerful pair. The brand creates gender-neutral, everyday statement pieces. With their collection, the designers celebrate their mutual fascination with structure, architectural lines and bold accents. Gold- and silver-plated brass are used to create a mood that’s at once restrained but full of attitude. Each piece is defined by clean lines and an understated chic, making them into wardrobe essentials.
In the short time since its debut, Third Crown has already caught the attention of style-setters, including Beyoncé and Solange Knowles.
Victoire Focx
Constance Victory Small is an accessory designer and model with 10 years of experience in the fashion industry — both behind and in front of the camera — under her belt. Emerging from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Brown University with a Bachelor’s degree in apparel design, her talents were quickly recognized by the leaders of the fashion world.
Post-RISD, she apprenticed with supermodel-turned-designer Alek Wek, assisting with accessory production for the line Alek Wek 1933, Ltd. She has also worked alongside legendary fashion stylist Patti Wilson, styling editorial shoots for Vogue Italia, Vogue China and Numero magazines.
An avid traveler, Focx’s time spent in Tuscany and Venice left her mesmerized by the stained glass windows and architectural motifs of Florentine Renaissance churches and Venetian palaces. Transfixed by the masonry, she decided to create a line of day and evening bags inspired by this classic yet avant garde, old world aesthetic. Thus came the launch of Victoire Focx handbags.
In 2018, she launched the diffusion line, VF x Victoire Focx, an elegant and affordable selection of classic bag silhouettes with a contemporary edge. Each bag is named after someone who inspired her in her personal and professional trajectory.
In addition to her design endeavors, Victory Small holds a Master’s degree in Historical and Sustainable Architecture from New York University. She presently lives in New York City and London, devoting her time to Victoire Focx and VF x Victoire Focx in addition to writing for U.S.- and U.K.-based magazines.
