It was just 10 minutes before our interview, and we were feeling both excitement and anxiety. We were about to meet three people, holding positions that we so desperately aspire to have. We were interviewing Charles Ross, head of sustainability at Saga Furs; Romeo Hunte, founder of the luxury line Romeo Hunte and Donald Charles, vice president of Romeo Hunte and the designer behind the award- winning Blackglama suitcase.
In 2019, the Accessories Council began announcing annual awards for design excellence to celebrate the success of accessory products. Saga Furs selects one of the Design Excellence Awards each year, honoring the best accessory using Blackglama fur, a sustainable, certified fur from the finest farms in Wisconsin and Utah. This year, Hunte was chosen as the 2021 winner for his Blackglama utility vest, tote and suitcase collection.
We began by asking Hunte what his inspiration was behind his Blackglama pieces. For the award-winning Saga Furs designs, he had to think outside of the box. “I wanted to create items related to travel but that were also swaggy.”
Thus, the innovative suitcase that transitions into a scooter was born. We learned that Hunte finds inspiration for his creative ideas from so many sources. He often walks the streets of New York and talks with friends and clients, as he values their opinions. “A lot of inspiration comes from my clients. I listen to them closely,” Hunte said.
Hunte first started in the fashion industry working part-time as a stylist and a personal shopper. “When it came down to it, I didn’t have the resources or the funds to start my company, so I wanted to get my feet wet and learn more about the industry,” he said. “I studied at FIT and juggled part-time styling work. Then, I jumped into luxury retail as a personal shopper. That’s where and when I was able to cultivate a luxury audience.” Hunte eventually saved up enough money to launch his company in 2014.
When designing the Blackglama suitcase, Hunte’s target customers were frequent travelers who like to have fun when it comes to fashion. Because the pandemic restricted travel for so many, Hunte wanted to create designs that make travel luxurious. He wanted to create items “that had a balance between classic and practical, while still being swaggy … and outside the box. Not too serious, but very cool.”
Hunte values quality materials, which was apparent with his use of Blackglama fur, a high-quality mink that is a product of sustainable farm policies and practices.
“As a global brand, we have the responsibility to be transparent,” Ross said. “In order to give confidence to the designers using Saga Furs, we must certify our supply chain and our farms with independent inspections.” Saga Furs also uses “RFID chips,” a technology that allows customers to see where their fur products come from. These RFID chips were featured in Hunte’s recent designs.
Having worked so hard designing and creating these fur accessories, we couldn’t imagine the joy Hunte felt when the award winners were announced. “It started with a phone call,” recalled Hunte, who had been selected to participate in the Accessories Council Design Excellence Awards.
Hunte shared that he feels that Saga Furs has always been super supportive of his ideas. The development process, Hunte explained to us, always begins with a vision which he sketches.
Once he had his designs on paper, Hunte and Ross discussed how to properly execute the styles with Saga Fur. Hunte described the most challenging design of the collection: the suitcase/scooter. “That piece was really the headache. It wasn’t easy finding the right people who could execute my initial vision with a high-end finish.”
The production and design always comes with rewards as well as unforeseen challenges. According to Charles, the ability to adapt is imperative: he must think ahead and plan for the future, while finding immediate solutions that benefit Romeo Hunte in the long term. From deadlines to the creative process, he admits that planning a collection always comes with stress from all angles, but it’s alway worth it in the end.
When asked for advice to those who are just starting in fashion, Hunte, Charles and Ross agreed that confidence is key to finding solutions and working successfully in the industry. “Don’t settle for whatever is in front of you. Always dream big,” Hunte said.
“Don’t be afraid of interning,” Ross advised, “because when you have the opportunity to intern, you get to see everything … and that really helps you develop a network.”
All the excitement we had before our conversation stayed with us afterward. We learned so much about fashion, fur and the design process behind Hunte’s designs, and we left our interview determined to work hard and achieve Hunte’s level of success.
