Fashion & Shopping
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10 Influential Women Designers in Fashion History

Holly B. Martin

Long before the origins of what would become Women’s History Month were put in motion in 1981, female designers and pioneers in fashion were carving out their own paths to empower women with clothes that instill confidence and to create jobs that sustain livelihoods.

While millions associate fashion purely with style, these troubadours used their designs to create a more individualistic route to self expression and to alter preconceptions of what a woman should be. Conformity was not what they were after. Interestingly though, these leaders often created garments with comfort in mind so as to allow the wearer present their truest sense.

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WWD has delved into its archives to highlight how these female creatives still influence fashion today.

Madame Grès

It is not often that fashion acquires genius but, once in a while, it shows up.

Unadorned in her trademark beige turban and straightforward manner of

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Fashion Style
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Bronx clothing designer’s new fashion line incapsulates city-chic with ancient Nigerian style

Holly B. Martin
News 12 Staff

Feb 04, 2021, 8:40am EST

Updated on:Feb 04, 2021, 8:40am EST

A Nigerian fashion designer in the Bronx has a new clothing line out, made to be dynamic and versatile, no matter what New Yorkers have going on.

Chuks Collins has a new lifestyle clothing brand out called “The Athletic Side of Us,” that’s made for relaxing, working out or hitting the streets.

“People want clothes that they can transition in. If I wake up in the morning and I just want to go for a walk in the park, and from there I get a call to go somewhere,” Collins says.

He says he draws inspiration from across New York City, but especially from Crotona Park because he lives and works right across the street.

“The Bronx has inspired me a lot, even a couple of the clothes I’ve named after a couple of the

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Fashion Accessories
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How the Inauguration Inspired the Next Generation of Black Fashion Designers

Holly B. Martin

Just as Kamala Harris’ inauguration was a history-making moment in politics, so it was in fashion with Black designers behind the biggest looks of the occasion.

Harris, the first Black, South Asian, and woman vice president, wore a coat by Christopher John Rogers, a leading Black designer who won the 2020 CFDA Award for Womenswear Designer of the Year. Her heels were by Sergio Hudson, another talented Black designer who also dressed Michelle Obama in her head-to-toe burgundy ensemble for the presidential inauguration. (Rogers declined to comment; Hudson did not return requests for comment.)

On the eve of the inauguration at a tribute to those of have passed away from COVID-19, Vice President Harris wore a coat from Pyer Moss, a brand designed and owned by Haitian American designer Kerby Jean-Raymond. Jean-Raymond launched Pyer Moss in 2013, and he quickly became a darling of the American fashion industry, and through

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Fashion Accessories
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Meet The Designers Tackling Fashion’s Plus-Size Accessories Problem Head-On

Holly B. Martin

The towering walls of chokers and bracelets at H&M and the sleek boots lining the floors at Zara have one infuriating thing in common: These accessories are not made for plus-size people. A straight-size shopper rarely blinks before tossing a set of shiny gold rings in their cart at checkout or zipping up pairs of knee-high boots to find the perfect fit. But for the plus-size consumer, the frustration of shopping in general is compounded when you’re not only alienated from the clothing racks, but from rings and belt bags, too.

If the severe lack of plus-size accessories is shocking to you, take this moment to check your privilege. The fashion industry has historically alienated anyone above a size 12, despite the fact that this group makes up the majority of the U.S. Thankfully, the number of brands offering extended sizes in clothing has grown tremendously, and the plus-size

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