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Our new effort to support Black-owned brands and create opportunities for retailers, buyers and media to connect.
As part of The Folklore Connect’s mission to support and empower diverse brands from emerging markets in expanding their wholesale businesses, we are entering into a partnership with RAISEfashion, the non-profit advisory network of fashion industry leaders working to advance equity of brands owned by people of color around the world, through mentorship, resources, and access.
The collaboration will kick off with “The Folklore Connect x RAISEfashion NYFW Showroom”, an exclusive showcase of new Fall/Winter 2023 collections by 15 diverse brands originating from New York, London, Nigeria, and Ghana. Hosted at the Shopify New York space in SoHo between February 9-12, the showroom will be open for retailers, stylists, editors to book private appointments to meet with designers such as Christie Brown, Vavvoune, BLOKE, Third Crown, April & Alex, and many more. The opening of the showroom will launch with a private cocktail party on February 9, featuring a live DJ, food, and drinks along with an assortment of designers, creatives, press, and industry professionals.
The partnership will also include an exchange that will see Connect welcome 17 of RAISEfashion’s brands, including Ashya, Tianna Barnes and Avid Swim, to its platform with a free six-month membership, while adding a new cohort of designers to the roster on a rolling basis every six months. In turn, RAISEfashion will provide mentorship opportunities to 10 Connect brands and ultimately select two of them for a long-term fellowship. The brands – Shekudo, BLOKE, The Underargument, Abiola Olusola, Onalaja, KADIJU Lagos, Oríré, Duaba Serwa, V.BELLAN and Pamoja – will enjoy greater access to a worldwide network of advisors and industry experts across e-commerce, finance, merchandising, business development, content creation and marketing.
“With this new partnership, RAISEfashion is expanding its global efforts to support and mentor brands in emerging markets from Africa, South America, Caribbean, and BIPOC communities worldwide. The Folklore has created a wholesale platform that strengthens the brand experience with retailers while also dismantling the barriers BIPOC designers face in scaling a business”, says Felita Harris, executive director of RAISEfashion. “The partnership with The Folklore Connect demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing resources that specifically support the operational ecosystems of BIPOC brands.”
RAISEfashion was founded in July 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, with a focus on the opportunity and responsibility of the workers in the fashion industry to cultivate a more diverse environment that actively promotes BIPOC-owned businesses and individuals. Its network of advisors have backgrounds ranging from luxury fashion to contemporary and mass markets, across categories of men’s and women’s apparel, accessories and leather goods, jewelry, and homeware.
“The Folklore Connect is thrilled to partner with RAISEfashion and Shopify this New York Fashion Week to amplify Black-owned brands and help retailers gain access to them in unprecedented ways,” says Amira Rasool, Founder and CEO of The Folklore Group. “Through this unique partnership, we’re able to create even more opportunities for retailers, buyers and media to experience and have access to these incredible brands in a way they never have before.”
Registration is required for attendance and to book appointments. To request access to the showroom, please register here.
The Folklore is empowering brands to grow faster, save more, and sell globally through easy-to-use commerce, dropship, and shipping technology.
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