black business

Spotlight: Inspiring Beauty – 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair

Hi Aspirers! This past weekend I had a chance to attend Inspire Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair at the North Carolina Art Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina and I was very pleased with the everything in the exhibit. I didn’t know what to expect with the fashion fair but I knew I had to attend. I went to school for fashion and it showcased a black magazine!

Before I talk about what I loved about the fashion fair let me first tell you what it is. From 1958-2009 the Ebony Fashion Fair was a traveling fashion show that came from Ebony magazine. This fashion fair was a charity fashion show gave a spotlight to African Americans showing off their beauty, style, grace, and empowerment. Through the fashion fair there were a variety of works from different designers around the world that was showcased in both the magazine and the fashion fair throughout the years such as Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Givenchy, and more. Through out this post there are some pictures I’ve took at the fashion fair and also I vlog which you can find below.

Other than the exhibit I was pleased on who came to the fashion fair. I loved seeing different ethic groups that took the time to come out and view the exhibit. This fashion fair was seen by many and appreciated by everyone that laid their eyes on the clothing, read the history, and creating conversations on what was going on. I felt like the people that took the time to come out either understand the importance or they wanted to learn how black people and our culture created a platform in fashion.

Seeing the fashion fair opened our minds that there has been more out in the fashion industry than we are a custom to. It gave blacks a light that we are more than the stereotype. BFCA3F32-0F87-44FC-8834-D2527A680646It gave everyone that came out to the fair a chance to come together and learn that we can come together to appreciate one another without problems. Ebony Magazine created a platform where we were able to purchase information at the newsstand. Ebony Fashion Fair was created and the information traveled to you and the people could physically see how we all worked together.

I hope you enjoyed reading my opinion on the Ebony Fashion Fair. If this exhibit comes to a city near you please attend! I’m glad I didn’t missed out on this experience. Don’t forget to like, comment watch the vlog down below.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

Shop Local: Liberation Threads

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an event at Liberation Threads which is a fair trade and American made boutique in Durham, North Carolina. At this particular event Rebecca the owner wanted to highlight Nepal this month and give her customers 30% off of all Nepal made products.

Opening a fair trade and American made boutique was dream of Rebecca’s for awhile and her and her husband came together to make Rebecca’s dream a reality. Liberation Threads has only been open for about two months and from what I saw and overheard at the event I can see Liberation Threads customer base isn’t going anywhere but up. Rebecca wanted to make the products affordable for her customers with the price point going no higher than $200. Everything that was displayed in the store had a feeling of reason and purpose.

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One piece that stood out to me was a t-shirt saying “Be you”. I took that simple messaged and relayed it to my life and my future goals because for you to get where you want to go you have to be yourself. While talking to Rebecca she’s soft spoken but her responses came across so clear and you can hear the passion she has for Liberation Threads from the product knowledge to greeting her customers that comes into the boutique. I’m excited to see what the future brings from Rebecca and Liberation Threads. If you’re ever in Durham, North Carolina go check out Liberation Threads at 405 E Chapel Hill St Durham, NC 27701 United States . In early February Liberation Threads will be launching their e-commerce site. In the meantime check them out on their Instagram @liberationthreads. 

I hope you enjoyed this month’s Shop Local feature and if you want to be feature as a local shop or featured in general feel free to contact me. In the meantime check out the additional pictures I took at Liberation Threads down below.

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Sincerely, Courtney Renee