In an era when fast-fashion labels are cranking out items at breakneck speed, some Black-owned brands are slowing things down instead. These designers are rooting their work in history, activism and collective care. For them, fashion is cultural preservation, protest and affirmation. It’s also a pathway toward wellness and communal healing.
“Women are at the forefront of the revolution as we’ve always been,” says Marcia Smith, founder of HGC Apparel. “Being bold and telling our stories, and the stories of our communities through fashion is something we’ve been doing forever.”
Smith founded HGC Apparel (which stands for “Heritage, Garments & Culture”) in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. “I wanted to create something based on pride and uplift, something that gave the feeling that the yard and the HBCU environment brings.” Smith, who is a member of the Divine Nine, went to Howard on a bowling scholarship. Her first brand event was at a Howard step show. She wants her clothing, steeped in HBCU culture, D9 traditions and 1990s aesthetics, to be a bridge between generations of Black people.
HGC’s signature declaration, “They Love Our Culture, They Don’t Love Us!” calls out the commodification of Black creativity alongside the persistent devaluation of Black lives. The garments are bold and graphic, but Smith is clear that the brand’s mission extends beyond statement-making.
“It’s about giving us our flowers,” she says. “It’s a movement, and it starts with understanding and loving ourselves. We are combined in our thoughts, how we move as a people, and knowing our value.” Her long-term vision looks past individual success. She’s currently developing programs that will help other Black-owned brands master product placement in retail stores. “The more of us that come in there, the better,” she says. “You want to go fast, go alone; you want to go far, go together. I want to go far.” In that ethos, collective over individual, HGC Apparel frames pride as wellness, not ego.
Black N Ugly Clothing turns to historical excavation as its primary design tool. Founder Sherifa Gayle describes her work as “edufashion,” which is education and fashion intertwined. What began as a personal exploration of identity has evolved into a brand dedicated to telling fuller, richer stories about Black life in America.
“I want people to know how powerful the story is,” Gayle says, “especially the stories that aren’t as well known.” Her Green Book collection pays homage to the travel guide created by Victor Hugo Green that helped Black motorists navigate the dangers of Jim Crow America. Active from 1936 to 1966, the guide listed safe hotels, gas stations and restaurants for Black travelers in a segregated nation.
The collection was born from research and reverence. Gayle visited a traveling exhibit curated by cultural documentarian Candacy Taylor, read extensively, and interviewed elders who had firsthand knowledge of the guide. “It made me feel like this was purposeful in the sense that there’s people who resonate with this. For some, it was a part of their life, and for the rest of us, we can learn about it and respect history,” she says. “With this collection, people can hold something physical that is meaningful, and references back to that time.”
Gayle’s design process is immersive and sensory. “When I think about the Green Book, I’m like, How did it feel when they were traveling?” she explains. “I just always try to design with whose story I am telling in mind and ask myself if I am doing them justice by telling the story.”
The collection includes leather jackets, which evoke a sense of durability. Its mechanic sets are a nod to the people who ensured safe journeys. And its accessories, like passport covers and license plates, extend the narrative beyond clothing. “History connects us all, and the more we know, the better it makes us,” Gayle says.
At a moment when historical memory is often contested or even facing erasure, Black N Ugly (named for a Biggie verse) transforms remembrance into something wearable. The past becomes a living, breathing presence on the body.
Actively Black is bringing empowerment into the realm of athletic wear and economic justice. Launched in November 2020 by Bianca Winslow and Lanny Smith, Actively Black was born from a powerful necessity: Ownership. “The inspiration for launching Actively Black was to build something that we own as a community, instead of supporting brands that profit from Black culture and consumers, without respecting or investing in it,” says Winslow.
The brand’s name is a mantra, but it’s also a mission. “To be Actively Black means choosing to live with intention, in your health, your culture and your community,” Winslow explains. “It’s about honoring where we come from, while also actively investing in where we’re going.” History is stitched into the very fabric of the brand. Actively Black has collaborated with cultural figures and estates, including civil rights photographer Cecil Williams and Olympic icons Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and has created designs for Nigeria’s Olympic team. Each collection begins with an idea grounded in legacy and impact, then moves into the design.
In 2024, the brand took its commitment a step further by sourcing cotton from Black farmers, as a response to systemic land loss and economic inequities. In an industry historically tied to the exploitation of Black labor, that choice is layered with meaning. “There’s greatness in our DNA,” Winslow says. “We’re all about Black culture and Black history, and we walk the talk. It’s reflected in everything we do.”
For Actively Black, wellness is inseparable from ownership. Participating consciously in where you shop, what you wear, and how your dollars circulate matters. When customers wear the clothing, it’s a tangible reminder that they are part of something larger than themselves.
Across all three brands, fashion as a tool for wholeness is a common thread. HGC Apparel centers self-love and unity. Actively Black reclaims ownership and economic power. Black N Ugly safeguards memory and honors ancestral resilience. Together, they redefine wellness as cultural affirmation: knowing where you come from, supporting businesses that reflect your values, and seeing yourself fully and unapologetically on runways, racks and city streets.
In a world that has long extracted from Black culture without reinvesting in Black communities, these brands insist on reciprocity. They invite customers to remember, to build, and to move together. And in doing so, they remind us that sometimes the most powerful statements aren’t spoken, they’re worn.