Brandon Blackwood is a national phenomenon. With his “End Systemic Racism” mini totes being released at the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, Blackwood’s designs rose to fame. Since then, the Brandon Blackwood brand has skyrocketed from handbags to dressing stars from Sheryl Lee Ralph to Beyonce to Ice Spice.
“These last two years for me have been really about finding the brand’s aesthetic and really beginning to mold itself,” Blackwood said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “We built the foundation in the last few years, but—I know it sounds corny—we’re trying to really find our voice.
Brandon Blackwood is along for the post-COVID Black fashion renaissance. With other Black designers like Telfar Clemens and Kendall Miles, Blackwood is at the forefront of rewriting what it means to be Black in the fashion industry.
“I felt overlooked at times, because a lot of people are like, ‘You’re a Black designer, talk about that experience and only that experience,’ Blackwood said in an interview with FASHIONISTA. “I was like, ‘Am I being pigeon-holed into this thing?’ I have the content. I have the designs. I have everything there.”
In April of this year, Blackwood launched a new swimwear branch of the brand just in time for summer to roll out. The newest arrivals include the Arlen Bag to an Accordion card holder.
With Blackwood on the rise, it is Brandon’s world, and we’re just living in it.
Culture. 