Cushnie — formerly of Cushnie et Ochs – is, and long has been, beloved of celebs. We’ve seen Carly Cushnie’s work on Kristen Bell (who is a big fan), Jennifer Lopez, Malin Akerman, Nina Dobrev, Ashley Graham and Pink in the past year alone. Essence has a great interview with her, from last September, about what happened with her former brand, her background and the logistics of running your own company. I thought this was really interesting:
ESSENCE: What does it take to be a Black woman running a major fashion label?
CUSHNIE: Although there are many women working in the field, it’s still very much a boys’ club at the executive level of top design houses. Women designers are often labeled as being “practical” in their aesthetic compared with their male counterparts, who offer the “fantasy.” As a woman in fashion, you have to have a strong point of view that stands out and doesn’t waver under critique. And as a Black designer, it’s very easy to be pigeonholed based on what the industry assumes you will do. It took a lot of work for me to break those preconceptions, especially when there are very few examples to aspire to.
The brand (like so many others) has taken to doing a lookbook rather than a big runway show lately. This one, per the brand, features “Carly Cushnie and her mother Angela, actress Lala Anthony, stylist Kate Young, activist and lawyer Meena Harris, jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher, supermodel Veronica Webb, fashion journalist and entrepreneur Zanna Roberts Rassi, business executive Bozoma Saint John, and models Sharina Gutierrez + Thayna Santos. Each of these women are innately sexy, brilliant, and empowered, they are at the top of their field, and above all else – they are mothers.” Let’s take a look!
