It’s February, and it’s Black History Month. A month where we celebrate the efforts, works, innovations, creativity, intellect; and progressive strides in the Black community. Black people have been a creative force in so many industries; and although the credit sometimes goes unnoticed; the facts will always remain.
The fashion industry hasn’t always been the most inclusive when it comes to embracing Black creatives; but in the last few years, Black people have had a dynamic impact on the resale fashion industry.
People tend to have a narrow perception about Blackness. A lot of people hold on to this arbitrary belief that Black people do not thrift.
Many people hold these notions that thrifting is simply a form of shopping, that Black people don’t engage in. The reality of the situation is that Black people do thrift; and have always been into thrifting.
In the 1970’s dancers on the popular American syndicated show Soul Train; used to thrift their outfits.
In Boston, Massachusetts, a popular vintage store owner named Bobby; owned a store called Bobby from Boston. His success spanned all the way to Hollywood, with several of his vintage pieces being featured in well-known Hollywood films.
On social media platforms such as Instagram, there has been a surge in Black vintage stores consistently marketing their brands. The marketing tactics have been extremely creative; driving many of the brands to grow their platforms during the pandemic to 1,000,l followers, 5,000 followers, 10k followers, and even 100k followers. There are constantly new black fashion entrepreneurs embarking on their journey in the industry; and each of them bring their own personality, their own flavor, and their own keen eye for style.
On Instagram a platform formed in 2019 called Blacks Who Thrift, has a growing audience of 7,786 followers; and a hashtag post count of 17.3k. The platform was formed to unite and inspire the community; and the support that the community has for one another is a beautiful thing to witness.
Online websites such as Etsy, and reselling platforms such as Depop; have also seen a rise in Black fashion entrepreneurs joining their platforms.
In addition to a rise in vintage stores, there has been a rise in Black bloggers, digital content creators and community-organizations who cater to the resale fashion niche; in their own unique way.
The moral of it all is, Black people do thrift; and they do it well!
The Black fashion entrepreneurs in this industry, are using their creative minds and relative insight; to transform this realm of fashion in their own way.
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