Elevating Excellence: Where Luxury Meets Diversity – Black Luxury
Some people’s taste for luxury is the result of having been lower class, economically and socially for several decades. If you are always been seen as lesser than nothing, at some point you will want to redeem yourself.
The reason why some black celebrities gravitate toward luxury goods is because they’re seen as status symbols. To be seen by other people with a different eye, maybe this is the right path.
For people who feel like owning something that’s a status symbol is a huge self-esteem booster. Having a luxury car, expensive jewelry, and designer clothes tends to make people feel better. If you bought it, why shouldn’t you show it?
Obviously, this approach is not being assigned just to the black community… the newly wealthy people in Middle Eastern and Asian countries (and Africa too) have the same way of showing their wealth.
Asian and Black communities are buying more luxury goods than ever before. They are at the top of the rankings in almost all categories of luxury goods, such as cars, watches, handbags, and so on…
It is a wake-up call for luxury brands. It may be necessary for some of them to rethink their marketing strategies or to simply focus on a different/larger audience.
That said, the black community is not just a simple customer target group. Several black celebrities are working in the luxury fashion industry, not just to represent the community but also to make a real change.
Elevating Influence, Defining Change: Black Excellence in Luxury Fashion
VIRGIL ABLOH
Virgil Abloh was one of the most influential designers of our generation. He was a pioneer of the Black community and he changed the fashion industry, by creating a huge culture shift when it came to exploring many different trends. Virgil Abloh was able to convey art through his clothing. Before his premature death in 2021, he was Louis Vuitton’s creative director, the first black man. At the same time, he owned his brand of menswear and womenswear, Off-White.
KANYE WEST
Kanye West is definitely on the list of those who have made a huge footprint in the fashion industry and in the Black community. He created an empire with his brand Yeezy, making clothing and footwear that would pave the way for streetwear to be considered high fashion. It is important to remember that the streetwear style has always been associated with black people.
ZENDAYA
Zendaya is one iconic member of the Black community who continues to make strides in the luxury fashion industry at such a young age. Her presence on the red carpet continues to prove how much she is respected in the game. She was and still is the face of many Haute Couture Maison such as Louis Vuitton, Valentino, and Bulgari
RIHANNA
She is one of the biggest icons in fashion. Her role in the Black community, as well as in the fashion world, has changed the fashion and beauty industry for the better. Both her labels Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty, promote diversity and inclusivity.
NAOMI CAMPBELL
Naomi Campbell is one of the most iconic and well-known Black supermodels of the 90s. She is an international style icon who has walked for almost every luxury fashion brand such as Versace, Valentino, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, and many more… She is really concerned about cultural and racial diversity issues, in the modeling and fashion industry.
Her outfits off of the runway have proven that she is a 360-degree style icon, in fact, she received the British Fashion Award for Fashion Icon of the Year in 2019, being the first black woman to win the award.
