How a New Generation of American Fashion Talent Is Meeting the Moment

Salam’s behind-the-scenes collaborators reflect the same spirit of strength and elegance. His muse, Love & Magic Company cofounder Oshoke Abalu, is reimagining the workspace to foster diversity, and the tenets of her innovative “symphony” program, which gives companies the tools to recruit and support employees of color, align with Sukeina’s core philosophy. As she inspires his clothes, he provides her with valuable feedback on the curriculum she’s developing, though Salam is modest about claiming any credit. “I’m the midwife,” he says. “It’s her baby.”

Salam’s partnership with creative director Dimeji Alara has been equally fruitful. Impressed by Alara’s encyclopedic knowledge of fashion history when the two met at a 2016 fashion event in Lagos, Salam quickly befriended Alara. “He understands the way I think,” says Salam.

Connecting his collection with real-world issues is something Salam is passionate about. In the past year he’s seen the fashion industry evolve into a place where his dedication to social justice and politics has become part of the broader conversation. Still, Salam wants it to go a step further. “There are so many layers to it,” he says. “What’s happening now is wonderful, but we have to hold fashion accountable, or all this effort could end up being flushed into the wilderness.”—J.O.

Studio 189

Friends who can travel together can do great things together—at least that’s the case with Abrima Erwiah, a multilingual fashion executive, and activist and actor Rosario Dawson. These two powerhouses had always wanted to collaborate, and an epic 2011 trip from New York to the City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (a female community for survivors of gender violence in that country)—with stops in Philadelphia, London, Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda along the way—provided proof positive that they could work together. “The universe has a way of telling you what you’re supposed to do,” says Erwiah, “if you just listen.”

In 2013 they founded Studio 189, a brand that has become known for beautiful handworked pieces that make use of artisanal techniques like kente weaving, recycled-glass beading, and embroidery. There are hand-batiked cotton skirts in vibrant colors and patterns that have a sumptuous fullness, indigo-dyed pants with a liquid drape, and up­-cycled patchwork separates. Unforgettable, too, are long, joyous dresses with romantic sleeves.

Studio 189, based in Ghana and New York City, could be described as a sustainable lifestyle brand, but it also provides training and work—not charity—to local artisans. A Ghanaian illustrator who worked with the brand is now a Gucci fellow, for example; another alum is now studying for a master’s degree at FIT. “Sometimes people need to see people that look like them do things to believe that they can do those things,” says Erwiah.

The connection between Erwiah and Dawson is fueled by a shared mission to do good in the world by linking heritage to the future, clothing to nature, hands to garments, and Africa to the world, by demonstrating the interconnectedness of us all.—Laird Borrelli-Persson