The last few days have been a flurry of emotions as the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery became the tip of the iceberg of what was already a dreadfully long list of names of the black lives lost to police brutality and white supremacy.
For the Black community, the fight against systemic racism is a year round fight– year after year. But following recent events, the Black Lives Matter movement is now on the radar of fashion brands as many look to them to use the platform they’ve been given to speak out against injustices and influence change. As brands react, or don’t react, consumers are reassessing the brands they support moving forward. Some have gone beyond verbal acknowledgement, offering monetary support to various foundations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Fashion Nova has pledged $1 million for “community resources and activism, awareness campaigns and other initiatives to help in the fight for racial equality and opportunity,” while Pretty Little Thing will donate 100% of proceeds from their recent collection launch with musician, Saweetie, to black Lives Matter.
As many look to smaller, black-owned clothing brands to shop, these brands are too pledging to donate to move the needle forward. Jerry Lorenzo, designer of Fear of God, an independently black-owned streetwear brand, shared his encounter with the news of George Floyd’s death on Instagram: “Being a father, my first thought was ‘I pray this man doesn’t have any kids,’” he said.
On Thursday, Fear of God announced the launch of their ‘GF’ T-shirt in support of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna Floyd, garnering support for the project from other minority-owned brands including Union Los Angeles, Noah NYC, Off-White, Awake, Just Don, Denim Tears, Pyer Moss and Melody Ehsani.
A limited run of Fear of God’s ‘GF’ tee will release on the brand’s Instagram page Friday, June 5 at 12 PM ET for pre-order. 100% of proceeds will be donated to the Giana Floyd Fund.
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