Vogue HQ opened its doors again for this year’s final installment of our Meet The Founder series with Brandice Daniel of Harlem’s Fashion Row. (Previous 2023 stars of the Vogue Club original series include Emma Grede (Good American and Skims), Olamide Olowe (Topicals), and Marco Capaldo (16Arlington). The evening’s festivities featured a conversation between Brandice and Vogue’s own Naomi Elisee, the founder’s mentee and close friend.
At the center of their discussion: Representation of Black designers and people of color in fashion. When Danield learned that non-white designers made up only 1% of brands sold in major department stores, she sought to become part of the solution by founding Harlem’s Fashion Row in 2007. “Sometimes you find your purpose, and other times your purpose will find you,” Daniel told Vogue Club. “And a lot of times you’ll know that because you will be so irritated by a problem that you have to do something.”
Daniel candidly shared the high—and low—points of her entrepreneurial career leading a nonprofit In the 16 years since HFR’s founding, offering up some hard-won encouragement to her listeners along the way: “You can’t nurse your wounds too long—nurse your wounds for a week and move on,” she said. “Otherwise you’ll miss opportunities when you sit in that moment of pain too long.”
Just a few of Daniel’s ever-growing career accomplishments thus far: a partnership with Nike and Lebron James, a seemingly never-ending list of prestigious speaking engagements, and the release of HFR’s inaugural book, Fashion In Color. The chic volume seeks to redefine which designers are noteworthy in an ever-evolving industry by bringing some of the world’s most remarkable—yet often overlooked—designers of color to the forefront.
After a motivational conversation between Elizee and Daniel, Vogue Club members gathered for an exclusive book signing, reveling in the chance to connect with Brandice Daniel one-on-one. As the evening’s party ended, attendees left One World Trade Center with white Vogue shopping bags—and a new sense of inspiration.