Get Your Fashion On: 25 Black style influencers, bloggers and editors to follow after NYFW
Here are 25 Black fashion influencers from across the world who not only embody Black excellence, but also are pushing fashion forward for all the right reasons.
New York Fashion Week has come and almost gone, which means our favorite fashionistas have hit the cobblestoned streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn after attending the Spring-Summer 2020 shows.
READ MORE: BLACK GLAM: Costume designer Brea Stinson reveals how she built her enviable empire
While we’re already dreaming about next year’s biggest trends—white suits, peplums, and lime green everything—we’re also delighted that those of us without catwalk access can still be inspired by what’s on the ‘gram.
READ MORE: Serena Williams struts down her own NYFW runway with baby Olympia
Here are 25 fashion influencers, who not only embody Black excellence, but also posses a unique fashion perspective. From top editors at Vogue and Harper’s BAZAAR to size-inclusive bloggers, these are the people pushing fashion forward for all the right reasons.
Stephanie Yeboah
Blog: NerdAboutTown
IG: @nerdabouttown
Stephanie Yeboah‘s confidence is infectious. The London-based, body confidence advocate is a fashion influencer who has boldly rocked sexy lingerie in a park for a modeling job. Yeboah has carved a niche for herself in the fashion industry and is currently working on her debut non-fiction book. She’s a total girl boss with a killer sense of style, and a must-follow on IG.
Simone Charles
Blog: TheCurveBoard.com
IG: @simonecharles_
London-based fashion influencer Simone Charles isn’t afraid to flex her hot girl summer for the ‘gram. Over the last few months, Charles has regularly uploaded snapshots of herself in colorful bikinis, daring one-pieces, and attention-grabbing dresses and jumpsuits. The British beauty will also post about London Fashion Week (Sept 13-17) #LFW, taking us along for that incredible ride.
Kellie Brown
Blog: AndIGetDressed.com
IG: @itsmekellieb
Body positive activist and fashion influencer Kellie Brown will not be ignored. Brown celebrates size diversity in an industry notorious for promoting one specific body type. She created the #fatatfashionweek hashtag on Instagram to encourage size inclusivity, and in the process, created an opportunity for designers, plus-sized models, editors, and influencers to participate in fashion shows sporting clothes they love that are made with their bodies in mind. Follow her and follow a movement!
Frédérique Harrel
Blog: freddieharrel.com
IG: @freddieharrel
As the recipient of Cosmopolitan’s Influencer of the Year, it’s no surprise that former ASOS stylist Frédérique Harrel has figured out how to rock stripes like it’s nobody’s business. The London-based fashion influencer has established a six-figure following on IG. Harrel is also a businesswoman and founder of Radswan, her line of ethical wigs and clip-in extensions for kinky hair.
StevenOnoja
Website: stevenonoja.com
IG: @stevenonoja
Steven Onoja is an extremely dapper creative consultant, director, and photographer who regularly dons tailored vintage menswear pieces. The Nigerian-born influencer has been featured in a J.Crew campaign on GQ.com and in a video for Shea Moisture. Learn more about what fashion’s elites like Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss offered during Fashion Week by checking out Onoja’s photography skills on his perfectly curated IG feed.
Chrissy Rutherford
Website: HarpersBAZAAR.com
IG: @chrissyford
Chrissy Rutherford has successfully brought America’s oldest fashion magazine into the digital age. As the Special Projects Director of Talent & Social at HarpersBAZAAR.com, she books talent for YouTube videos, showcases her talents as an on-camera host for the series “Heel Hunters,” and runs the magazine’s Instagram account. When she’s not attending shows and covering trends, Rutherford is documenting her press trips, unboxing packages, and keeping it real about mental health on her IG Story.
Nikki Ogunnaike
Website: ELLE.com
IG: @nikkiogun
Nikki Ogunnaike‘s love for fashion is undeniable. In 2017, the J.Crew fanatic successfully campaigned for a spot in the brand’s holiday catalog using the hashtag #CastMeJCrew on Instagram. As the Style Director at Elle.com, Ogunnaike oversees the fashion vertical, hosts the Snapchat series IRL, and is always seated in the front row of covetable shows. Give her a follow for plenty of well-accessorized looks.
Tiffany Reid
Website: TiffanyReid.com
IG: @tiffanyreid
You may recognize Tiffany Reid from her time on So Cosmo on E!, but don’t let this moment on reality TV confuse you. Reid is a compelling force in the world of fashion and a must-follow on Instagram. She recently left her post as the Style Director of Hearst’s Fashion Group to venture into new and unchartered territories. You can see her during #NYFW hobnobbing with models and designers over this season’s best finds.
Lindsay Peoples Wagner
Website: TeenVogue.com
IG: @lpeopleswagner
When Lindsay Peoples Wagner published her powerful and thought-provoking feature on what it was like being a Black woman in love with the fashion industry that didn’t love her back for The Cut, she shook up the industry. A few months after her story went viral, Peoples Wagner joined Teen Vogue as Editor-In-Chief, where she takes her followers into exclusive shows while always championing diversity and emerging talent. Most recently, she released her first book Becoming a Fashion Designer (Masters at Work) through Simon & Schuster.
Edward Enninfel
Website: Vogue.Co.UK
IG: @edward_enninful
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2J66zMFNw1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, Edward Enninful is considered one of the most influential people in fashion. The man lives, eats, and breathes fashion and New York Fashion Week might as well be his Thanksgiving. The Ghana-born and London-raised editor and stylist was bestowed with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal by Queen Elizabeth herself, for his commitment to championing diversity in fashion. As editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Enninful is solely responsible for having Meghan Markle become the first person (and first royal) to guest edit the September issue.
Janelle Okwodu
Website: Vogue.com
IG: @okjanelle
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxJWgXRAI5Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Janelle Okwodu is Vogue.com‘s Senior Fashion News Writer and is in charge of their famous weekly best-dressed list. Okwodu uses her position to show love to Black creatives like Dapper Dan, Carly Cushnie, Laura Harrier, Tessa Thompson, and Missy Elliot who may otherwise be ignored. Her Instagram feed gives a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a powerful changemaker in fashion, including unobstructed views from the front row of the shows at #NYFW and closeups of celebs at the MET Gala red carpet.
Samira Nasr
Website: VanityFair.com
IG: @samiranasr
Samira Nasr is the Executive Fashion Director at Vanity Fair and the former Fashion Director at ELLE. Last year she was spotlighted in The Cut‘s “Black in Fashion” feature where she spoke about the importance of letting young people of color know there are career opportunities for them in fashion. Her impeccable style is so on-point that Rihanna and a bevy of Hollywood starlets are often spotted in Jennifer Fisher hoop earrings, which are inspired by and named after Nasr.
Rajni Jacques
Website: Allure.com/TeenVogue.com
IG: @rajni_jacques
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt9syrHgSsK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Rajni Jacques is the Fashion Director at Teen Vogue and Allure, where she oversees the fashion department of both publications. Jacques’ IG feed is filled with striking portraits of herself in floral dresses, structured suits, and sporting the latest it-shoes, and her signature red lip. The mother of two also shares precious photos of her adorable family.
Shiona Turini
Website: ShionaTurini.com
IG: @shionat
Celebrity stylist Shiona Turini has worked at some of the biggest fashion books in the country including W Magazine, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and CR Fashion Book before transitioning over to styling celebs like SZA, Solange, and Beyonce. During season three of the “Insecure,” the Bermudian born creative joined the show as a costume designer, where she dressed Issa Rae and her costars.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson
Website: Garage.Vice.com
IG: @gabriellak_j
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson recently styled Zendaya in a massive straw dress for the cover of Garage, an art and fashion magazine, where Karefa-Johnson serves as the publication’s style director. “It is the privilege of a lifetime to work with black women that I admire so immensely—women who tell our stories, celebrate our strength, illuminate our beauty, ferocity, and complexity,” she said of the experience. Before signing with CLM agency for styling representation, Karefa-Johnson previously worked as a market editor at Vogue and is regularly snapped by popular street-style photographers Tyler Joe and Style Du Monde.
Gabby Prescod
Website: Bustle.com
IG: @gabbyprescod
As the Senior Market Editor of Bustle, Gabby Prescod oversees photoshoots and writes trend reports so her readers are aware of the new fashion must-haves to add to their wardrobe. Prescod’s Instagram feed has her living her best life in looking great while doing it. A regular at New York Fashion Week Shows, Prescod regularly uploads snapshots of herself in luxury womenswear labels like Jacquemus and Markarian, and hanging out with her equally stylish friends.
Jessica Andrews
Website: Refinery29.com
IG: @dressupwithjess
Before Jessica Andrews joined Refinery29 as the Deputy Fashion Director, she was the Fashion Features Editor at Teen Vogue, contributed to Vanity Fair and ELLE, and a fashion editor at Essence. She’s been a regular at the shows, but this year was most impressed with Kerby Jean-Raymond’s Pyer Moss collection “Sister” saying, “It meant so much to me to see blackness centered & celebrated like this during #NYFW … where we’re so often treated as a footnote or as if we don’t exist. And this @pyermoss collection was a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the black woman who invented Rock & Roll History.”
Hannah Fallis Bronfman
Website: hbfit.com
IG: @hannahbronfman
New Yorker Hannah Bronfman is one of the fashion industry’s favorite DJs and fitness influencers. Her off-duty looks are a well-balanced mix of sporty must-haves like biker shorts and tracksuits for workouts, and feminine dresses and puffy-sleeve tops from Staud and Johanna Ortiz for nights out. On her blog, HBFit, Bronfman shares her passion for health and wellness from the inside out including recipes, her favorite athleisure looks, and acupuncture practices.
Janelle Marie Lloyd
Blog: waityouneedthis.com
IG: @waityouneedthis
Hampton University alumna, Janelle Marie Lloyd, was a buyer at Bloomingdales before she joined YouTube’s marketing team. Since 2012, Lloyd has blogged about her feminine and laid back style as well as her passion for interior design. Doing so has gained her a significant following on Instagram. While in the throws of New York Fashion Week, she still finds time to share her daily outfit selections usually with photos taken in the heart of New York City’s bustling streets.
Cipriana Quann
Blog: UrbanBushBabes.com
IG: @CiprianaQuann
Cipriana Quann is a model and co-founder of the lifestyle blog UrbanBushBabes. Since landing a video feature on Vogue.com in 2014, Quann has become a regular on the fashion circuit thanks to her ’70s-inspired outfits. Her fashion influence became apparent when Quann and her identical twin sister, Tk Wonder, both signed to IMG Models and later Whilemina Models for representation.
Tk Wonder
Blog: UrbanBushBabes.com
IG: @tk_wonder
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PEZ_bJKvI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Musician Tk Wonder and her sister, Cipriana Quann have the fashion influencer game on lock. The duo is known equally for their bold sartorial choices as they are for their gorgeous natural hair. Their colorful outfits have captivated both street style photographers and Fendi, who recently tapped the duo to star in a digital campaign for the Italian house’s Peekaboo handbag collection.
Jan-Michael Quammie
Blog: Highsnobiety.com
IG: @jan.quammie
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0BFhrzAVdO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Jan-Michael Quammie is the first-ever Style Director of Highsnobiety. The Berlin-based fashionista is using her expertise of menswear and experience as a former buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and Net-a-Porter to introduce readers to new designers and edgy ways to style their wardrobe. Frequently snapped outside of the shows, Quammie’s Instagram is filled with plenty of high-fashion-meets-streetwear-chic looks.
Channing Hargrove
Blog: ChanningInTheCity
IG: @chan_inthecity
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ILdXtlQkQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
As the Fashion News Editor at Refinery29, Channing Hargrove job is to cover industry events like New York Fashion Week and the MET Gala. She’s also right there for breaking news in the fashion world like when Virgil Abloh joined the board of the CFDA. The New York-based creative’s IG feed features her in plenty of breezy dresses while carrying purses from emerging designers that will likely land a spot on your holiday wishlist.
Zerina Akers
Blog: ZerinaAkers.com
IG: @zerinaakers
Celebrity stylist Zerina Akers is currently the personal stylist and wardrobe curator for none other than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Akers dressed Bey for the On The Run II tour and Ape Sh*t and Formation music videos, which automatically makes her fashion royalty. She’s a woman whose job relies on her being in the know of the latest trends and tricks of style. Ackers also works with Chloe x Halle, Ava Duvernay, and Niecy Nash, and was recently named the Stylist Of The Year at Essence‘s “Best In Black Fashion” Awards. She is a true inspiration.
Nana Agyemang
Website: TheCut.com
IG: @itsreallynana
Nana Agyemang is the social media editor for The Cut and the founder of Every Stylish Girl, a blog that spotlights fashionable Black women in media. To enable college-aged women the opportunity to break into the industry, Agyemang hosts Sip N’ Slay, a networking brunch in New York City, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.
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