STYLE STARS

Shining a spotlight on brilliant Black Canadian fashion designers

It’s always a good time to shine a spotlight on the wide range of talented Black Canadian fashion designers’ work. Whether you’re looking to add a standout swimsuit, delicate necklace, perfectly designed backpack or spectacular pair of heels to your closet, the brands below have what you're looking for. They’ve won CAFA awards; they’ve dressed and accessorized the likes of Issa Rae, Cardi B and A$AP Rocky. Here are their stories and our pick of pieces to get your hands on.

Téjahn Burnett

Canadian-Jamaican designer Téjahn Burnett’s founded her collection in 2018 to offer a size-inclusive solution to high-end footwear without compromising on fun and creativity. And fun it most definitely is! Her range of stunning heels, boots and sandals are adorned with cowrie shells, glittering embellishments or elegant ankle-tie straps — exactly what you need to step up your shoe game, just like megastars Cardi B and Joan Smalls, who’ve both rocked Burnett’s designs.

Omi Woods

Jewellery designer Ashley Alexis McFarlane creates stylish, contemporary heirloom pieces such as pendants inspired by traditional Jamaican and Nigerian coins and cowrie shells from West Africa. (The eternally cool Issa Rae is a fan.) Combining heritage with sustainability, the Toronto-based designer specializes in timeless pieces that are ethically handmade with fair trade African gold. The brand’s name is a nod to McFarlane’s Jamaican-Akan-Indigenous-Maroon heritage (omi means “water” in the Yoruba language and the word Jamaica derives from the Taino word Xaymaca, meaning “land of wood and water”).

Naomie Caron

Montreal-based designer Naom Caron took sustainable fashion into her own hands and created Selfish Swimwear, utilizing recycled-fibre fabric to create fashionable bikinis and one-piec from colourful prints to the award-winning black mesh-bac design. An investment in one of the brand’s suits is worth every penny: they’re built to last, and brand’s repair service extends beyond the first-year warranty, so you can wear your new favourite suit time and time again.

Sully & Son Co.

Toronto-based accessories specialist George Sully’s brand encapsulates sophistication with sleek yet functional footwear and backpacks. Sully carries some serious cred within Canadian and international fashion circles: He’s been inducted into the Bata Shoe Museum twice and is one of the makers behind the Star Trek: Discovery Starfleet boot (alongside friend and fellow designer Henry Wong, with whom he founded the brand Sully Wong). CAFA’s 2022 Change Maker Award recipient, Sully is also a vocal activist and is the creator of the Black Designers of Canada index, amplifying the talent of the country’s Black creatives.