the most buzzed about Black designers were those boldface names who came to fashion from the music industry

Until recently, the most buzzed about Black designers were those boldface names who came to fashion from the music industry. Editors and retailers were enamored with the rise of celebrity designers because they arrived with barrels of cash, a built-in fan base and a publicity machine that churned night and day. These entertainers had the resources to hire design teams to make up for their lack of experience. Folks like Russell Simmons, Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé and Sean Combs put on splashy runway shows and were feted with lavish parties. All the attention thrown their way gave the false impression that there were far more Black designers out there than there really were. Black designers who had come up the traditional way, studying draping and pattern making, apprenticing in ateliers--and who didn't have a hit CD to fall back on--were hard-pressed to compete. "I always say I did it the wrong way," jokes Edward Wilkerson, who designs Lafayette 148, a department store brand of fashion-tinged, career-oriented sportswear. "I should have become a singer first and then a fashion designer." Even now, as the infatuation with celebrity labels has waned, it is still a struggle.

In June at the CFDA annual awards show, the industry equivalent of the Oscars, the only Black person on stage at New York's Alice Tully Hall, save for a single model in a presentation honoring designer Marc Jacobs, was rapper Kanye West. The consummate fashion fan, West was there to introduce designer Phoebe Philo, from minimalist label Celine. Indeed, since the CFDA began keeping records in 1981, the only Black person to be honored with the prestigious Womenswear or Menswear Designer of the Year trophy was Combs, who won for his Sean John menswear line in 2004, after being nominated four times.

The shortage of Black designers is nothing new. There have been only a handful of success stories. African-American Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress in 1953. And innovative sportswear designers Willi Smith and Patrick Kelly rose to fame in the 1970's and '80's. The next generation of Black designers was almost as small. Today, diversity isn't the issue, as there is a host of young designers of Asian descent. African-Americans, however, seem hindered by a confluence of circumstances. Perhaps the most significant barrier is lack of capital. It can cost upward of $50,000 to launch a small collection, and that does not include mounting a runway show or having a padding of cash for production and overhead. Most young designers don't start a company by going to a bank. They turn to friends and family. "For many people of color, the money isn't there," says Veronica Miller, a Black design student at Drexel University who aspires to have her own line someday. "I don't come from institutional wealth.

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