There’s a game of musical chairs in fashion’s upper echelon, and the same names keep circling the seats. White men bounce from house to house like it’s their birthright, and when they need a diversity checkbox, a white woman slides in. But where do Black women fit in this equation? Nowhere, unless they build the table themselves.
Outside of Maximilian Davis at Ferragamo, luxury houses keep handing over their keys to the same faces, Grace Wales Bonner, Bianca Saunders and Whitney Michel are redefining menswear on their own terms. And they’re doing it with precision, cultural depth and an understanding of style that’s light-years ahead of the so-called gatekeepers.
Wales Bonner has been crafting a lane so sharp and refined, it feels inevitable. Her namesake label fuses European tailoring with diasporic storytelling, seamlessly blending Savile Row structure with Caribbean ease. The cuts are intentional, the fabrics whisper history and the collections move like jazz—smooth, unpredictable, but always on beat. And yet, when luxury houses hunt for new creative directors, they look past her. She’s already collaborated with Adidas, elevated British fashion and changed the way menswear breathes, but no one in the ivory towers is willing to pass her the torch.
Then there’s Bianca Saunders, a visionary sculpting masculinity with a fresh perspective. Her work bends traditional menswear silhouettes into something fluid—structured, yet soft, strong but never stiff. She’s earned international acclaim, from London to Paris, but somehow, the big houses keep pretending they can’t see what she’s doing. The industry loves to borrow from Black creativity, but when it comes to giving Black women the reigns, they act like the talent pool just dried up overnight.
And let’s talk about Whitney Michel. Accessories are the silent architects of a fit, and Michel has been building a new language of menswear through her meticulously crafted accessories, now knitwear. She’s proof that even the smallest details can make the loudest statements. Michel’s work sits at the intersection of classicism and modernity, tradition and rebellion. Her designs aren’t just accessories; they’re punctuation marks in a bigger conversation about where menswear is headed. And yet, when legacy brands need a shake-up, her phone stays silent.
The irony is that these Black women aren’t just keeping up; they’re setting the pace. They don’t need a seat at the table—they’ve built their own, furnished it and invited the world to sit down. Meanwhile, the industry keeps running the same old playbook, swapping out one white creative director for another, convinced that innovation only exists in the echo chamber of their rolodex.
But here’s the real kicker: Wales Bonner, Saunders and Michel don’t need the validation of these legacy houses. They are the future, the blueprint, the shift happening whether the industry is ready or not. The question isn’t whether Black women belong at the head of luxury menswear. The question is: how long will the establishment pretend not to see what’s already in motion?
