The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Blacktag is a new interactive digital platform showcasing work by Black creatives with the aim of uplifting Black voices and connecting emerging talent with brands. The site will serve as a centralised space that audiences and advertisers can go to to discover originally-produced and user-generated work by a global roster of Black creatives.
Founded by Akin Adebowale, a multidisciplinary artist who has worked with Drake and Kanye West, and Ousman Sahko, a filmmaker and Google Creative Lab alum, Blacktag has already secured a $3.75 million seed round led by venture capital firms Connect Ventures and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The money will go towards growing a large pool of creative collaborators and establishing brand partnerships as Blacktag prepares to launch its initial MVP platform early next year.
“We’ve created Blacktag at such an important cultural moment. A Black renaissance and economic awakening has been ignited and Blacktag is adding fuel to the fire,” Sahko, who also serves as Blacktag’s president and CCO, said in a statement. “We’re not only creating opportunities for artists and creators to monetize their work that is the foundation of our culture, but also creating a place for every fan who has ever scrolled through traditional platforms looking for people who look like them and content that truly resonates, only to come up empty.”
The stylist is set to unveil a bi-annual print magazine and digital platform, with a team that includes Holly Shackleton and Fran Burns.
Luxury book publishers — and husband and wife — Prosper and Martine Assouline join BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to discuss the genesis of their publishing business and how they are growing it into a global lifestyle brand.
Now under the ownership of British publisher Future, both Marie Claire and WhoWhatWear are contending with how to grow their new parent’s US operations in the ever-challenging media landscape.
Fast Company has named The Business of Fashion one of the ‘world’s most innovative companies’ for a second time for demonstrating ‘how a media brand can leverage AI to add reader value rather than erode trust with AI-written news articles.’