Some of the most magnificent creative works come about when individuals from different backgrounds collaborate. In the age of cancel culture, with the emergence of fashion watchdog groups like @dietprada, brands have become overly cautious of misappropriating culture forcing the likes of Vogue, Prada, Off White, Marni, and Dolce & Gabbana to pay a huge price to account for their cultural misappropriation incidences to maintain their clientele. “The conversation that we had been having for years, people in the industry and the public started to talk about it in a big way,” said Brandice Daniel, founder and chief executive of Harlem’s Fashion Row, which promotes multicultural designers.^[1]

Despite the ‘push back on fashion and a rise in social consciousness over the protection of cultures with questions around who is really commercially benefiting from the appropriation, due to globalization, fashion brands are still clamoring to be more inclusive and diverse throughout their entire value chain and it looks like multicultural collaborations are here to stay. 

Let’s look at an example of what happened when a makeup artist from Nicaragua, a photographer from Barbados, and a native New Yorker fashion designer connected in Brooklyn, for a photo shoot. The results were nothing less than amazing.  With each possessing a unique sense of style and a staunch dedication to their respective craft, great art, and a memorable collaboration ensued.