“It’s very unusual, for a predominantly black city, to find itself in so many situations where I’m a minority,” she says of the city, which is gentrifying quickly. It just felt really strange and relatively uncomfortable to me.
Last year, the designer made an enormous investment in Detroit: she launched a sustainable line, Hope for Flowers, which is predicated there. Reese is also a board member of the non-profit organization Nest, whose Makers United initiative was recently launched in the city.
The maker movement hasn’t just taken fashion by storm. Rebecca Van Bergen, executive director and founder of Nest, jokes that when she started the organization, “No company was talking about crafts and crafts and now, literally, there are Doritos calling each other so. But not everyone was uplifted by the rising tide. Makers United, which operates in Austin, San Antonio, Birmingham and now Detroit, was born out of an event the group hosted to address the lack of diversity in the movement.
Addressing this disparity seems particularly crucial in light of an industry-wide consideration of racism in fashion. Reese spoke of the micro- (and macro-) assaults she has faced in the industry as a black woman, “whether it is somewhat ignored by industry organizations and the media, whether it is not taken seriously by lenders, that it is avoided in newsstands. in textile fairs, ”she says.
“I will find my way through the roadblocks … but that does not mean the roadblocks were not there.”
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In the past, when Reese attempted to resolve these issues directly, she often faced apathy. “People were looking at you like you’re crazy. You were just an angry black woman. ”
Reese gets inspired by the younger generation of black designers, who, she says, “are now claiming equality. They are not interested in patiently waiting or even joining settlement structures that do not invite blacks and people of color. And I agree – it’s time to be annoyed.
Instead of celebrating these cultures and the creators and designers of those cultures, fashion has historically just appropriated the craft itself and reproduced it in a western way. We’ve all been guilty of it. Instead of taking someone’s voice, we [have to] invite them into the circle. , let them express their true voice and celebrate them.
The recent focus on black-owned businesses across industries has helped many designers find a wider audience. But like all small businesses, they still face a tough economic landscape due to COVID. “The usual suspects have a thousand avenues. Small businesses don’t have that funding, ”says Reese. So it’s important to keep telling these stories and making these great discoveries, because on the other side, maybe we’ll come out with, not only more diversity and people represented, but more diversity in the product and point of view, inspiration and design. . We’ve been on this road of sameness for so long, and it’s boring. ”
Reese says the group has launched a “broad appeal” in the community, with the goal of creating greater access to resources and the community for people of color, indigenous peoples and immigrants. “I will also take advantage of it, because it will expand my circle of knowledge and collaboration.” His plan is to work with many of the program’s artisans and sell the goods on his website.
