Black Fashion Fair digs into FUBU’s 30 year archive
In honor of its 30th anniversary FUBU, hip hop’s favorite fashion brand, has reminded us of their legacy by having Antoine Gregory on tape. Founder of the Black Fashion Fair, to design a collection inspired by its archives. The streetwear brand and multi-hyphenate sifted through FUBU’s archives to create a collection that reinterprets the label’s legacy for a contemporary audience. From previous collaborations such as the Museum World Tour, FUBU as well as the Black Fashion Fair have decided to reunite to commemorate the streetwear brand’s birthday. FUBU is known to be heavily ingrained in the fabric of black culture, the aim of the collaboration was not just to honor the founders, but a generation of talented black designers who have impacted the industry without much recognition. The, “for us, by us” logo is emphasized to remind people that the message represented by the brand is still important today.
Courtesy of Black Fashion Fair
FUBU was founded in 1992 by Daymond John, Keith Perrin, J. Alexander Martin, and Carl Brown with the goal of creating a stylish line of clothing “made by the people who wore it”, their retail stores stretched over 5000 producing $350 million sales by the year 1998 yearly. Their brand success was first recognised with a distribution deal with Samsung, but still had ownership of the company and registered name. The founders of FUBU being from Queens, New York aimed to connect mainly with black consumers through the production of black-owned clothing. Their vision was later revolutionized into street fashion, hip hop, and pop culture as a whole. Their influence throughout the peak of the 90’s helped with the positioning of the brand as the most preferred label for black hip-hop and R&B artists, rendering it one of fashion’s first streetwear giants.
By 2003 the team had exited the U.S market due to oversaturation, while still maintaining international licensing deals. In 2019 they partnered with Century 21 to broaden their typical market, which only left the brand bankrupt shortly after. Last year they partnered with The Brand Liaison, a licensing agency in which they dropped collections consistently. They currently have a radio app as well as the possibility of moving into the hotel markets which will stand for the “For Us By Us” movement. 2020 pushed many brands including FUBU to issue performative pledges of solidarity, which promises are still to live up to but the Black Fashion Fair stands by their founding commitment. Despite all their influence on the market is indisputably evident and remains strong through their brand resilience today.
The brand is known for its cultural influence amongst many talented black artists and the top two prominent genres in the music industry, R&B as well as hip-hop. Their brand name has shown up in pop culture, in singer/songwriter Solange Knowles song, “FUBU”, their partnership that took place with hip-hop legend LL Cool J, as well as a collaboration with Pyer Moss displayed in the Met’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibit. Now collaborating with Gregory for their 30 years archive, the aim is to elevate the location of Blackness in fashion as FUBU’s story is so enriched in “culture” this story is a necessity for the legacy Black Fashion Fair is creating.
Courtesy of Black Fashion Fair
FUBU has cemented themselves as a brand known for being a culture-shaping force years after their inception. There would be no modern day streetwear without the contributions of FUBU, and the Black Fashion Fair has made it a point to remind us today of the history the brand has made, and the importance of what they have done for black designers in the fashion industry today.