Three Powerful Women Leaving Their Mark on the Fashion Industry

The world of fashion has long been lacking in diversity and different perspectives, but this has been changing for the better. Black women are increasingly occupying positions of power in the fashion industry and inspiring other young girls along the way. Representation is vital for the fashion industry.

Rajni Jacques is currently the global head of fashion and beauty at Snapchat, and before that she was the fashion director of Allure and Teen Vogue. She has years of experience in the fashion industry including: fashion editor at Glamour Magazine, creative consultant for Madewell, and fashion features director at Nylon Magazine. Growing up, Jacques did not see many people that looked like her working in the fashion industry, and no one in her family had ever worked in fashion or even the arts. In an interview with Bustle she explained how “It was very hard to maneuver into spaces.” Working her way up in the industry did not come without obstacles, but along the way she learned about the power of negotiation and learned to never settle. 

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Chioma Nnadi is a former fashion news director and is now the current editor of Vogue.com. When she first entered the industry, she thought she wanted to pursue a career as a stylist. However, she quickly learned that styling was not for her. Eventually Nnadi realized she had quite the knack for storytelling. She did not just wait around and see what was available; she created her own opportunities. She wrote a letter to a smaller indie magazine that she admired, and when she went to New York and visited that magazine, she was offered a job. She started as one of very few black women writers, but did not let that fact discourage her. She decided that that was her unique perspective that would help propel her forward in her career while also being the representation that the industry needed.

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Sandrine Charles is a public relations specialist that started her own PR consulting firm in 2016. She has been the public relations brains behind many successful streetwear and menswear brands. In 2020, she co-founded the Black in Fashion Council, whose mission is to increase representation and promote the empowerment of black employees in the beauty and fashion industry. Charles’ career path was not always set on public relations and fashion. She originally started out as a pre-law student. However, she has a godmother in the music industry who took her to a Mary J. Blige concert. Charles was fascinated by everyone’s roles. This one concert sparked her interest in PR. After that she began interning at fashion agencies and even VH1, so by the time she entered the workforce, she knew what to expect.

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These three powerful women have worked incredibly hard to get to where they are. The obstacles they faced didn’t knock them down, but they used those difficulties to learn from and grow. They are the representation the fashion world needs, but it shouldn’t stop there; these women are continuously working to continue to empower black women to stand up and make their own mark on the fashion industry. There can never be too many inspiring women to help influence and lead the next generation of powerful women.