INDEPENDENT Streak

Three of the most EXCITING FASHION LABELS for 2024 are helmed by WOMEN whose DETERMINATION is as POWERFUL as their DESIGNS

- BROOKE BOBB

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE, but it might be even truer today: It's tough to be an independent fashion designer. With the cost of raw materials and labor rising in the U.S. and across Europe, not to mention the dominance of well-established brands and conglomerates in the luxury and fast-fashion sectors, scaling a retail business on your own is a hustle. It's especially daunting for women of color, who are often overlooked for lead design roles by the fashion-industry powers that be. And yet, despite the slim odds, the Spring 2024 season offered a window on the tremendous creative power, drive, and vision of three female independent designers who made headlines for their incredible collections: Torishéju Dumi, based in her hometown of London; Karoline Vitto, Brazilian but currently living in London; and Rachel Scott of Diotima, an LVMH Prize finalist who is based in New York by way of Jamaica.

Dumi officially launched her line, Torishéju, during Paris Fashion Week in October, showing for the very first time. Debuting her sculptural ready-to-wear at the Shangri-La hotel, her runway show starred the likes of Paloma Elsesser and Naomi Campbell (who, according to Dumi, put her hands in her trouser pockets at her fitting, posed, and said, "Oh, I really like it") and was styled by Gabriella KarefaJohnson, someone who has been a mentor of sorts, helping her put the show together along with publicist Lucien Pagès. Dumi made her collection entirely on her own in her Hackney studio flat. She titled it "Fire on the Mountain" after a line from a song, the rest of which goes, "run, run, run," that her mother used to sing to her whenever they'd cross the street.