- Can you tell us about dressing
Mrs. Michelle Obama.
We know you've dressed her in the past,
but this last
suit moment, literally took everyone's breath away.
- I had to fly to DC
to deliver her coat,
for vice-president Harris for the night, for the special.
It was at that moment that I knew things had changed.
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- Hi, my name is Tiffany Reid.
I am the vice president of Fashion for Bustle.
Join me as I investigate what's in store
for the future of fashion,
by highlighting disruptors within the industry
who are changing it to be more sustainable,
and more inclusive.
Women, especially women of color, on the public stage
are under constant scrutiny.
We can dismiss fashion as frivolous,
but for centuries fashion has been a tool
that women in power have used to make their mark
on the world.
Whether it's Marie Antoinette's gravity defying hairstyles,
or Shirley Chisholm's colorful and bold ensembles
on the congressional floor.
The fact remains fashion and politics go hand in hand.
In this episode of Future of Fashion,
I'm chatting with Sergio Hudson,
the designer behind the Michelle Obama's inauguration look.
On how exclusivity and connections
preclude black designers,
from building longstanding legacy brands,
and what we can do to change that.
- I got off in Philadelphia,
got the text from Meredith Koop,
who's Michelle stylist.
She said, she's wearing your outfit
be on the lookout.
I went into the American Airlines lighthouse
and everybody was in there watching the inauguration.
She walked down the stairs.
So I saw it with everybody else.
You could literally hear the people gasp
when she walked out.
And it's just been a whirlwind ever since
- Sergio you've mentioned that you don't,
you're not like the regular
or the typical LA designer, right?
Can you describe what type of woman you're designing for?
- I feel like there's two different types of women
that wear my clothing.
The first is a fashion girl who likes to stand out
and likes to be chic.
Just really wants to like show stop.
The second type of woman is the woman
that just loves quality pieces,
and likes a classic fit.
I have both types of clients.
Everybody is trying to change the world with their design.
When people, women just wanna look good.
What's missing is just great,
regular clothes.
(laughs)
I definitely believe that we have something
that the industry is missing.
To me every woman can look like Michelle Obama looked
that day.
It's not hard.
It's just good clothes and confidence.
- You design clothing and you dress women
that are in very powerful places,
right?
What does it mean to be dressing women in power?
- It's a privilege to be able to dress women
and to make them feel beautiful,
and meet the expectation of how they want to look.
Dressing any woman is a privilege to me,
but to dress women that have changed the landscape
of the world, or that do so much to bring joy and light
to people.
It means a lot to me
that they would choose to wear my clothing.
- We have had this conversation about being able to
give black designers a platform,
an exposure.
What does that mean for you?
Being able to have exposure
to the brands and having all this buzz around you
but actually sustaining your business.
- Two things.
The first of course being, funding.
Number two, the connections.
No amount of money on planet earth
can connect you to the people that you need
to be connected to in fashion, to make a brand work.
There are people who are billionaires,
who have tried to do clothing line that failed.
And I think that's why we haven't had
African-American to ascend to the status of legacy
in sportswear in America,
because nobody has ever signed off on it.
It's the perfect storm for a black designer
not to be able to make it in American fashion.
- In America period,
but that's another conversation.
(laughs)
It's so interesting because fashion, like you've mentioned
is,
defined and built off of exclusivity.
Right?
And the only people that are connected
are the ones who succeed.
Right?
Why do you think that people are gravitating towards you now
or have in the past?
- You know, this industry is so hard to be in,
and I don't think people understand
how hard it is to work in fashion,
in any aspect, in any way to gain traction.
And you never know if it's actually gonna pay off.
It's like one of the biggest gambles of a industry.
I knew if I went to New York
that I would get lost in the shuffle.
What I will say is what I have been proud to see
is the fashion industry in New York, wake up,
and say, okay we have to do better.
We are a part of the problem.
And I don't feel like fashion has been racist
but they just have been classist
and
clique-ish.
They know what,
what, what went wrong and they're trying to rectify it.
Which makes me... it warms my heart.
We don't just make urban clothes.
We don't just make crazy couture pieces.
We are not a monolithic people.
We do everything.
Black people can't make
the fashion industry accept them.
It has to be the fashion industry that opens their eyes
and sees that they need to.
- I know we all joke about it when we're wearing
like our high heel shoes and our corsets
that women did not design these clothes,
because they're very uncomfortable.
But I think when you have men love women
and who care about women,
then we alleviate those problems.
And you can tell by hearing him speak
that he really wants women to be comfortable,
and really feel their best selves.
Thank you guys for joining this episode
of Future of Fashion.
If there are any creatives, designer, stylist, et cetera
in the industry that you wanna hear from,
comment below and we will consider it for our next episode.
Don't forget to subscribe to Bustle.
I will see you all soon.
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