I’ve never been brought to tears during an interview. That’s the power stitched into the clothing of Briana Danyele. I wiped the tears before they fell, as she told me the story of her cousin— young man shot four times in the back.
“This is one incident that happens on a much larger scale all the time,” Danyele stated, “so I took that fire, because if we don’t see it and if we don’t talk about it, we’re never going to grow from it.” This is where her senior collection, appropriately titled The Illusion of Progress, begins.
SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Hadley Stambaugh SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Hadley Stambaugh
The collection is rooted in black history, from slavery to modern day struggles. Although progress should have been made over several decades, Danyele asks her viewers to question how far we’ve actually come in creating an equal society. The collection highlights “where we were in times of racial injustice, where we are in terms of racial justice and where I hope we’re going.”
SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Darcy Aders
We are all one shot away from becoming a hashtag.
It starts with a powerful look, featuring a less than subtle slave collar. The collar’s original purpose was to discourage runaway slaves as the protruding iron bars would get caught in the trees and attached bells would give away their location as they ran. In the time of slavery, inequality was obvious but as the collection (and time) progresses, the injustices become harder to see with the naked eye.
SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Hadley Stambaugh SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Hadley Stambaugh
It’s all in Danyele’s details. It’s the gold necklace, oftentimes a staple in black culture, shaped like a noose. It’s the bulletproof vest that is not for style but for saving a young black life. It’s Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” before he died in the hands of police, embroidered into the collar. It’s the printed pants, whose pattern is actually the faces of police brutality victims. It’s the hoodie with the telling phrase, “recreational hoodie wearer, don’t shoot” hidden on the back. It’s the encouraging words of Maya Angelou stitched into the wrist that, despite everything, “Still I Rise.”
SCAD Savannah – Spring 2019 – Fashion – Student Work – Documented for Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Competition –Briana Hunter – Greer, SC – Darcy Aders
This is the illusion coming to life, not always noticeable at first but most certainly present. Danyele recalls the advice given to her by André Leon Talley: “First and foremost make something beautiful.” She interpreted that advice into a collection that is approachable and beautiful at first glance but welcomes emotion as one digs deeper into the details. She hopes that it becomes an inviting way to start conversation that doesn’t cause isolation but rather asks us to examine the reality of our lives. “I want to encourage people to have a voice with my clothes.” She’s most certainly found hers.
The collection closes with a women’s suit because there’s nothing more powerful than a woman in a man’s place; the back adorned with pins and patches of hope for the future. However, one statement from Danyele is burned into my mind: “We are all one shot away from becoming a hashtag.” That, above all, is why this collection exists.
Photography by Darcy Aders and Hadley Stambaugh
Models: Shiloh Smith and Ashleigh Baugh