“Le Noir Et Beau,” Black Is Beautiful, and designer Tia Adeola is adoring beautiful Black women and our gorgeous bodies with satiny, shimmery, and sheer shapes and ruffles that kiss and dance on our sexy skin.
Adeola’s SS21 Collection is a stunning take on Renaissance chic, filled with luscious pastels and see-through gowns that effortlessly flaunt our best features.
Watching her work, it’s often hard to believe that Adeola just arrived on the scene. Her brand made its New York Fashion Week debut back in Feb. 2020 -- right before the COVID-19 crisis hit the mainstream.
She hasn’t skipped a beat, however, nimbly adjusting her business and creatively meeting her fashion fans where they are -- at home in front of their screens.
Adeola released a short film, Le Noir Et Beau, showcasing her SS21 collection and flipping the script on Black beauty and history -- all history.
"I wanted to put out something beautiful that still had an important message behind it,"
Adeola told Nylon.
Black women are usually represented in the same ways in fashion and media. Be it positive or negative, the way we are portrayed tends to stay in familiar “lanes.” People often struggle to imagine Black women flourishing outside the realms they mentally assign them to, unable to see and appreciate our beauty transcending any and all boundaries.
As Nylon put it, “Black Is Beautiful is the representation for Black people that doesn't just tick a check mark.”
"I think a lot of things can be performative — throwing one Black girl into a runway cast or a campaign so people won't be able to say it's not inclusive," says Adeola. "But whether it is indeed performative or not, I still think it's a step towards inclusivity, and young Black girls growing up looking to the media will feel like they can be cover girls, too."
Adeola is wearable art, luxury in motion, and a scintillating hint of the genius yet to come from this up-and-coming designer. You can check out more of her designs on the Tia Abeola website.
