As the global fashion industry reckons with shifting tariffs, rising production costs and price sensitive consumers, emerging designers are compelled to adopt entrepreneurial mindsets to nimbly navigate these challenges.

After a sustained period of success, luxury is facing a significant slowdown affecting even top brands. In 2024, the McKinsey Global Fashion Index forecast non-luxury wholly driving the increase in profit for the first time since 2010 (excluding the years of COVID-19), after years of luxury markups often accounting for over 80 percent of growth.

In this complex landscape, emerging designers must focus on creative excellence and develop robust business strategies to align with evolving market dynamics, pricing models and consumer expectations.

Notably, in a 2024 report by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, over 60 percent of emerging designers experienced high levels of stress involving financial uncertainty, supply chain issues and social media visibility.

For many BIPOC designers, those challenges are compounded by systemic barriers — whether through limited access to capital and advisory support, or the pressures to represent entire cultures through their work. As the emotional labour grows, so does the need for industry-wide solutions spanning financial and pastoral support.

RaiseFashion’s masterclass is one such initiative. Now in its third year, selected designers receive a grant between $10,000 and $15,000 and are connected to mentors, advisors and peer support systems that offer technical advice and a space for empathy and perspective.

This year’s cohort builds on the nonprofit’s core pillars of education, mentorship and access, but with a sharpened focus on building creative and commercial longevity. With guidance from RaiseFashion’s advisory network — a growing roster of C-suite and senior executives in the industry — designers are able to gain access to grants, resources and strategic advice.

Initiatives involving crafting collections using deadstock materials to building effective pricing strategies amid volatile supply chains are married with the designers’ own value propositions.

For brands like House of Aama, Theophilio, L’Enchanteur and Bach Mai, cultural heritage is a critical tenet of their product and creative output, with each leveraging storytelling and technology to deepen impact.

As conversations around trade continue to shape the economics of independent fashion, and as price hikes at legacy brands persist, the heritage and authenticity of these designers are what sets them apart.

Now, BoF speaks with four designers from RaiseFashion’s latest cohort to understand how they’re scaling businesses rooted in identity — and built for the future.

House of Aama is a Los Angeles-based fashion label founded in 2015 by mother and daughter duo Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka. The brand weaves narratives of African heritage and the Black American experience into its designs — which have graced the runways of New York Fashion Week and been featured in publications such as Vogue and Teen Vogue.

How are you navigating external pressures while staying true to your vision?

RH: We’re small, independent and committed to producing locally — we really value the relationships we’ve built with US-based partners. However, even before the latest tariff announcements, like many independent brands, we are exploring overseas production.

Manufacturing in the US is meaningful and sustainable when you’re trying to grow a business and we remain committed to US production. We were planning to expand and at present are unsure if that’s a viable option.

AS: In some ways, this moment has reaffirmed what we’ve already been doing. Practices like local production and thoughtful sourcing, which we’ve prioritised from the beginning, are now becoming less of a choice and more of a necessity. But running a financially sustainable business often points you towards production options outside of the US — just because of cost. It’s always a balancing act.

Even before recent economic developments, we were working on a project involving a fully American supply chain. It’s rooted in storytelling — reclaiming cotton and crops —with plans to launch in September. With everything happening globally it feels especially timely.

How do you care for your mental health while growing a brand?

RH: Akua introduced me to the concept of self-care — something I now take seriously. We’ve built Pilates and journaling routines — taking moments for ourselves. You need to show up for yourself in order to show up for your work.

AS: We’ve been at this for 12 years and as the pace picks up, we’ve learned how important it is to set boundaries. The business never really ‘slows down,’ so we’ve developed a rhythm that allows for sustainability — not just in our work — but in our minds and our bodies. Burnout doesn’t serve anyone and longevity requires balance.

How has participating in the RaiseFashion Masterclass shaped your perspective as a founder and creative?

RH: Emerging designers need what any builder needs — a foundation. That includes mentorship, community, capital and access to resources that support real growth. You need knowledge, yes — but you also need infrastructure. How do you run a business? How do you scale it? We didn’t start out with a formal business plan — we were just creating.

Raisefashion has been incredibly eye-opening because it’s helped us understand the full scope of running a company. It’s the most comprehensive support we’ve had.

AS: Through different incubators, what has always stood out is the value of community — especially access to people in adjacent industries like finance, strategy and tech. Without such support, you stall.

Better incubation models could make a huge difference industry wide.

Theophilio is a contemporary ready-to-wear label by Jamaican-American designer Edvin Thompson. Rooted in nostalgia and cultural storytelling, Thompson’s bold and expressive designs have appeared at the Met Gala, adorned by the likes of model Alton Mason and singer Davido.

What does authenticity mean to you, and how does heritage shape that expression of your brand?

ET: Honesty — and telling unfiltered stories reflecting who I am. It’s not just about the clothes, it’s about the stories stitched into them and the dialogue they spare. My Caribbean roots are the foundation of everything I create with Theophilio. They’re the anchor guiding the brand.

So when moments like the Met Gala happen, it’s a cultural conversation.. It’s about staying rooted while evolving.

How has participating in the RaiseFashion Masterclass shaped your perspective as founders and creatives?

ET: RaiseFashion is less rigid and more like a real community. It has helped me pinpoint exactly where I need support. The sessions reinforce the idea that no question is too small or bold.

What kind of support do emerging designers still need in 2025?

ET: Funding, first and foremost. It’s especially daunting for students coming out of school who are entering a landscape more challenging than ever.

But, it’s not just about money. Support can also look like providing studio space, offering interns or even donating resources — mannequins, machines, laptops. I’ve been lucky to receive tech support through partnerships that helped accelerate my business.

I also think having an accountant early on is critical for sparing a lot of stress down the line.

L’Enchanteur is a Brooklyn-based luxury concept brand, founded in 2017 by identical twin sisters Dynasty and Soull Ogun. Through erging their previous individual labels — Alkhemi9 and Brzé — their new work draws inspiration from Yoruba heritage, and has been worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. In 2004, L’Enchanteur won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

How does heritage and authenticity shape the long-term vision of your brand?

SO: Authenticity starts at the roots and is reflected in the outcome. For us, that grounding is spiritual. We stay connected by staying in touch with spiritual practices — meditation, reflection and aligning with purpose.

DO: Those roots are cultural too. We’re first generation — our family is West Indian and Nigerian — and we were raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. That has shaped how we move through the world, design and approach business. We learned so much from the elders in the community — people with real talent and vision, often building without access to resources and recognition. Our goal is to honour that legacy and carry the torch forward.

How does technology support your ability to connect and build community?

DO: Technology is woven into everything that we do — it always has been. It’s about changing the way that we share and receive information.

We explore both ends of the spectrum — ancient technology that reconnects us to our roots, and then new age technology — like the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses that we are playing with now.

How has participating in the RaiseFashion Masterclass shaped your perspective as founders and creatives?

SO: The masterclass has taught me that financial support gives you room to scale, community holds you steady as you grow and mentorship gives you insights that are priceless.

The Raisefashion masterclass really emphasised those three pillars.

DO: Thriving in community is so much more sustainable than starving alone. And mentorship gives you a blueprint to adapt. The masterclass also reaffirmed some of the choices we’ve made as a brand. Beyond that, it’s been deeply communal.

Bach Mai is a Vietnamese-American designer known for his couture-level craftsmanship and bold, sculptural silhouettes. A Parsons graduate with a master’s from the Institut Français de la Mode, Mai honed his skills under John Galliano at Maison Margiela. Launching his namesake label in 2021, Mai quickly gained acclaim for his modern take on glamour — dressing stars such as Venus Williams and Tessa Thompson. All collections are crafted in New York’s Garment District.

How do you navigate economic external pressures while staying true to your vision and brand?

BM: It’s never been smooth sailing — it’s always difficult as a young brand — especially over the last year.

We produce in New York but raw materials and supplies still come from all over. You truly roll with the punches and staying true to your vision amid all this is hard work — but important.

What does authenticity mean to you in today’s landscape?

BM: It really comes down to knowing why your brand needs to exist. Who are you making it for, and why? It’s easy to get lost if you’re not deeply moored to something. And that ‘something’ has to be your vision, and why your brand exists. It’s also about being connected to the lives your designs touch.

How has participating in the RaiseFashion Masterclass shaped your perspective as a founder and creative?

BM: The RaiseFashion Masterclass has been an incredible experience.

It’s given us new tools — helping us to see our brand from every angle: whether that be retail, branding, marketing, wholesale or merchandising. It’s like taking a 360-degree magnifying glass to everything. I think it can only make us stronger moving forward.

It has also been encouraging to hear that the instincts and realisations we’ve developed are right.

This feature is part of a community partnership with Raisefashion.