Politans: in celebration of Black History Month

Politan conveys the idea of being at home anywhere in the world, writes Beatrice Newman in the introduction to the collection she curated for London College of Fashion on UAL Showcase, in celebration of Black History Month.

Beatrice Newman is an alumna of LCF and the founder of the fashion and knitwear brand, Korlekie. Her brand also embodies the idea of Politan in the way it provides a sense of belonging and a recentering of heritage and culture that are often misrepresented and misunderstood in fashion. “My love for knitwear and crochet came about because I felt like I had more ownership of the design process and control in creating unique, artisanal products that are influenced by me,” she says about starting Korlekie.

But being a Black woman in the fashion space hasn’t been easy for her and she had to navigate her way through all the roadblocks to ensure Korlekie’s success.

“Some doors were closed to me, but I found ways to navigate around them. I had to achieve the same goals and successes without the support and widespread approval that my white colleagues often receive.”

Everything about Korlekie was against the mainstream idea of what a successful fashion brand should be like and Beatrice faced a lot of resistance because of that but that also became the reason for her to push forward with it.

“I've had people tell me, your brand is good, but you need to change your name because it's too difficult to pronounce or people won't get it. It needs to be British. It needs to be white, western. There was a hindrance because of people's lack of vision and understanding of who I am as a Black woman, my culture and who I am as a designer because they've wanted me to fit into a very white, western mold which a lot of fashion education at the time, and still in some institutions today in the UK are centred on.”

People’s lack of vision due to underrepresentation in the dominant culture has plagued the Black diaspora for a long time now and is something that many of the projects in Beatrice’s collection also address.

Odera Phil-Ebosie's ROOTS documents Black hair and its place in black culture. She looks at black hair as a signifier of culture and heritage and means of self-expression.

Black hair is also the centre of Temi-Lola Mahir’s project – Textured Hair: A Multidisciplinary Approach, where she investigates its underrepresentation in the haircare and beauty industry.

“These stories need to be told, and Temi-Lola leads the way by showing that tight coils are truly a wonder to behold, deserving of the care and attention they rarely receive,” Beatrice comments about the project.

Korlekie has brought in a new perspective to the knitwear and crochet category with its unique silhouettes, technique and inclusive designs made keeping in mind the black female body which is underserved in the fashion industry.

“My European education in fashion pattern cutting was a huge disservice to me because, for instance, the centre back on most standard dress blocks available during my studies at the time were straight, whereas on a curvaceous body, it curves and I couldn't comprehend the idea of a curved back because I was always taught with pattern blocks that were cut to white European body standards. And so, my first year of designing for curvaceous clients making traditional Asoebi attire was such a huge challenge because the clothes just never fit right. Through that process, I learned that I needed to be a lot more intuitive and reflective in how I designed.”

Having this new perspective was what catapulted Korlekie in the social media space where people saw it as an inclusive brand that served more than one body type. Marichelle Jackson-Keane's collection, English Nostalgia, also does something similar by providing a new perspective on youth culture and terrace and estate fashion by celebrating a community that is often overlooked.