American fashion designer, businessman and social activist of Jamaican and Chinese descent, known as the CEO and founder of Brandon Blackwood New York, a fashion company that specializes in handbags and accessories.
While in college, he interned for Elle and Nylon magazines. Post graduation he worked as a buyer at Crossroads Trading, a company that buys and sells on-trend second-hand clothes.
While working at Crossroads Trading, Blackwood befriended stylists and editors who encouraged him to take up design professionally. He began saving in order to begin his business, and with the help of his mother and friend, he purchased his LLC in 2013. He launched his first line of handbags in 2015 which were featured in Essence magazine, followed by Elle and Galore.
Blackwood gained international notoriety in 2020. Wanting to take a stance in support of the Black Lives Matter protests, Blackwood created a mini-tote with the words End Systemic Racism engraved on the front. A portion of the proceeds from the bag were donated to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is an organization dedicated to helping racial and ethnic minorities find legal representation while fighting civil rights cases. On the creation of the bag, Blackwood stated “I was stuck creatively and exhausted by the daily news. I had a pretty solid following and decided I would take this opportunity to make something that could have a direct impact against systemic oppression.” While initially on 509 bags were made, thousands more have sold.
Link to Wikipedia biography