The New York Times - USA (2020-08-06)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020D1

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FASHION BEAUTY NIGHTLIFE

Tazhiana Gordon, describes herself as a messy, mixed-media kind of scrapbooker. She uses brightly colored inks and stamps and

stickers to layer compositions on paper for personal albums, photos of which she shares with a close-knit online community of fellow crafters. ¶ In early

June, in response to the killing of George Floyd by the police and the national protests that followed, she broke from her usual social media posts of scrapbook

pages filled with cheerful phrases and family photos. Instead, Ms. Gordon, 29, who is a nurse, wrote about joining the crowds in New York and her thoughts

about the reckoning with Blackness the country must face. ¶ She lost 30 followers on her Instagram account — a sting that gave her pause. Though some of

the loss could be attributed to the normal fluctuations of follower counts, she said, she suspected it was because she had simply said

KATE MEDLEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

By MICHELLE GARCIA

CONTINUED ON PAGE D6

In a Pinterest Era, Paper Still Has Power

PEOPLE OF COLOR

S AY T H E

SCRAPBOOKING

COMMUNITY

OVERLOOKS THEIR

CONTRIBUTIONS.

A scrapbook by Azzari Jarrett of Wilmington, N.C., who recently released a line of stamps and cards supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The food, beauty products

and more that Americans

abroad long for. Page 4.

Memories

Of Home

YAZMIN BUTCHER

2 SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED

A cooped-up nation wants its

outdoor gear. BY JOHN HERRMAN

3 SHORTCUTS

Another pandemic revival:

press-on nails. BY JACKIE SNOW

3 SKIN DEEP

Goodbye to Clarisonic and its

facial brush. BY COURTNEY RUBIN

4 FASHION INDUSTRY

Work conditions at Malaysian

factories. BY ELIZABETH PATON

The recent outpouring of support for Black-

owned businesses has brought attention to

fashion labels that work with African prints.

The labels, many of them founded by West

African designers living in the United

States and Britain, are turning the tradi-

tional patterns of West African fabric into

contemporary American silhouettes.

“May was our biggest month ever, and

June is going to be bigger than May,” said

Addie Elabor, the founder and designer of

D’iyanu, an African print label introduced

in 2014.

Nicolette Orji, also known as Nikki Billie

Jean, the founder of the All Things Ankara

blog and a designer herself, was similarly

upbeat. “Anyone who is selling anything on-

line right now is feeling that support, and

it’s amazing — though kind of overdue.”

While the largest market for most of

these designers is Black people born and

raised in America, success this year has

also brought new buyers.

“When I first released my masks, one of

my white friends texted me to say, ‘Can I

buy this or would that be a bad idea?’ ” said

Maya Lake, the founder of Boxing Kitten,

the label that is often credited as one of the

first to put ankara print on the American

fashion radar.

“I said she should buy it,” Ms. Lake said.

“I mean, especially now if you want to sup-

port Black-owned businesses. I think it’s

fine.”

But, Ms. Lake said, there is an important

African Prints Find a Bigger Market

CONTINUED ON PAGE D5

MICHAEL STARGHILL JR. FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The designer Yetunde Olukoya in her home office in Texas. “I would like to see African print everywhere,” she said.

By SHIRA TELUSHKIN

Discussions of spreading a

distinct look mix with those

of cultural appropriation.