Investors and venture capital rarely come up in my Fashion Week chats, partly because splashy VC funding is such a rarity for emerging designers. Investors tend to write off fashion as too risky, mainly because there are no guarantees; designers have to predict what will sell, and quite possibly, they’ll be wrong. That doesn’t gel with VC expectations for rapid “unicorn”-style growth. Cautionary tales abound, too, of buzzy brands that failed to meet their hyped-up valuations.
Autumn Adeigbo is working to change that narrative. Known for bold, colorful dresses that mix Italian brocades, African wax prints, and Victorian silhouettes, she recently became the 36th Black woman to raise more than $1 million in venture capital—and, remarkably, the first to do so for a fashion brand. Among her 15 backers are female-focused firms like Pipeline Angels and fans-turned-investors like Katrina Lake, the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, who described Adeigbo’s appeal as such: “I love her bright, bold point of view that is so uniquely hers, but at the same time [is] universally appealing.”
Adeigbo has struck that balance by focusing on her customer, not press, for the past six years. Since launching in 2018, she’s prioritized getting to know her fans (namely through traveling trunk shows), refining her fits and fabrics, and establishing a fair-trade supply chain—hurdles many designers wait to clear until they’ve already broken through. Business-wise, she’s also leaned on mentors like Tory Burch; in 2019, Adeigbo was chosen as a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow and joined a network of women entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses.
All to say, this is just the beginning. Adeigbo’s fall 2021 collection offers a glimpse of her brand’s next chapter, with two new product categories: shoes (peep the distinctive and comfy pony-hair clogs) and what Adeigbo described as “the perfect computer bag,” a compact tote scaled-down to fit the smaller, sleeker laptops and tablets we use today. Both the shoes and bags came with sparkly crystal buckles, because why not? Adeigbo is a maximalist, and it comes through most in her print-clashing dresses. A puffed-sleeve number was aswirl with fuchsia, cobalt, and saffron brocade, while a sleeker viscose dress came in a graphic, Ankara-inspired peacock motif that nodded to her family’s Nigerian roots. (If some pieces felt a little over-styled in the look book, women will be drawn to their one-and-done ease in stores.)
There are lots of printed dress labels on the market, but we can’t think of another that combines African motifs with vintage silhouettes and eco-friendly fabrics like Adeigbo’s—and, as the designer pointed out, few are run by Black women. She hopes women everywhere, of every background, will appreciate the multi-cultural spirit of the clothes, and hopes they’ll be inspired to continue supporting other Black-owned businesses, too.
