FUBU: The Power & Pressures of Legacy - A Collective Tribute to Black ventures (Ami Colé, SULA Labs and Brothers & Briefcases)

Collage made with Pinterest | Photos from Pinterest + Instagram accounts of Ami Colé, SULA Labs, Brothers & Briefcases and recording artist Nelsini Rose

FUBU/F.U.B.U.: beyond the meta, mega streetwear brand that touched EVERY CORNER of the fashion world after its drop in 1992, the acronym also embodies the meta, mega cultural reference of “for us by us”. As a people, we’ve carried this cultural reference with into investor-packed boardrooms and recently purchased commercial spaces turned brick and mortar. Between those stages of business development, before and after them, are the cycles of ideas and drafts that exist in our heads and “on paper”.

For some, the ideas manifest as groundbreaking African, Black, and woman-owned beauty brands, research and development labs. For others, it’s as complex and simple as creating space for community. In almost all cases, the success of these ideas and pursuits is dependent upon connection, exemplified by the companies listed above.

Establishing the connection with consumers and supporters is what creates space for legacy to develop, the power and the pressures that come with it. Hence, our topic today, multi-faceted in nature, although singularly explanatory by the acronym F.U.B.U.

Ami Colé

The recent announcement by Ami Colé founder, Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye was a heartbreaking one for the beauty community, particularly the Black beauty community, to process. A clean beauty company inspired by Senegal and birthed in Harlem that offered the staples (concealer & gloss) of the simplistic yet effective Black beauty routine will soon be no more. A loss/lack of investment resulted in the crumbling of one of the few Black-owned cosmetic companies featured in Sephora. And now, three days into mourning this major loss, talks have already circulated around whose responsible for the tragedy. Is it Black beauty consumers who’ve spent their dollars either inconsistently with Ami Colé or more consistently with non-Black owned beauty brands? Or is it the fault of the beauty community as a whole that preaches inclusion in shade range and front facing ads, but fails invest in ensuring the futures of such companies? Without much insight into the inner-workings of the company, it’s outside of my scope to say whether one answer is more right than the other.

I do know, however, that their concealer and gloss were the first products I wore after birthing my daughter and my love for them led me to create my first ever beauty tutorial on TikTok. Wearing the products, knowing the intention behind their creation, helped me to feel confident in a body that had been transformed by motherhood. They made me feel like I belonged to myself again for the seconds it took to apply them and every moment I created to enjoy wearing them. This company that was built “for us by us”, establishing a legacy so early on into their journey is also one whose power speaks louder than sales — even if that’s what would’ve kept them around.

We await their return and/or the other ventures that N’Diaye-Mbaye plans to explore. In either case, the (products and) community that she created with us in mind is the same one I hope to see rally around her when it’s her time to resurface. As it’s community that helps us to achieve and experience both the power and pressures of legacy.

SULA Labs

Community, that power and those pressures come with the territory of a pursuit bigger than ourselves especially when it’s technically against the grain of eurocentric ideals, particularly those upheld within the beauty space. SULA Labs, a Black-woman owned and operated research and product development lab in Los Angeles, is working directly with cosmetic companies to close the inclusion gaps by creating and testing products that reflect a truly diverse beauty community. I recently had the pleasure of participating in a makeup study with the lab for products soon to be dropped by MORPHE. Upon arrival, study participants cleansed their faces, applied foundation (from a beauty competitor) and then tried on soon-to-come versions of blush and bronzer.

It felt good to see that the range of participants present were experiencing in real-time the benefits of a study like this: trial and (maybe) error of blush and bronzer according to weight, texture and depth of color on a range of shades. These trials, in their diversity, allow for a larger scope of consumers to benefit from a product drop. Like in legacy, community plays a role in inclusion and vice versa. Grateful for their work and mindfulness around reflection in their participant selection and processes.

Brothers & Briefcases

Similar to that of community, mindfulness in processes goes a long way. Not just within beauty spaces, but within that of advocacy. Brothers & Briefcases (B&B) founder Guildia Lopez has long held space for the Black men within her community, a demographic almost never placed at the forefront of professionalism. Created for the development of Black men within their careers and beyond, B&B brings together people of all identities in celebration of boys and men who express hopes of blazing trails professionally and giving back. The company mission aligns with what Lopez hopes to continue providing for its participants and its helped her gain recognition.

As a Black woman company owner, whose products have been featured in Nordstrom’s Men’s store in New York City and whose efforts, through B&B, were honored by the New York City Council, she carries with her the legacy of a resilient, community-based people. Lopez belongs to the community and legacy of Garifuna people, exiled from St. Vincent in 1797, landing in Honduras before migrating to Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua. And there's more in store with regards to impact an events. Although like, Ami Colé and SULA Labs, it’s the people who rally around her in support of her endeavours that will contribute towards her continued efforts to shift the narratives and experiences linked to that of our communities within the states and throughout the Diaspora.