Activist, academic and author Angela Davis has officially added “fashion designer” to her resumé.
Davis and Los Angeles-based label Renowned LA have launched an apparel capsule inspired by Black political leaders, the Black Panther Party and its cofounder Huey P. Newton. Davis herself even appears on the clothing.
According to WWD, the capsule includes a T-shirt for $35 and hoodie for $75, both featuring the images of political leaders and logos, the word “dismantle” embroidered on the shirt and the phrase “We Not Asking No More.”
A portion of the proceeds from the line will go to Underground Grit, an Orange, Calif.-based organization centered on prison reform and decriminalization for incarcerated people and youth, and Dream Defenders, a group created to end police, prisons and privately owned prisons. The Dream Defenders partnership is especially special to Davis, as she is a member of their board.
“I’m extremely humbled that she even agreed to do something like this,” says John Dean, founder, Renowned LA. “I don’t think she’s done anything like this before when it comes to fashion.”
According to Dean, Davis’s one ask for the partnership was for her to pick the organizations that the sales of the T-shirt would benefit. Dean wanted to honor George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the many Black victims of police brutality, racial injustice and violence in a red hang tag.
The collection is now available for pre-order through Dec. 18.