Designer Melody Ehsani’s Latest Collection Honors ‘Black Women in Defiance’

Thomas Waller for Yahoo! finance

Designer Melody Ehsani has joined forces with “I Support Black Women” campaign founder Trinice McNally, Black Women Radicals founder Jaimee Swift and national media organization Breakthrough to launch the “Black Women in Defiance” charm bracelet.

The bracelet honors 10 Black women activists and historical figures from the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean and across the African Diaspora. Each one comes with a keepsake postcard providing history about the women featured, including their birthplace and heritage, the injustices they fought against and their contributions to society.

“As an artist and a designer, using the power of my voice and being able to amplify the voices of others through creating intentional products is a big part of why I love making things,” Ehsani explained. “Virgil Abloh shared this sentiment, which is why I’m so grateful he introduced me to the work of Trinice and Jaimee of Black Women Radicals. I particularly resonate with the global scale of their work understanding the connectivity and historical patterns of the systemic systems that have tried to marginalize and hold down Black women globally. I’m honored to shine light on some of the Black women who have trailblazed change over time. All the sales will go toward supporting and amplifying this agenda.”

Announced earlier this month, the 2022 Defend Black Women March will celebrate, center and highlight the life, leadership and legacy of Afro-Brazilian bisexual feminist, politician, activist and human rights defender Marielle Franco — who was assassinated in 2018 — as well as the power of Black feminists in the U.S., Latin America and in the Caribbean, in partnership with the School for Black Feminist Politics, the political education hub of Black Women Radicals.

“As an organization that uses a potent mix of media, arts and tech to drive narrative change, we view this partnership as a perfect example of how fashion and activism can collide to create an opportunity for socio-political education about the lived experiences of Black women, girls and gender-expansive people,” said Nakisha M. Lewis, chief executive officer of Breakthrough, the producing partner of the Defend Black Women March.

The bracelet will be unveiled at an invitation-only launch event to be hosted on Saturday at Ehsani’s Los Angeles store, but will be available in a limited presale at melodyehsani.com starting Friday. Each charm bracelet retails for $75 and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to support the second annual Defend Black Women March in Washington, D.C., on July 29 through 31.