By OlgaPatofzki
Fe Noel is a fashion-design firm established by the talented fashion designer Felisha Noel. She is self-taught, with no education (only hands-on experience), which is pretty impressive. Felisha began her journey as 19 years old, that’s when she co-founded a clothing shop called The Wagon. It was a mix of vintage high-end clothes with Noels original designs. As that didn’t work out she opened a web store, where she saw some economic growth. She started maturing and creating Caribbean-themed clothes, with silk and chiffon. After a while, she was making and selling clothes to big celebrities like Michelle Obama, Beyonce, etc. Her goal and ambitions are to create a world with relentless stimulation and innovation and express her vision through her symbolic designs.
What’s so unique about these designs is that they are deeply influenced by Felisha´s Grenadian heritage. With its vibrant colors, special shapes and styles and fondness for bold prints it really stands out. It is good design, as its useful, aesthetically pleasing and it’s a symbolic meaning behind a lot of the designs. Felisha wanted to go in another direction than the Eurocentric narrative around Renaissance art. She wanted to find work and other designers that celebrated the majestic and strength of black women. Felisha therefore collaborated with the Afro-Cuban American painter, Harmonia Rosales, who reimaged lot of the world’s most famous masterpieces to rather honor the black female body.
The designs are not a typical contemporary design, as the colors and patterns in contemporary design often stick to a stricter plate of colors. Fe Noel´s clothing has more mixed prints and fabrics like postmodern designs. You could also say that the designs are a bit modern as many of the designs push the boundaries of what is socially accepted, like Avant-Garde. But I would still say that it’s a contemporary brand, as it targets young adults, and the quality of the fabrics are made with higher quality fabrics, but still accessible because of the prices. It’s a good price for its good quality, like “what you pay for is what you get”. The design is reinvented classics and is inspired by art, as you can tell by the classic forms, shapes, and layout at Fe Noel. These factors make the brand a contemporary brand.
In the future, I would like to see more environment-friendly fabrics being used. They use fabrics like silk which is not a local resource and it needs to be transported and processed, which will make an impact on the environment. We need to see more sustainable businesses that show CSR.
I wouldn’t say that Fe Noel has big competitors, because of its uniqueness and that it’s tailored to black women. As Brandice Daniel said, “Competition is out, collaborations is in”. And this quote is especially important for black designers as the industry and odds are stacked against you as a melanated woman. Working together is key.
Making sense of art and design industries 