It’s an undeniable fact that Black designers are trendsetters and Autumn Adeigbo is a part of their domination in the fashion industry.
Adeigbo recently raised nearly $3 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Offline Ventures, WWD reports.
Prior to this recent funding, the fashion designer earned a $1.3 million investment in July 2020.
While known for her “eye-catching dresses in bright colors and headbands,” Adeigbo’s collections are blazing in the fashion world and her celebrity clientele is steadily growing. Actresses Gabrielle Union and Kerry Washington and poet Amanda Gorman have rocked her designs.
“More than just creating chic, colorful clothing, Autumn is creating a movement tied to sustainability, design and culture,” said Offline Ventures general partner Brit Morin. “Never before has the world seen a multibillion-dollar fashion label from a young Black woman, but we believe that Autumn Adeigbo has the x-factor to be the first. Investing in a fashion brand is controversial in the venture capital world, but it was never a question for me to invest in Autumn. She’s a true artist with a business that is on fire.”
The Nigerian-American businesswoman plans on using the funding to focus on growing her team, setting up a New York office space, expanding into other product categories and opening brick-and-mortar stores in the future, according to WWD.
“I’m always talking to people about additional collaborations and additional realms of creativity. But I really do just want to focus on getting the operational side of the business up to speed,” Adeigbo said. “We grew so much faster than I thought. We met our revenue goals for this year in June [2021]. So, I don’t want to grow so fast that we can’t keep up. I don’t want to say we’re slowing down. But we are focusing on getting the brand operationally sound for the rest of the year with this new round of capital.”
Adeigbo’s brand is currently available in retail stores such as Anthropologie, Nordstrom and Free People and is set to soon launch at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.
