Essence Girls United Creator’s House day one was a mecca for Gen Z’ers to be free and enjoy their Y2K fantasy through nostalgic activations. The girls popped out with airbrushed t-shirts embodying the forever blueprint motto Girls United is all about.
The morning kicked off with the first panel, Behind The Seams In Black Fashion, with GU content editor Danielle Wright and Antoine Gregory. The time for Black fashion is now. Aspiring fashion leaders learned how to create samples, bring their concepts to life, and every other aspect of the industry.
“We’re at the forefront, we’re taking credit for what we own, and the younger generation, they have a lot more ownership over the marketing production,” Gregory said. “They’re owning it, they’re on Tiktok like ‘this brand is that.’ They’re very honest about what’s happening in fashion. They have so much access that we didn’t have.”
We then moved into the unfiltered IT girl panel with Reginae Carter and Zonnique Pullins, where they dropped gems on what it means to be an It girl in the content creator space and make names for themselves outside of their families.
“[An ITgirl ] is a girl who is confident in herself. Just [do] whatever you wanna do,” Pullins said. “Put everything towards your dreams and really just stay consistent with whatever it is you want.”
The dynamic duo shared what it means to amplify themselves on a larger platform through music, brand deals and lifestyle content.
“Like they used to say in school: look at your own paper,” Carter told ESSENCE. “Just stay in your lane. Don’t look at the other person and feel like they are doing better than you, and you gotta change your whole vibe. Stand your ground.”
Speaking of friendship, we were able to dive into all aspects of business and friendship with content consultant Donye Taylor and Topicals CEO Olamide Olowe.
As we get older, it can be hard to find new friendships to nurture while entering a new chapter. From graduating college to starting a new business venture, it’s important to have that support to dream big.
“It’s so fun to be friends with someone where they fill your gaps,” Olowe said. “We talk a lot about romantic relationships, but we don’t talk about [friendships] who fill your cup and push you to dig deeper.”
As we continue to see how Black creatives thrive in all aspects from fashion to friendship, we also look into the future of hip-hop as we celebrate 50 years of the art form.
Girls United lead Rechelle Dennis spoke with New Orleans native 504icygrl about the future of hip-hop regarding women in music. “Hip-hop has always been a part of my life,” she told ESSENCE.
Girls United creators house continues to be an outlet for what’s next for Gen Z and shifts the narrative through being authentic and unapologetic.
We hope you’re ready for another experience at The Sugar Mill at Creator’s House. Then, of course, we have our must-see afterparty: The Kickback. For more information and to RSVP, visit https://ticketing.essence.com/#/?type=essence&filters=category%3DGirls+United
