Uncovering the lost archives of Black creatives, this Toronto-based journalist creates a platform for discovery
By: Teresa Valenton
Through years of navigating through creative industries as a Black creative, Charmaine Gooden is driven by the crossover between fashion and race. Dedicated to uplifting and showcasing Black fashion designers, the Black Fashion Canada Database was created in May 2020. Highlighting over 40 years of fashion history, the website encourages individuals to dive deeper into critical conversations surrounding Black voices in fashion.
What once began as a community discussion on Facebook in 2021, “a public outpour of memories, nostalgia and love from prior colleagues,” contributed to the eventual creation of the database. Covering creatives from the 1960s to the ‘90s, the truths and stories of lesser-known creatives are published through the database.
Upon her previous work experiences in fashion and& beauty editorial positions across Chatelaine Magazine, Holt Renfrew and the W Network as a television host, Gooden has continuously worked in creative roles that have expanded her journalistic skills. Taking her passion for the industry to a personal project, the database features short profiles, photos and archival materials centred on Black voices.
Inspired by designers of all levels, Gooden takes pride in being one of many voices for Black creatives seeking to enter fashion journalism. Reflecting on many cultures at large, she effortlessly includes Black peoples into her work with the statement “documentation and representation matters.”
In a Zoom interview with CanCulture, Gooden speaks on the creation of the Black Fashion Canada Database, creative determination, representation in the fashion industry and future goals for her work.
To begin, where did you first get the idea to create a database for Black fashion designers?
I’ve been an instructor and spent my career in the fashion industry which has been the last 15 to 20 years. What really stood out to me were the comments that racialized students would leave at the end of the term. They would say how much they appreciated seeing someone like me, just the way I had made a career in the fashion industry and the way I handled myself. It occurred to me that most of the teaching I did was always using American examples, and thank goodness we have them, but I thought it was about time we start highlighting some of our Canadian talents.
What I have found is that there were people chronicling Black creators. It is just what was done through the local Black community newspapers, and many of them don’t exist anymore. So basically, I’m trying to update and find some of the old information that was there that hasn’t made it over to being digitized and updating it. I want to make sure that information isn’t lost.
What did the crossover between race and fashion mean to you as you were working on this database?
Well, documentation and representation matters. As an editor of fashion and beauty content, I have reflected on the culture at large. My focus from the start of my career was to give other racialized people a hand up. So throughout my career, whether I was in a retail situation or an editorial one, I always tried to bring other racialized people into the picture. Whether it was more models, photographers, designers or anyone that had some form of aspect relating to events, I always tried to bring more Black people into the industry. So that’s what I mean when I say that there’s an intersection, that there are creative people out there looking to be part of the fashion industry. But for systemic reasons, there can be all sorts of other reasons why you’re locked out, including jealousy from within your own group.
Is there a specific mission statement that you had and that you had kept in mind?
My mission statement was to document and celebrate the Black and multiracial creatives, that being the photographers, the models, the muses, the designers, who pioneered the fashion industry from the ‘60s to the ‘90s. Documenting and celebrating them, but while shining a lens on the decades-old racism that they have put up through, and serving as a reference to what is happening here in the present.
Can you walk me through the process of creating this database from where it began and how it has progressed until now?
I was encouraged by Dr. Kimberly Jenkins, who was an instructor at the School of Fashion and had done her doctorate. She had done it by creating a fashion and race database and I loved the content so much. In a discussion with her, she encouraged me to set up Canadian content, but she very much brought an editorial focus.
Then I asked the School of Journalism, and I asked Asmaa Malik and felt that I had an open enough relationship where I could explain what I was trying to do and ask the department if they were okay with it. It took a lot of organizing but I had to reach out to candidates way before the assignment was there to prep and tell them what I was trying to do. By the time the student reached that point in the curriculum where they were ready to make contact, everything fell into place within two to three weeks. It was quite a challenge, but once people got the hang of it, the meaning of what I was trying to do, and the fact that I really am the person to do this project fell into place.
Can you elaborate more on why you were the right person to carry out this database?
Well, because I’m the person to do it. The period that I am specifically focused on is the 60s to 90s. I know that period well, first of all, it was a period of social justice change just like we have now. So a similar theme I knew that I would be touching on what I wanted to touch on. I was able to harvest those stories, but I’m the right person because I know most of these people, and quite frankly I don’t think they would have agreed to do it as readily. I want this to be a lasting legacy, I want this to be there for journalism students decades from now. As I said, I’m not reinventing the wheel entirely, people did it before, but writings are not digitized. Many of these publications they wrote for don’t exist anymore.
Where do you wish to take this database next?
I want to take this nationally, though I am already very happy with the success of it. The content is clean and accurate. That is an achievement in itself, I promised the journalism that not only would they be published, but that the website would be part of Kimberly Jenkins’s bigger fashion and race database. I want to make it more national, as I said before, but it is interesting to see the opportunities that are coming my way that I never thought of.
Since the database contains over 40 years of history, where would you like readers to start their journey to look into it?
To tell you the truth, I would start with Denise McLeod. She was truly the supermodel of her time here in Toronto, Canada. To see the volume of work she did and to hear the story of things. For example, they would never run a picture of her face with a cosmetic because they did not think that a small town could handle seeing a Black person using cosmetics as a symbol of beauty. They couldn’t even use her hands in a picture without calling head office because she has darker coloured skin and things such as that. However, they’re all good. Just how they made their way is what is unique about these Black creatives that made them leave a mark on the industry that is worth nothing.
What has been your favourite memory as a fashion journalist working on this database?
My favourite memory of creating this database has been the comments and memories, the stories that come from it all at large. That’s truly what I find so interesting, working on the stories and profiles. That’s the journalism part of it. And so there’s that as a process but getting past that and onto social media is what I enjoy hearing the most. I’ve been able to travel so much and meet a lot of people in the fashion, beauty, and fitness industry, it’s hard to puck. At the end of the day, if you want this career, you have to work for it. Educate yourself, and know your history, because yes, it is a very exciting and stimulating career. But most people who love fashion are already self-teaching themselves to keep up. If you want to make a career out of it, get serious about the sources that you follow and the quality of information that you take in.
What would you say to aspiring Black creatives seeking a career in the fashion industry?
Know your contemporaries, and be aware of who is in the industry at this particular time and what they’re doing. Outlets are going to be using you to want to bring your expertise in. I’m not going to say it’s your area of ethnicity, but it’s not unusual for them to think that, or to expect that. So know what’s going on at the ground level. It’s a big bonus when you can drop a few of the sort of legendaries from black in the day that opened doors that were a big deal.
