See Olandria Carthen and Brandon Blackwood's Doll-Like Collab Behind the Scenes

Blackwood, who has an academic background in neuroscience, knows exactly what it feels like to be on the frontier of fashion — carving out space in an industry that rarely rewards people for doing things differently. But according to him, the breakthrough came the moment he stopped chasing approval altogether. “I think when I first started, I wanted to be, like, everyone else, and I wanted the same kind of attention. I wanted the same accolades and all that stuff,” he says. “But the more authentic I was, the more I literally just had fun with it, the more attention I got. Like, when I really just kind of almost strayed away from the normal trajectory of a fashion designer, that's when I had fun. So I really had to, like, unlearn wanting to be, you know, part of a group. Because that's literally how I became part of a group.”

That mindset is exactly what makes the collaboration with Carthen resonate beyond just chic bags. Both Blackwood and Carthen built their identities by leaning into what made them distinct, rather than shrinking or staying siloed in their respective industries. And in doing so, they’ve proved their legitimacy, creating something far more powerful than a viral collection: they’ve created their own definition of cool which is the true lore of the It-Girl.