Ironmantee – Your Regular Grandma Horse My Swedish Mormor Unicorn Shirt

 Maybe the designer/photographer mashup is the 2020s answer to the model/DJ multi-hyphenates of the 2010s? Pierpaolo Piccioli did something similar for Valentino’s resort lookbook. Who’s next?

Fashion’s silence may have something to do with the systemic racial inequalities it has yet to reckon with. After 13 years in the business, Smalls has seen the discrimination that happens first-hand. Though she’s now one of modeling’s top stars, she spent years having to convince magazines that she could carry the coveted solo stories that elevate a model to household name status. “I was fighting tooth and nail,” she says of her beginnings in the early aughts. “I would see my contemporaries getting those jobs left and right, but the few times I was able to, it was a battle. On the outside, it may have looked easy, but there were a lot of conversations convincing people to give me those opportunities. I had to [prove] that I can hold a story on my own and not share a page.” The reluctance of brands to book models of color for fear of alienating white consumers served as an additional hurdle. “I’ve been up for so many jobs where I was turned down because the client said we’re not ready to go in that direction,” says Smalls. “Which means they’re not ready to shoot a black girl. I’ve heard those conversations and seen the emails from companies saying, “Yeah, we don’t need any more black girls; that position has been filled’.”

1. https://canho-centara.com/ironmantee-until-i-am-out-of-ammo-or-i-am-out-of-blood-i-will-fight-for-america-and-my-brother-american-flag-shirt/
2. https://thamtubachtin.net/2021/05/28/ironmantee-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-perfect-dad-but-if-youre-a-farmer-dad-youre-pretty-close-tractor-shirt/
3. https://sohopremiersg.com/shirts/ironmantee-there-arent-many-things-i-love-more-than-fishing-but-one-of-them-is-being-a-dad-shirt/
4. https://thamtudoanhnghiep.com/hot-shirts/ironmantee-the-only-thing-i-love-more-than-being-a-mom-and-grandma-is-being-a-great-grandma-butterfly-flower-shirt/
5. https://thamtuducdung.com/shirt/ironmantee-some-grandpas-take-naps-real-grandpas-walk-the-dog-then-take-a-nap-dog-shirt/