our mission

Noir Fashion Week (NFW) is the premier platform for BIPOC designers to showcase their cutting-edge collections to a global audience. We convene industry leaders, top buyers, and influential media in the world's major fashion capitals to experience the best of BIPOC design. Our exclusive events guarantee unparalleled exposure, high-impact partnerships, and accelerated brand growth. NFW is dedicated to providing the essential resources, networks, and visibility to empower BIPOC designers to not only participate in the global fashion industry but to redefine its future.

 

Meet the Founder

Nichole M. Bess, globally recognized fashion industry leader and Founder of Noir Fashion Week, began her fashion public relations career in New York with industry pioneers Russell and Kimora Lee Simons and Super Model Naomi Campbell/NC Connect. 20 years later, her work has been featured in Entrepreneur, Vogue, Italian Vogue, Forbes, CNN, Ebony, 106 & Park, CBS, and Cosmopolitan, just to name a few. She found that seeing an entrepreneur's dream come true was both fulfilling and gratifying.

In 2022, Ms. Bess changed her trajectory by creating a traveling fashion week production entitled NOIR FASHION WEEK. NFW aims to empower BIPOC designers by connecting them to sustainable resources and profitable opportunities globally for foundational success in perpetuity. The platform has hosted over 35 BIPOC designers each season in Soho, NY. Since its inception, the unprecedented start-up has gained the attention of leading global industry leaders, press and invest-mentors. NFW is set to be an industry power platform with its disruptive style of inclusion.

Ms. Bess will be launching We Belong Here Global Master Class and Foundation by Summer 24'. These initiatives will help aid in the advancement of bipoc designers budding careers through global master class intiative held in Paris, France. The Foundation will cover the areas of Higher Education, Capital and Mentorship. She is consistently implementing creative strategy that institutes progression.

 
 

Meet The CEO

Priscilla Chigariro, the newly appointed CEO of Noir Fashion Week in 2025, is an award-winning entrepreneur and visionary leader with a passion for cultural heritage and creative innovation. She founded Zimbabwe Fashion Week Trust in 2009 and serves as Chairman of the Hunhu Council of Fashion, advocating for diverse voices in the fashion industry. Named CEO GLOBAL South Africa Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, Priscilla has also launched the Africa Art, Fashion, and Food Festivals and The Driven Group, alongside philanthropic efforts through the PC Foundation. Her leadership and commitment to social change position her to take Noir Fashion Week to new heights.