Fe Noel: A Fierce Fashion Designer

Fe Noel or Felisha, is an entrepreneur who used her background in finance to create a fashion line for women. Fe Noel was born in the Caribbean, on the island of Grenada. She worked in finance, but always wanted to create and design clothes for females and have a lifestyle brand which has an outside the box philosophy. In the Caribbean, she has fond memories of her grandmother, waterfalls and passion fruit juice. Her studio is based in Brooklyn, New York and she has emerged as a trailblazer for the modern women who has a strong yet feminine style. Noel’s mantra; “eat well, travel often and dress to inspire.” Fe Noel has been featured in a multitude of fashion media and made it into Vogue US, her first runway show debuted in 2015. Noel uses her fashion platform to raise awareness of her Grenadian heritage, African/African-American influences and girl/women power. She has worked on collaborations representative of the Fe Noel line. Her clothes highlight animal and modern prints, some influenced by musicians such as; Beyonce (she was featured in a clip), Janelle Morae and Mary J. Blige as well as athlete, Lebron James. Fe Noel states her clothes make females feel beautiful and couture changes attitude, evokes emotion and will change the way a woman carries herself. Fe Noel would like to be known as a fashion designer and not labelled as solely, African American. Noel collaborated with Lebron James and Nike to design a sneaker for women; The Strongest: Kicks. It is sporty, yet one can wear the sneaker’s string as a bracelet or choker. The campaign shows Noel modeling the sneaker in an ad campaign, demonstrating strength, culture and female empowerment. She created a feminine varsity jersey which is a sheer pale green with sparkles. It says chosen on the front and her name is written on the back. It has the number 23 which is her mother’s birthday and is Lebron’s number. The Call Me Sparkle company created an initiative with Noel’s concept of “dream in color”. They did a campaign featuring a confident black girl, modeling liquid gold or lame golden pants in a variety of styles. The target market, young girls and toddlers who are inspired to aim for the golden glow of ambition and enjoy creative energy. The collaboration focused on sustainability because Fe Noel wants to find a way to cut down on fabric waste and be resourceful. Fe did a project with Chicago’s Afro Cuban artist, Harmonia Rosales. Rosales’ paintings focus on African women and black and female empowerment. She recreates historical artwork, illustrating images of darker women in Renaissance Eurocentric art work. Rosales painted; “Black Imagery to Counter Hegemony” or B.I.T.C.H. (2017). A painting says; “I Exist” and speaks to identity and recognition. Rosales depicts a dark skinned women emerging from a shell, resembling Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. Both women refer to this woman as a goddess named: The Birth of Oshun. She did a version of Michelangelo’s painting, The Creation of Adam, which expresses her feelings concerning her divorce and another work shows a black female on a cross. Select Bloomingdale’s, featured a Lion King theme, in which Fe Noel’s crop tops, pants, and skirts were sold. Some clothes have an animal and scenic prints and some items are styled with a tropical motifs. The Fe Noel Foundation enables young females with entrepreneurial ambitions to get a head start in their field. She began this program when she tutored an aspiring fashion designer to achieve her goals, as Fe was self taught and began her design career at 19. This cause is important to her business model and is the heart and soul of the brand identity. One can read more about the foundation on the website with company details, a look book and updates. The site is filled with t shaped bathing suits, neutral, black, olive, coral and taupe fashion. Brighter colored solids and print tops, pants and dresses make Fe Noel a prestigious fashion label. Fe Noel recently had her 2020 Fall/Winter fashion show at NYFW, the runway was filled with sheer tops and slinky dresses in many shades of color and texture.