Lorna Morris
Lorna Morris
Ahead of the Curve(s)
Ahead of the Curve(s)
On the first day of classes at Spelman College, a surprise visitor lined the shoulders of students across campus, carrying them into a new semester.
This guest needs no introduction, as chances are, you’ve personally witnessed the Curves tote bag epidemic on campus.
Sean Brown, the Toronto-based designer, entrepreneur and co-founder of the brand, is no stranger to the creative world. He has led ventures through “Interim" by The Art of Reuse; NEEDS&WANTS; HYPATIA and sq ft Magazine. He has overseen creative direction with artists like Daniel Ceasar and Normani, as well as with brands like Spotify and RIMOWA.
Curves by Sean Brown reinterprets the traditional bag. It still serves the same purpose, but the perspective has been shifted.
Through his steadily growing line of contemporary pieces, which began with home decor and expanded to bags and loungewear, Brown poses the question: “How can one add a layer of complexity to an ordinary object?”
Women at Spelman College are just a sample of the larger population of investors in the Curves frenzy. The tote exists well beyond Spelman’s campus. Brown’s bag – and many similar ones, such as Telfar, Glamaholic and Musthavejoy – are being worn by Black women everywhere. Black women continue to set the “curve” by investing in the culture for us, by us.
The exclusivity does not phase the Black female consumer, who is not daunted by rapid stockouts or slower shipping; “good things take time” and these brands have established a relationship with their consumers that stands the test of increased demand.
By investing in Black-owned fashion brands, Black women have supported their community's socioeconomic status, reinforcing the power of "the black dollar."
This phrase and “double-duty dollar” emerged in the early 20th century with the rise of Black Wall Street and was popularized by influential Black figures such as Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey and Dr. Gordon B. Hancock.
Washington and Garvey urged the Black community to practice group economics and intentional spending, to redirect the “dollar” towards Black businesses. Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) focused heavily on racial self-sufficiency and group economics.
His initiatives such as the Negro Factories Corporation and the Black Star Line, mobilized working-class Black people to pool their money and buy shares, building independent grocery stores, laundromats, publishing houses and factories.
In 1895 Washington stated in his Atlanta Exposition speech that, “the opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than to spend a dollar in an opera house,” urging practical economic self-reliance and vocational progress over spending on leisure.
Later in 1900 Washington founded the National Negro Business League in Boston, and this organization promoted commercial and financial development among the Black community encouraging the circulation of the “black dollar.”
Hancock was a prominent sociologist, minister and professor. He popularized the conceptual economic framework of the “Double Duty Dollar” in 1925, and slogans like “Don’t buy where you can’t work,” surrounding Black consumer power to combat discriminatory hiring during the Jim Crow era.
Hancock believed that spending money within the Black community served two purposes. First, to procure necessary goods and services for everyday life, and second, keep currency circulating locally to create jobs, combat cyclical poverty and foster financial independence.
His strategy was designed to encourage “selective patronage,” urging Black consumers to redirect their spending away from businesses that refused to hire Black workers and toward those that supported them.
These past philosophies and strategies are still reflected statistically in the Black community today. Economically, the community remains invested in pouring into companies and brands that pour into them.
Nielsen LLC, a global marketing research firm, released a financial report on the Black community in February 2026.
“With a projected buying power of $2.1 trillion in 2026, Black consumers deliver significant economic impact,” said Nielsen. “Black consumers agree they pay more attention to brands that reflect their culture compared to 46 percent overall.”
The facts don’t lie. The Black community’s economic influence extends even further with Black consumers responding more when brands authentically display their culture.
The Black community’s economic power is evident and felt, especially in moments of strife.
On the first day of classes at Spelman College, a surprise visitor lined the shoulders of students across campus, carrying them into a new semester.
This guest needs no introduction, as chances are, you’ve personally witnessed the Curves tote bag epidemic on campus.
Sean Brown, the Toronto-based designer, entrepreneur and co-founder of the brand, is no stranger to the creative world. He has led ventures through “Interim" by The Art of Reuse; NEEDS&WANTS; HYPATIA and sq ft Magazine. He has overseen creative direction with artists like Daniel Ceasar and Normani, as well as with brands like Spotify and RIMOWA.
Curves by Sean Brown reinterprets the traditional bag. It still serves the same purpose, but the perspective has been shifted.
Through his steadily growing line of contemporary pieces, which began with home decor and expanded to bags and loungewear, Brown poses the question: “How can one add a layer of complexity to an ordinary object?”
Women at Spelman College are just a sample of the larger population of investors in the Curves frenzy. The tote exists well beyond Spelman’s campus. Brown’s bag – and many similar ones, such as Telfar, Glamaholic and Musthavejoy – are being worn by Black women everywhere. Black women continue to set the “curve” by investing in the culture for us, by us.
The exclusivity does not phase the Black female consumer, who is not daunted by rapid stockouts or slower shipping; “good things take time” and these brands have established a relationship with their consumers that stands the test of increased demand.
By investing in Black-owned fashion brands, Black women have supported their community's socioeconomic status, reinforcing the power of "the black dollar."
This phrase and “double-duty dollar” emerged in the early 20th century with the rise of Black Wall Street and was popularized by influential Black figures such as Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey and Dr. Gordon B. Hancock.
Washington and Garvey urged the Black community to practice group economics and intentional spending, to redirect the “dollar” towards Black businesses. Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) focused heavily on racial self-sufficiency and group economics.
His initiatives such as the Negro Factories Corporation and the Black Star Line, mobilized working-class Black people to pool their money and buy shares, building independent grocery stores, laundromats, publishing houses and factories.
In 1895 Washington stated in his Atlanta Exposition speech that, “the opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than to spend a dollar in an opera house,” urging practical economic self-reliance and vocational progress over spending on leisure.
Later in 1900 Washington founded the National Negro Business League in Boston, and this organization promoted commercial and financial development among the Black community encouraging the circulation of the “black dollar.”
Hancock was a prominent sociologist, minister and professor. He popularized the conceptual economic framework of the “Double Duty Dollar” in 1925, and slogans like “Don’t buy where you can’t work,” surrounding Black consumer power to combat discriminatory hiring during the Jim Crow era.
Hancock believed that spending money within the Black community served two purposes. First, to procure necessary goods and services for everyday life, and second, keep currency circulating locally to create jobs, combat cyclical poverty and foster financial independence.
His strategy was designed to encourage “selective patronage,” urging Black consumers to redirect their spending away from businesses that refused to hire Black workers and toward those that supported them.
These past philosophies and strategies are still reflected statistically in the Black community today. Economically, the community remains invested in pouring into companies and brands that pour into them.
Nielsen LLC, a global marketing research firm, released a financial report on the Black community in February 2026.
“With a projected buying power of $2.1 trillion in 2026, Black consumers deliver significant economic impact,” said Nielsen. “Black consumers agree they pay more attention to brands that reflect their culture compared to 46 percent overall.”
The facts don’t lie. The Black community’s economic influence extends even further with Black consumers responding more when brands authentically display their culture.
The Black community’s economic power is evident and felt, especially in moments of strife.