Hamilton helps to showcase emerging Black designers
At this year’s Met Gala, Lewis Hamilton bought a whole table so that he could showcase three up-and-coming Black designers.
The tables – which can cost up to $30,000 – are typically purchased by some of the industry’s biggest and most popular brands and creatives, who usually invite some of the celebrities that they have dressed for the event to sit alongside them.
However, Hamilton somewhat broke from that tradition with this gesture and in doing so, continued to demonstrate his desire to showcase and promote Black designers.
The event was cancelled last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but fashion’s biggest night was back in action yesterday evening under the lights of New York City.
It was co-hosted by tennis star Naomi Osaka, singer Billie Eilish, poet Amanda Gorman and actor Timoth̩e Chalamet and saw a host of celebrities in attendance Рfundraising for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The seven-time Formula One champion, who started The Hamilton Commission in order to improve Black representation within UK motorsport, is said to believe that the fashion industry should be giving more opportunities to designers and brands so that they can get their names, and work, out there.
Lewis Hamilton bought a whole table at the New York Met Gala in order to showcase young Black designers 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BqNC3pmUkc
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 14, 2021
Hamilton decided to invite Theophilio, Kenneth Nicholson, and Jason Rembert – whose work had impressed the F1 driver over the past year and a half – to join him on his table, with the aim of helping to diversify the fashion industry and also showcase the theme of the event, which was: ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’.
Speaking to Vogue in an interview, the 36-year-old said: “The Met is the biggest fashion event of the year, and for this theme, I wanted to create something that was meaningful and would spark a conversation so that when people see us all together, it will put these Black designers at the top of people’s minds.”
Away from the track, Hamilton has once again demonstrated his desire to promote Black talent and ensure that people remain aware of the issues that are faced on a daily basis.
