It’s no secret that Black creativity heavily influences fashion, but when it comes to ownership – we’re still trying to catch up. Toronto entrepreneur Sandra Hamilton is stepping up to the plate by bringing both her creativity and her business savvy to a new line of empowering tees, hoodies, and sweatshirts she calls SDHtoronto.
“I am very excited to present our collections. We hope you enjoy wearing our pieces as much as we enjoyed designing them,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton’s journey to designing the collection came after some soul searching. The fashion school graduate and former international Basketball champion founded the company three years ago after experiencing a series of car accidents that left her feeling depressed and unmotivated.
“I found myself depressed and not wanting to do much until I picked up my iPad and iPencil and started drawing again. I hadn’t drawn since I was a little girl. As I drew images, I would imagine them being on clothing that I’d love to wear,” she said.
After discovering her love of drawing again, Hamilton started to think about how little we as Black people are represented in the clothing and designs. After graduating with a Fashion Technique and Design degree in 1988, Hamilton worked for a few designers and during that time, she discovered how important diversity in design is — especially if those designs carry a message.
The brand’s most popular item is their Black Intelligence tee.The shirt went viral in the summer of 2020 as protests swept the country. While the words are powerful themselves, Hamilton says she was inspired to design the shirt with a military style font to bring attention to what she calls the “subconscious soldier” that all Black people have inside.
“When people wear this shirt, I want them to feel like superheroes, protected and confident in their ability,” Hamilton emphasized.
SDHtoronto’s other designs also embody a message of empowerment and Black pride. The brand’s latest release is an HBCU collection that features hoodies with the West African Adinkra symbol for strength and humility. The hoodies come in a variety of popular school colors so you can represent your HBCU with pride.
Shop SDHtoronto today.
Save 20% off the HBCU collection with code HBCU20
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