The working wardrobe: Gabrielle Richardson

Trying to put your finger on exactly what model, artist, curator, entrepreneur (the list goes on) Gabrielle Richardson ‘does’ is remarkably tricky – and that’s just the way she likes it. “One of the challenges of being a multi-hyphenate creative is that some people don’t take you seriously. They assume you’re a jack of all trades, master of none, but I’m passionate about all sorts of disciplines.”

It was after moving from her home town of Philadelphia to study graphic design in New York that Richardson first started modeling, and she’s since gone on to star in campaigns for industry heavyweights such as Prada, Gucci and Adidas. Around the same time, Richardson also became involved with Art Hoe Collective, an art platform founded in 2015 to amplify the work of BIPOC and queer artists. “During those years, this generation of people raised online were transitioning into adulthood and really using the internet as a means of discussing the things that made them uncomfortable within society and taking the initiative to create the changes they wanted to see.”

Last year she launched Brown Girl Butterfly Project, an initiative aimed at providing Black/Brown women and non-binary people with self-care tools and instilling therapeutic practices in their communities. The idea came to Richardson after eye-opening days spent at Black Lives Matter protests in LA in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Actors Laura Harrier and Alexa Demie, plus musician Raveena Aurora, are among those who have volunteered their time to the cause.

“I didn’t actively pursue modeling, I kind of fell into it because I kept getting scouted after moving to New York. It’s not something I ever thought was an option for me, but some people in the industry recognized my otherness as something special. I might have fallen into modeling, but I have since fallen in love with it. Art and fashion are intertwined. I love working with a team to create something beautiful. I don’t think I am necessarily blazing a trail, but if seeing me occupy this space makes other people feel comfortable in their own skin, that’s really special.”

“My activism is often just a reaction to the things I’m seeing or going through. As someone who creates art, I became annoyed with the system and wanted to help create nurturing spaces for people like me, which is how I got involved in Art Hoe Collective. When I was younger, I believed everyone had a fair chance in the arts industry, regardless of race and gender, but as I got older I realized that just wasn’t true, that the industry was set up very unfairly, and I wanted to do something about it. Similarly, I started Brown Girl Butterfly Project after I suffered a chemical burn while protesting as part of Black Lives Matter. That’s how I realized I wanted to give the gift of self-care to other Black people going through this trauma.”