There are many roads to success in the fashion world

It's not only Black students who stand to benefit from this push toward inclusion. Without diversity, full and rich, the industry will never reach its full creative potential. "When more than half of the student body have an identical background," says Gunn, "you have no one to challenge the status quo."

Fashion clout: 9. Patrick Robinson created looks for Giorgio Armani and Perry Ellis before his four-year stint heading Gap's design team. 10. Kevan Hall is known for his red carpet--worthy styles. Queen Latifah and Vanessa Williams are fans. 11. Williwear's Willi Smith, whose work appeared in Spike Lee's School Daze, rose to fame with brightly hued trendsetting "street couture" pieces. 12. Stephen Burrows is one of five designers who represented American fashion in a historic show in Versailles, France, in 1973.

BEHIND THE SCENES
There are many roads to success in the fashion world. Not every designer, Black or otherwise, can be in the spotlight or even wants to be. And few designers have the resources or even the interest in mounting a catwalk bacchanal. Wilkerson, with nearly three decades of experience, remains one of the industry's behind-the-scenes powerhouses, one who chooses to work for a major brand rather than running his or her own company. And Patrick Robinson, a contemporary of Reese's, dressed middle America during his four-year tenure as executive vice-president of Gap Global Design for adult and body, which lasted through spring 2011. Before that, he worked in Milan for Giorgio Armani and helmed Anne Klein in New York and Paco Rabanne in Paris. There are also Black designers working in the shadows at Burberry, Liz Claiborne, Coach and elsewhere. In Europe, biracial designer Olivier Rousteing made headlines this year when, at only 25, he took the reins at the French house Balmain, known for its rock-star aesthetic. And Lawrence Steele, who created Jennifer Aniston's dress for her wedding to Brad Pitt, now designs for the chic Italian label Aspesi All of these designers have found success on their own terms.

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