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Dominique Drakeford (@dominquedrakeford) is a thought-leader, environmental justice educator, social and cultural sustainability writer, youth development and community engagement advocate, an equity-based public speaker and a creative director is sustainable fashion.
She is the Founder of @MelaninASS, a digital interview based magazine briging 'MELANIN to the forefront of sustainable fashion, natural beauty, wellness and agriculture'. She is also the co-founder of @sustainablebk and the co-host of @kaleandcognac podcast.
Tell us about yourself!
WOAH such a massive question, but I think the heartbeat of who I am is a young spirit and old soul that continuously evolving. As I continue to hone in on self development, my passion and presence continues to mold alongside it.
I wear many hats in the world of Black womanhood and sustainability, but I think, most importantly, I'm continuously weaving the strands of my past, present and future to truly build a new paradigm for how we see, understand and align with regenerative sustainability in a modern context.
With that being said, I'm fluid in my personal and professional work in the sense that sometimes I'm working on 100 projects at once and other times I force stillness to understand self and community. I'm an adventurer, a writer, a chess player, a role model, a community advocate, a style icon and most importantly a soon to be mom.
How does MelaninASS bring together sustainability, fashion, beauty and wellbeing, and what does it aim to achieve?
MelaninASS started because there was a very clear deficit in sustainable fashion story telling. The narrative lacked BIPOC communities throughout the media and throughout conversation of who were/have always been solutionist.
I created MelaninASS initially as an online interview-based magazine blog (if you will) to fill that void. It also celebrates our eclectic role in sustainable fashion. It wasn't long before it evolved to beauty, wellness and land justice - as all of these categories are intertwined in the same ecosystem.
Why is sustainable beauty and skincare important?
Beauty has become such an interesting ideal to me. Now that I'm more ingrained in this work - I understand beauty very holistically and perhaps even abstractly.
Beauty embodies:
All of this reflects how you physically show up in the world. Skincare is literally just one small aspect of it.
It's important to understand that even skin is not just what you put on your skin... it's also what you eat, drink, how much you sleep, etc. I think a lot of folks are realising that so much of these 'categories' are no longer linear.
Our skin is the largest organ and it's literally sponge that communicate with us either immediately or over time. For me - my skin is an immediate communicator because it's so sensitive.
From fake/costume jewelry to harsh chemicals - my skin notifies if I'm not treating it in a sustainable manner - so sustainable skincare is crucial for me. Ingredients matter when developing a relationship with your body and of course - making sure that I'm supporting small business, Black and POC communities first and foremost is a priority to sustainable beauty and self/community care.
As a consumer, what are some of your tips for being conscious and sustainable?
To find out more, follow her handles on IG (@dominquedrakeford; @MelaninASS, @sustainablebk and @kaleandcognac) or check out her website (https://www.dominiquedrakeford.com/).
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