“Within your entrepreneurial journey, you can not worry about what other people think of you, say about you, or even do to you. Do not hold back and suppress your passion out of fear of being set apart from everyone else who refuses to dream just a little bit. Do not hold back on the very dream that is resting on your heart, ready to be fueled and ignited by you simply choosing to ‘just start’ and do the work.
Stand up. Show up. And, dream.”
Flora Tenille West, Class of 2022
Flora Tenille West
Introducing FLORAL SEA (or The House of FLORAL SEA), a conceptual fashion house and design studio founded in September 2019 by multidisciplinary artist, designer, and entrepreneur, Flora Tenille West.
About FLORAL SEA
FLORAL SEA (or The House of FLORAL SEA) is a conceptual fashion house and design studio founded in September 2019 by multidisciplinary artist, designer, and entrepreneur, Flora Tenille West. The brand showcases sustainably- and ethically-made entry-luxury collections that prioritize fashion-forward aesthetics, artistic expression, and cultural inclusivity at the forefront of design and brand experience — exhibiting how both style and sustainability can coexist within high-end contemporary fashion. The independent designer label is known for its reinvention of the flower symbol and ‘floral-inspired’ design aesthetic.
How it Began:
FLORAL SEA was launched in response to the lack of diversity and inclusivity of Black + Latinx beauty, style, and culture in today’s sustainable fashion movement. West desired to wear sustainably- and ethically-made contemporary fashion that expressed her cultural and aesthetic interests. However, West realized that sustainable fashion was dominated by a singular POV that excluded fashion-forward style options and consumers like her: Black, Latinx, and multicultural.
Historically, sustainable fashion has always been defined by its relationship to whiteness, leaving BIPOC representation a mere afterthought. As an Afro-Latina, West recognizes that she, along with BIPOC + multicultural communities, continues to be unrepresented and underserved voices in sustainable fashion. Moreover, sustainable fashion is presented as an exclusive style choice rather than an opportunity for everyone. To have sustainably- and ethically-made clothes, you have to compromise your own style and fashion-forward aesthetics.
Completely fed up with the industry’s current state, West found an opportunity to restyle the fashion and beauty narrative by creating a sustainable and ethical fashion house that prioritizes fashion-forward aesthetics, individualistic style, and cultural inclusivity at the forefront of design and brand experience. Through FLORAL SEA, West is committed to utilizing art and fashion as social agents to uplift, empower, and drive change for underrepresented beauty, style, and culture in today’s fashion scene.
FLORAL SEA
Website:
Industry:
Designer Fashion and Accessories
Mission:
To pioneer and showcase a new POV in sustainable and ethical fashion that’s culturally and aesthetically inclusive.
Year Founded:
2019
