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Featured Image Credit: Autumn Ellison
College, for many, is a revolving door of first impressions. For Autumn Ellison, it became the birthplace of her empire. In 2018, as a student at Hampton University, she noticed how campus life demanded constant reinvention. Dorm hallways were makeshift runways, the cafeteria doubled as a stage, and her peers wanted to look curated for every moment from classes to homecoming. Fashion was not just about getting dressed. It was about declaring who you were, over and over again.
It was in this world that So.Fvshionable was born. What began as a dorm room hustle, sourcing pieces, styling her friends, and playing photographer, model, and creative director quickly evolved into a brand that blended personal style with business acumen. “You use what you have until you have more,” she says. For Autumn, that meant trading sleep for strategy and turning scrappiness into a superpower. Authenticity was not a marketing hook; it was the currency she traded in.
That authenticity caught on. From her first curated drops, So.Fvshionable grew into a digital community with thousands of women returning not just for clothing but for connection. Each launch became an event. Every item, from thrifted treasures to trend-aware staples, carried her curatorial stamp. But what really made it resonate was her ability to tell a story through style.
For Autumn, clothes are never just clothes. They are narrative devices. “When I am curating, I am asking myself, who is she, and what story is she telling about herself today?” she explains. That framing has become the DNA of So.Fvshionable, not simply moving product but offering a language of self-expression.
Confidence, she insists, is nonnegotiable. But her definition is more radical than the buzzword suggests. For Autumn, confidence is audacity—the refusal to wait for permission to belong. As a Black woman navigating an industry that has historically excluded women who look like her, she decided early that if the industry would not make space, she would build her own table. That audacity sits at the heart of So.Fvshionable. It is why her customers do not just shop; they align themselves with a way of moving through the world.
Her eye is both trend-aware and timeless. She pulls inspiration from runways, social feeds, and cultural memory, knowing when to lean into what is current but refusing to sacrifice individuality for algorithms. Her brand champions style that transcends what is hot right now. Each piece is selected with longevity in mind, ensuring her Fvshion Girls are not just dressed for the moment but for every reinvention of themselves to come.
Programs like Target’s $100K Retail Incubator and Goldman Sachs Black in Business did not just offer her mentorship; they offered a window into how access and resources shift power. “Opportunities feel like finding a needle in a haystack, but when you have them, you realize how much power comes from resources and money,” she said. The lesson was clear. If every Black founder had access like this, the entire landscape of fashion would look different.
Yet, even with recognition, she has never lost sight of her “why.” So.Fvshionable is more than a brand; it is a cultural conversation. She envisions it as a hub where Black women can see themselves not just as consumers but as muses, leaders, and innovators. To her, fashion is both mirror and megaphone, a way to archive where we have been and to imagine where we are going.
The road has not been without obstacles. Navigating tariffs, shifting markets, and the volatility of digital business has tested her grit. But Autumn, a self-proclaimed history buff, looks at those challenges with perspective. “Every generation of Black women has had to find ways to make something out of nothing,” she says. “I do not see these as roadblocks; I see them as part of the blueprint.”
Her advice to young Black women chasing their own ventures is simple but potent. Make audacity part of your DNA. “Do not wait for validation,” she urges. “If you have a vision, build it with what is in your hands right now. People respect boldness even before they understand it.”
As she looks to the future, Autumn sees So.Fvshionable not just as a brand but as a legacy. She dreams of a storefront that doubles as a community space, a place where women come not only to shop but to be inspired, educated, and reminded of their own brilliance. In her mind’s eye, it looks less like a boutique and more like the vibrant mall scenes of her youth, where women gathered to browse, laugh, and create memories. “I want So.Fvshionable to feel like that,” she says. “A space where style and soul meet.”
From a dorm room at Hampton U to the pages of national magazines, Autumn Ellison has built more than a brand. She has built a movement rooted in resilience, storytelling, and the belief that every woman deserves to be seen. Her story is not one of overnight success but of audacity made flesh, proof that when style is married to vision, it becomes something enduring—something, in her words, that will always be So.Fvshionable.
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