Rhonda P. Hill

"The power of fashion has the unique ability to transform identity and culture."

"What really moved me along was what we all witnessed last year, the injustices that were done to the marginalized communities."

"I just felt like this was the time."

"I had the time and this was the time to do it."

"I always wanted to elevate those voices, those hidden voices that we really didn’t know about, especially when it comes to black fashion makers who really did make a contribution to fashion."

"What he wanted to do was show that we were lawyers and doctors and school teachers and business people, and that we were a middle class that was upwardly mobile."

"He way he did this was, he had these beautiful portraits of African Americans dressed beautifully, hair, makeup, hats, jewelry."

"We too can have nice homes we too can have fine jewelry."

"Their market was really targeted to those that really could pay the bills."

"I mean, white women who wanted to have a dressmaker, and many of them, when you look back at what they did, a lot of the fashion press."

"They speak highly of these women and the quality of what they make."

"They were defined as dressmakers and seamstresses."

"They would be defined as designers."

"In 1939, Blount had a beautiful body of work of these miniature hats and she presented them at the World’s Fair at the time."

"And the story goes that David Selznick’s wife was at the World’s Fair and saw her hats and the hats really depicted the film Gone with the Wind."

"The history is that Mildred did make those hats."

"The power of fashion lies in its ability to transform identity and culture."

"They are a courageous breed of designers who are going against the commercialized trend of 'more is more' and giving artistic value, a cultural face, and environmental consciousness to fashion."

"I see today's fashion industry as a mega commercial machine that creates seasonal trends with a frenzied frequent flow of merchandise that is unprecedented."

"Some stores flow new goods every week."

"Designers and the creative teams are burned out and are producing like robots."

"What we see in the stores is the result of that too much, too often, too much of the same, that lacks quality and purpose."

"As an industry, we have dramatically moved away from an artistic and conscious practice."

"The fashion industry, at large, has become a high speed, disposable garment driven industry fueled by marketing and hype."

"This unsustainable roller coaster has no end in sight."

"My background is fashion merchandising and marketing."

"My leadership role in the companies I worked for VP, Disney Consumer Products; Product Development, Levi Strauss & Co.; Buyer, Macy's; Director of Marketing, adidas accessories was to create, lead, and implement products from concept to in-store."

"I was directing the entire process from design, to sourcing, to sell in and sell through in the stores."

"I understand the complexity of bringing a profitable product to life."

"It is not easy and you really have to know the profile of your consumer, the psychology of their buying behavior, and be steps ahead of them on what they will want in the future."

"By leveraging and building on my experience and contacts."

"EDGE fosters a global network of fashion industry professionals, educators, and the arts."

"For those of us in the industry who support the same principles and philosophy for where the industry should be headed."

"We collaborate and engage with each other."

"We share our resources, support, and promote our efforts."

"An example of this is my relationship with the Art Institute of California."

"I have judged their annual student fashion show and usually publish an editorial piece; review the graduating senior’s portfolio show."