Exploring the legacy of black fashion design

Boots designed by Stella Jean and Christian Louboutin. [Photo/Agencies]

"Designers of color don't get a lot of publicity and so many of the businesses are not sizable. It's tough to get recognition," Reese says, standing amid rows of mannequins spanning decades of diverse black voices in fashion.

Reese's father provided initial startup money when she first went into business for herself.

"I had to go out and get loans. I did a lot of paper writing. A lot of business planning. I had to have a lot of assistance because I didn't have business training," she says. "That's usually what a banker wants to see, or a financial person. It's a kind of closed industry. And as difficult as it is for a person of color, you really have to rise through the ranks high enough to grab the attention of the people who are holding the purse strings."

Smalls, who grew up in Queens, knew at 8 or 9 that she wanted to be a fashion designer. She went to the High School of Art and Design, followed by Parsons School of Design.

"When I graduated Parsons, being African-American, it was not easy for me to get a job. It was just not easy. I couldn't fathom that I would be able to support myself with my own collection. They don't say anything. I mean, you know. It's just you don't get the job. I could tell you a horrible story, but I won't," says Smalls, who worked in relative obscurity until 2012, when Obama first wore some of her pieces.

Banks, at 63 the oldest of the three, has focused on menswear over his decades in the business, adding home decor and childrenswear in more recent years selling on HSN.

"I was very lucky in that I met Ralph Lauren when I was 16. I started working for him when I was 17, three weeks out of high school and two months before I started college."