Refinery 29 - From Cloud Face Masks To Gender-Fluid Clothing, Phlemuns Is Breaking The Fashion Mold
“I exist in the gray areas,” James Flemons, the designer and founder of L.A.-based unisex label Phlemuns, says about being Black, queer, and sexually-fluid in fashion — an industry where those who don’t fall under the categories of cis-gender and white are often overlooked. But it’s being a part of these marginalized communities that makes Flemons the designer that he is: one who creates clothing for everyone, no matter who they are or what gender they identify with.
Flemons founded his eponymous brand in 2013 directly after graduating with a degree in product development from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. In the years since, he’s released five collections, starting with a small denim capsule and culminating in a line of sustainable and gender-bending ready-to-wear that’s been praised by the likes Lil Nas X, Kelsey Lu, and Paloma Elsesser, among other fashion favorites.
