21 Stellar Gifts From Black-Owned Luxury Brands, From Bourbon to Bedding

Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God revved up streetwear staples, taking styles like hoodies and sweats to new heights. Take this example, rendered in an ultra-soft merino wool so cozy you might not want to take it off.

Khiry’s Jameel Mohammed brought a new vision to the world of fine jewelry, one rooted in Afro-futurism, collections that reflected his culture. And since launching his label in 2016, Kihiry is now one of the buzziest jewelry brands around, worn by celebs far and wide. 

After 20 years on Wall Street, Marvina Robinson became the first Black American woman to own a Champagne brand when she opened B. Stuyvesant, an award-winning label, in 2019. While she produces a variety of delicious bottles, the demi-sec (a blend of 80 percent Pinot Meunier and 20 percent Pinot Noir) has a well-rounded profile that tastes and feels especially celebratory.

Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton, a Brooklyn-based oculofacial plastic surgeon, has gotten rave reviews for her highly effective and delightfully packaged skin care line, Epi.Logic. All of its products are formulated to be gentle on the skin while still producing noticeable results. The best way to experience them may be to try her cleanser, toner, growth factor serum, and moisturizer all at once.

TRNK has been curating a global assortment of furniture and home decor for over a decade, but owner Tariq Dixon’s in-house line may be the brand’s best offering. Take the sleek Segment side table—available in stone, wood veneer, or lacquer—which will add a touch of modernity to any interior.

Whether you need to store blankets, logs for the fire, or any number of goods, Baba Tree’s handmade African baskets handle the task with a stylish, graphic punch.

Like all of her designs, Grace Wales Bonner’s cozy Fair Isle sweater injects a dose of modernity into a heritage aesthetic. Plus, the side buttons make it ultra easy to slip on and off.

Saint Liberty, the Texas-based distillery behind a number of great bourbons and rye whiskeys, offers a literal taste of Black history with this trio of bottles dedicated to infamous bootleggers Mary Curley, Bertie Brown, and Josephine Doody. And the company isn’t just using their names: The rye named after Doody, for example, uses water from the same source—the Crystal River—as the original that inspired it.

If you’re shopping for a guy who likes a clean shave—or for a young man who’s just learning how to tame his facial hair—Bevel’s shave kit is a great option. Its products and tools were designed to help curb ingrown hairs, an issue that’s especially prevalent for Black men, but that can affect anyone who shaves.

Chris Collins, the Ralph Lauren model turned entrepreneur and perfumer, knows a thing or two about being a renaissance man, which might explain why his fragrance of the same name is so uniquely adaptable. The freshness of its bright top notes (marine accord, bergamot, and ginger) is grounded by its long-lasting base notes (tonka bean, tobacco, and leather). It’s designed to smell great at all points of your day, and it delivers.

To write her James Beard Award-winning book The Jemima Code, journalist Toni Tipton-Martin studied two centuries’ worth of African American cookbooks to understand their impact on cooking in America. As a follow-up to that history, she has adapted recipes from that cache of cookbooks to create meals for the modern kitchen.

If you want a good way to keep dry winter skin at bay, reach for Epara’s deeply moisturizing mask. It’s filled with plankton extract and marula oil, which help to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation as well as fine lines and wrinkles. It’s good all over your face, but in a study, the company found that 95 percent of users thought it was particularly hydrating around the eyes.

In the words of Robb Report‘s watches and jewelry editor Paige Reddinger, “You can’t go wrong with malachite studs, especially from Mateo.” Mateo, a New York jewelry studio, uses the brilliant stones to great effect, surrounding them with round diamonds and mounting them on 14-karat gold. They’re a modern heirloom that won’t go out of style.

If you’re in the market for something even more striking, try one of Harwell Godfrey’s moon-shaped pendants. They’re offered in a variety of stone inlays (like mother of pearl and turquoise) that the studio makes to order. But if you know a glamorous eccentric who likes lapis lazuli, there’s a version with that inlay available to ship right now.

Few people know what makes a good bag better than Byron and Dexter Peart, who sold their first venture, Want Les Essentiels, in 2017. Their new business, Goodee, launched last year and offers consciously made home goods and accessories under their own label (as well as a variety of wares made by other brands). This market tote, made by refugees in Italy using handwoven fabric from Burkina Faso, supports artisans all over the world.

Belgian linen is known for its remarkable longevity—and for the way it gets softer with each successive wash. Linoto, a New York-based homewares company, sources long-staple flax fibers from European mills to craft its most luxurious bedding offering, which can be customized for everything from a shallow twin mattress to an extra-deep California King.

Since launching the label in 2013, Aurora James has offered an incredible assortment of shoes that are as playful as they are practical. She initially just catered to women, but since the introduction of the Greg mule, men can now experience the style and comfort that’s integral to her brand, Brother Vellies.

It’s hard to be a conscious consumer and still feel cozy under a blanket made out of materials that are bad for the planet. Johanna Howard’s dip-dyed throw, made from soft baby alpaca hair in a fair-trade certified textile studio in Peru, is a guilt-free way to get warm—and it comes in myriad color combinations, so you’ll be able to suit nearly any decor.

There’s nothing that enhances a cozy atmosphere in the winter quite like a scented candle. Harlem Candle Co. has packaged its four best-selling candles, including a special holiday offering scented with winter spruce, in one convenient package.

Looking for a gift that you can build on in the future? Try one of London-based jeweler Thelma West’s Embrace bracelets that features trapeze-shaped one-carat diamonds made from 24 grams of recycled 18-karat gold cut. They’re flexible thanks to an inner wire, so they can fit any wrist. And because they come in black-treated-, rose-, white- or yellow gold, you can gift one each year to create a stack for someone very special. Even one would make for a rather generous present and a serious statement about town. 

Inspired by her grandmother’s collection of brightly colored glassware, Stephanie Summerson Hall offers modern updates on the originals she remembers from childhood through her South Carolina-based company Estelle. You could, of course, buy six wine glasses of the same striking color, or you can create your own mix with this customizable set. Regardless of color, the glasses’ angular shape should prove especially helpful for opening up bold reds.