At a time when headlines out of the White House were filled with controversy and everyday people felt like they were being left to figure things out on their own, designer Illy Cartier responded the way she knows best—through fashion that speaks loud and clear. Her latest collection, “Stolen UNSENSORED,” isn’t just about clothes. It’s about telling stories that history tried to cover up, and doing it through design that makes people stop and think.

Illy Cartier is a daughter of Southeast Washington, DC, and that influence runs through everything she creates. The city raised her, shaped her, and gave her the perspective she carries into her work. One of the strongest inspirations behind the collection is what many people know as Chocolate City, a nickname tied to DC’s deep Black cultural roots. The palette inspired by it reflects the spirit of the city and pays respect to the legacy of former mayor Marion Barry, whose leadership helped create opportunities and programs that uplifted Black communities across DC. For Illy, it’s personal. The colors represent the neighborhoods, youth programs, and everyday experiences that molded her growing up. In her eyes, DC doesn’t just inspire her creativity—DC owns Illy Cartier.

Another part of the collection looks deeper into a story many people don’t know about. The Lake Lanier and Oscarville palette pulls from the history of Oscarville, Georgia, which was once a thriving Black community where families owned land and built generational wealth. In 1912, white mobs violently forced residents out of the town, destroying everything they had built. Years later, the land was flooded to create what we now know as Lake Lanier. Today the water looks calm and peaceful, but beneath it sits the remains of an erased community. Through darker blues and muted tones, Illy uses the palette to hint at that quiet but heavy history, reminding people that what looks beautiful on the surface can sometimes hide painful truths.

The collection also touches on another piece of history tied to land.