Before the Black Fashion Revolution in 2020, one woman decided to take matters into her own hands in 2007. Founder Sherri McMullen of the namesake Oakland boutique sought to bring emerging luxury and Black designers to the forefront. This year, McMullen marks 15 years of business with an exclusive curation, an exciting launch, and cementing McMullen the store and the fashion innovator herself as a powerhouse in the industry. 

“It’s been quite a journey over the last 15 years,” McMullen tells ESSENCE. “Thinking about where we started in our small but beautiful space on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland to where we are today with a growing retail business. It feels really good.” 

Fashion has always been prevalent in McMullen’s life. She reminisces on her early days in Oklahoma. She has a keen eye on what the women in her family, or fashion icons as she described, flaunted, from headscarves and shift dresses to cowboy boots and kaftans. That inspiration led her to pursue a business degree in college, becoming a buyer for Neiman Marcus, Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn Kids. Once her journey landed in Oakland, California, McMullen was galvanized by the city, which determined her willingness to own her own. “There’s so much history in Oakland, and I fell in love with the city’s spirit, the sense of community, how people were embracing…