H Mystique Inc. : Essence

Haitian-American fashion designer, Azede Jean-Pierre's RTW Spring 2015 show was nothing less than spectacular. The longtime, one to watch designer of the fashion industry, showed exactly what she's made of.

Jean-Pierre recently dressed FLOTUS Michelle Obama for the August cover of Essence Magazine.

Jean-Pierre's collection was full of sheer fabric, and lace with leaf print separates, and more of her infamous animal imprints. The designer describes it as, "Mother nature walking through a park"

The designer also ventured into knits, with crop tops, skirts, and dresses with fringed details.

Shes a young designer who continues to grow and find herself. We look forward to see what else she has in stored.

By MYSTIQUE

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Barter bartering Black Women's Blueprint Branding Strategist Essence H Mystique Haiti

I was approached by a woman who recently moved back to Haiti, a little overwhelmed, but hopeful. The woman and I began chatting about our experiences as Haitian-Americans and the cultural shock or alienation that sometimes occurs in Haiti. It seemed as if we had a lot in common, but not only that, we both had gifts or talents that the other needed. She said to me, "What do you think if we agreed to a little barter?" She began to explain, but of course I had heard of bartering before.

Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money.^[1]

Bartering is something that has been done since the beginning of time, but in the tough economic times all over the world, bartering is making a come back. The offer was one that I couldn't refuse, and we immediately sealed the deal with a handshake.

I read a recent Essence article on a Brooklyn-based women's group called Black Women's Blueprint who have adopted the concept among their 200 members. Farah Tanis, Co-founder of the group says that their core principal is "Your struggle, is my struggle." An interesting way to look at the current state of affairs.

I'm sure a lot of people are saying, "show me the money", but sometimes what comes out of these agreements is better than what money can buy. Since, the woman has become a client of my branding company H. Mystique Inc., and has bought me two other clients and her brand has grown 25% in just two weeks. It's a win win!