Sunni Dixon on His Brand Sunni Sunni and Inclusion in the Fashion Industry

Aug 04, 2023

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The self-taught shoemaker's label, Sunni Sunni, is now carried in high-end retailers and worn by style icons like Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X.

Sunni Dixon's story seems to have happened quickly. The self-taught cordwainer founded the semi-eponymous brand Sunni Sunni, and within three years, it's carried in Saks and worn by style icons like Kendrick Lamar, Lil Nas X, Usher and Burna Boy. But getting there required long-term perseverance. Because before he founded Sunni Sunni, Dixon went to fashion school, studied artisanal shoe-making techniques, and navigated a culture that often excludes everything he stands for.

A Washington, D.C. native, Dixon’s journey began after he moved to New York City to attend the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM), from which he graduated in 2009. During his time at LIM, he worked at Andy’s Chee-Pees, an eclectic East Village vintage boutique that was popular throughout the 1980s (the store closed in 2010). It was next door to East Village Shoe Repair, where Dixon met owner-cobblers Boris and Eugene. The pair introduced him to the art of shoemaking—quite literally changing his life.

A cordwainer is a shoemaker who specializes in using raw leather—usually cordovan, or equine, leather—to create shoes from scratch. When Dixon committed to pursuing footwear after fashion school (and with the help of East Village Shoe Repair), he set out to master every step of this time-honored technique, from designing the cast to stamping and sewing the leather to attaching the soles and decorations. “Cordwaining, which is what I ended up teaching myself, is how to actually make something new from just leather,” Dixon says. “That was something that wasn't offered [in fashion school], and I had to find out and learn myself.”

With this new skill set, Dixon designed the genre- and gender-busting footwear that became the blueprint for Sunni Sunni. While learning the boot-designing process and cordwaining technique was far from easy, Dixon says that the scant offerings in the unisex shoe space—along with his love for the craft and other artists—is what kept him going. “Those kinds of styles for men just weren't around,” Dixon says. “You have different fashion people who wore women's heels and things like that, but that was still so new. And I feel like that was my edge.”

Reese, Sunni Sunni's signature ankle boot, has a sharp, square-toe outsole and a chunky block heel, and comes to the bottom of the calf for a functional fit. And then there's the instantly-recognizable Lonel, a backless mule with the same square-toe silhouette and a slightly higher 2.5" block heel.

Sunni Sunni, the brand, is a growing flame—and that’s no accident. Dixon has been intentional about preserving the brand’s labelless, craft-focused mystique.

“It's low-key. I try to keep intentional, unintentional,” he says. “But I think there's an innate low-key-ness to myself. Even the way I spread out collections, or how it's hitting the scene...I feel like it's something to get into once you see it. Everyone thinks they discovered it, and I like that feeling.”

I’m from the South (Atlanta, to be exact), and I was shocked and a little giddy when I noticed other Atlantans were hip to Sunni Sunni without knowing that the brand was Black-owned or much about Dixon himself, a signal of the brand’s growing cult status.

Looking objectively at the fashion industry and acknowledging the shifts that plus-size models and designers of color are facing post-Covid, Dixon says that he relies on his self-built community. While legacy New York retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are starting to dedicate space to Black creatives, it seems they still have to fight for visibility. In Dixon's case, being picked up in Saks wasn't part of the plan. But when the opportunity presented itself, it was a chance to reconsider his brand's potential.

“My first [purchase order] was $180,000, so I really had to figure out, How am I going to front the money?” Dixon says. “How am I going to do these things? And I mean, by the grace of God I had sales that could cover it, but it did put in the perspective of, What's next after this? I had to start recreating business plans and recreating structures. So, as much as it was exciting, it was extremely intimidating, too.”

Representation and equity matter, especially in fashion. And the calls for these needs are being felt throughout the industry. Echoing sentiments for more diversity and inclusion, Dixon sought out his own village that affirms his spot within the landscape; he wishes that other Black creatives got to feel that wealth of opportunity more often.

“I don't go anywhere I'm not wanted, so that makes it a lot easier," he explains. "I can feel when someone is saying no because no, not because there's a real reason. I will say there's a gap of Black talent welcomed into the industry, but I feel like at the same time, social media and the word we get to put out creates our own space.”

And to others looking to throw their hat into the American footwear industry, Dixon says not to be afraid to take matters into your own hands. “It's something that I had to teach myself because I didn't have any other means to do that," he says. "But it was something that I could teach myself because it's not impossible. You might have to get on your hands and feet a little bit and make some stuff, but I think you'll enjoy the outcome."

Jacorey Moon is Gear Patrol’s associate style editor, formerly atPEOPLE and Footwear News. He’s most likely gawking over someone’s outfit onInstagram or trying to find his way to the nearest record store.

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