Grenadian Making Waves

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York; Fe (pronounced “fee”) is the American born daughter of Grenadian parents who came innocently into the fashion industry. Her skills were self taught through application and hands on experience. Her desire to express her vision through design, and the emotional experience she can provide for her clients is the driving force behind her brand. Her goal is to create a world full of relentless stimulation and innovation through design, travel and style.

This Brooklyn born native has a son and loved fashion since she was a kid. Her mother Sonia who founded the day care center and worked as an administrative assistant at a clothing manufacturer in the Garment District in Manhattan New York, frequently brought home stray fabric samples for Noel, then a young teenager, to play with.

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Fe was ambitious and at the age of 19, in 2006 cofounded a streetwear boutique called “The Wagon in Crown Heights”. The shop featured a mix of high-end vintage pieces with Noel’s original designs, which she says had an elevated yet clubby “Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘Scarface’ vibe.”

She runs her fashion label out of her parents’ basement still in Crown Heights home where she grew up. Her collection she says is “a conceptual lifestyle brand created for the multifaceted woman that embodies a love for travel and style.” Noel says she is deeply influenced by her Grenadian heritage and it shows as she has mastered the ability to bottle up culture and glamour infused with sensibility and sensuality.

Noel brick and mortar boutique for vintage lovers and trendsetters in Brooklyn served as a catalyst for today’s namesake clothing and lifestyle womenswear brand ‘Fe Noel’ and further stimulated her desire to help women embrace their femininity.

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Fe Noel has been featured in Harlem’s Fashion Row, Vogue Italia, various music videos, and PROM Creative film “OLGA”. Fe Noel is also a personal favorite of singer Jordin Sparks.

Soon, she developed a cool celeb clientele. “Miguel, Wiz Khalifa, Teyana Taylor and the late Nipsey Hussle all came in back in the day,” Noel says. She made a slinky, turtleneck, cut-out green dress that appeared on an actress in a Jay-Z video. Even still, she says “times were tough. I was only 19, and my business partner and I were really bootstrapping it, like sell something, pay the light bill kind of thing. It was super stressful.”

The shop closed in December 2011, she then opened a web store, featuring a line called “Simply Intricate by Fe Noel.” Soon, she sold out of a formfitting, two-piece set that singer Jordin Sparks wore to the 2014 Teen Choice Awards.

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“It was selling like hot cakes,” Noel says of the “American Idol” winner’s influence. “It was the first time I started making money,” she adds.

Then, another setback: Noel’s Manhattan based clothing manufacturer dropped her as a client, in favor of a lucrative exclusive contract with a hip downtown line. Her mother offered her Crown Heights basement as an alternative: “That’s how we ended up all in-house!” Noel says with a laugh.

Noel took the opportunity to rebrand. She shortened her label to “Fe Noel,” and switched up her aesthetic, creating Caribbean themed pieces out of luxurious fabrics such as richly dyed silk and chiffon.

“I think your point of view changes as you grow,” Noel says. “My sense of style became more mature, and I want to reflect that in my clothes.” Unfortunately, her longtime clients didn’t see the appeal.

“I lost my customers, I lost everything,” Noel says. “I was buying more expensive fabrics, so of course that made the price change, the young girl who wants to look sexy in the club no longer related.”

Yet unbeknownst to her, some of the fashion world’s top stylists were taking notice and began following her sumptuous Instagram feed. She was given the opportunity to design glam women’s sneakers and jerseys for Lebron James’ Nike collection in 2018. Then a few months later, her once floundering career reached an unthinkable new high: Michelle Obama wore a bright orange, monochrome Fe Noel pants and wrap top to a high-profile event promoting her memoir, “Becoming.”

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Michelle Obama wore her orange silk shirt and matching pants on stage during her “Becoming” tour and Beyoncé donned a ruffled, off-the-shoulder top from a previous collection for her husband Jay-Z’s birthday party. One dress Noel designed featuring an Africanized version of the Renaissance painting, “The Birth of Venus” and went viral on Instagram. You can shop it online at FeNoel.com and also in Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.

“I cannot even describe to you the feeling I had of seeing her walk across the stage,” Noel says of the footage, adding that even though Obama’s stylist had requested the look, she had no idea if, or when, the former first lady would actually wear it.

Noel is now elevating her aesthetic even further, through a number of dream artistic collaborations. She has one with Harmonia Rosales, an Afro-Cuban American painter from Chicago. Another, with fellow Grenadian artisan Cliffanie Forrester, will debut in November, as part of her sixth Fe Noel collection.

“It’s paying homage to my family, to my heritage,” she says. “We aren’t launching during Fashion Week. We want to launch it in a museum.”

Noel is heavily influenced by her Grenadian heritage and large cohesive family. She especially holds her mother and grandmother in high regard, crediting them for showing what drive, determination and humble hearts will earn you.

Fe Noel Took Us to Grenada to Close Out New York Fashion Week 2020

For her debut runway show, Felisha Noel inspired the crowd with her proud Caribbean roots. A runway show is no easy feat, but Brooklyn-based, Grenada born designer Felisha Noel gracefully made her presence known at New York Fashion Week 2020. Noel closed out the week with her brand Fe Noel, transporting her guests to Grenada.

Although this was her debut show, Noel has previously shown collections in collaboration with Harlem’s Fashion Row during Fashion Week, and her designs have already been worn by the likes of Beyoncé and Michelle Obama. Over the years, Noel has cultivated a major group of supporters and fans of the brand, many of whom were present at the show. Guests trickled in with excitement as the sounds of crashing ocean waves played and a screen displaying palm trees and beaches was shown on the runway.

The start of the show was unlike any other. There was a celebratory spirit that lived in the room that not many shows have. The show started with a short film, which introduced the audience to a bit of Grenadian tradition and the collection, “Daughter of the Soil.”

“In this video, we are using #JabJab culture as an artistic expression and metaphor to represent freedom and the struggle you endure on the path to becoming your true self,” Noel explained in an Instagram caption. “It’s the struggle of all of us discovering ourselves and what we are made of and the beauty that is birthed in spite of.”

Daughter of the Soil is a tribute to becoming your authentic self, one that makes the ancestors proud. It was a chilling film to watch, but it set the tone for the show, and everyone knew from the get go we were in for a celebration of Grenadian culture.