Atlanta exposed the fashion industry in the sixth episode of season three, “White Fashion”. Alfred (“Al”), played by Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, If Beale Street Could Talk), gets a first-hand experience of corporate greed failing to progress towards equality in a subtly ironic sequence of events.
Al, Earn, played by the show’s creator Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Community), and Darius, played by LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You, Knives Out), meet with some leading fashion designers in London. They want Al to help them apologize to the press for an undisclosed racial incident. Al wants to be paid for this but finds out they cannot because the entire ordeal would appear disingenuous. Instead, he is offered to give money to the charity of his choice. He ignores this and focuses on getting clothes from the designers for free for three years.
During the meeting, Darius orders Jollof, Nigerian rice that none of the fashion workers have ever heard of. Sharon, played by Tasmin Topolski (Penny Dreadful, The Rook), who oversees delivering this order, offers to take Darius to the spot he has heard does Jollof superbly. He agrees to go with her.
Al and Earn debate over the morality of what he’s doing. Al wants free clothes, even though he can afford them, and Earn disparages him for this. Al then asks to Earn what he would do in his position. Earn admits he would probably apologize for the fashion brand. Still, he would want to be integrated into the board so that he could oversee the long-term transition, including some initiative that teaches black people to reinvest in their community. He wants black people to reinvest in their hood. Al makes fun of his constantly politically active mind.
At the press event, Al meets Khalil, played by Fisayo Akinade (The Girl with All the Gifts, The Works), a writer, activist, and more who Al has already heard of. Khalil bluntly brags about the perks of apologizing for white people before they head onto the stage. After the hilarious apology by a head fashion designer, the press asks Al whether racism is now over. Al replies immediately with a no before explaining just how far we are away from the existence of racism. Khalil interrupts him and claims after this move, racism will be over by 2024. The statement is met with a standing ovation.
Darius and Sharon eat at the Nigerian restaurant. Darius speaks with the waitress, who recognizes from his order that he is Naija (Nigerian). Sharon immediately loves the vibe, asks all about the food and what Naija means, and even uses shazam to identify the Nigerian music in the background.
Earn spots Vanessa (“Van”), played by Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2), in a hotel and scolds her for her irresponsibility. A woman comes in and accuses Van of shoplifting. Earn defends her to hotel workers and manages to turn the situation into a free stay at the hotel for the night. He lied to the manager about having a booking there in order to get this.
Al and the other black representatives at the press meeting have a sit-down conversation about what they aim to get out of this event. All of them, aside from Al, immediately ask for personal benefits. Al, who was acting similarly not hours before, criticizes them for their selfishness and pitches the reinvest in your hood campaign. It is well received. He records a video of him explaining the idea, which is used in the backdrop to an advert by the fashion designers in which they twist his words. They suggest that all people come from a hood and promote their brand.
Darius returns to get Jollof the next day at the same restaurant but finds out it is closed. Just behind him, Sharon has opened a “Naija Bowl” food truck and informs him that she bought the place. None of the workers were transferred, and she has named a dish after him that has added a whole assortment of new flavors to his previously favorite dish. He refuses to eat it and leaves, unwilling to be a part of the appropriation.
Al storms into a board meeting to rapturous applause, and he has to be taken out and spoken to by Khalil. Al is rightly angry that they twisted his idea for their profit. Khalil remarks on his naivety in thinking the company would promote an idea that would deliberately motivate their customers to purchase other businesses instead of their own. He reminds Al of his experience in the field and advises him to start his own charity so that he can control the money.
Earn and Van are staying in their luxury suite, and just as things turn romantic, Earn asks Van if she did steal the wig. Instead of answering and ruining the moment, she kisses him, suggesting that she did steal it. They spend the night together, but Van is gone when Earn wakes up.
There was a common theme of hypocrisy throughout the episode that only Darius managed to escape. Al reflects on what Earn tells him early on and finds himself judging those around him for an attitude he otherwise likely would have shared with them had Earn not criticized him. Darius is partly responsible for the closing of an authentic Nigerian restaurant, but after a moment of consideration, he refuses to even eat a bite of the appropriated dish. Earn is going to judge Van for stealing when he had swindled his way into a room he didn’t pay for earlier that day. To top it all off, the fashion designers act completely in self-interest throughout the episode and take advantage of black people to promote their business, despite their racist mistake. This is an episode that certainly merits some thought and is exquisitely crafted.
Rating: 8.5/10