Fashion World Embraces Cannabis

To longtime devotees of Project Runway, the name Korto Momolu is already familiar. The Liberia-born Season 5 first runner-up turned series all-star was a fan favorite, turning out stunning designs week after week.

A decade later, Momolu is challenging the odds of the notoriously vicious fashion industry and is thankfully still in the game. For Fashion Week 2019, the designer partnered with cannabis leadership group Women Grow and GENIFER M Jewelry to merge cannabis style into her designs.

It was the perfect match up.

Women Grow aims to replace preconceived notions regarding cannabis to envision this segment of plant medicine as the solution to health, wellness, sustainability, and environmental needs.

GENIFER M Jewelry aims to "Start a conversation" about the benefits of cannabis. The company was founded by Genifer Murray, one of the cannabis industry's leading figures and former "Cannabis Industry Woman of the Year" recipient.

Murray owned one of the first licensed testing labs in Colorado, and later was an advisor on the Governor's Task Force, charged with helping create fair and equitable regulations that would provide the framework for a legal industry. She also introduced CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta to some of the important properties of cannabis and CBD, and was instrumental in changing his mind about cannabis legalization (He is now pro-legalization and produced a series of documentaries on the medicinal benefits of cannabis).

The event was held in the fashionable district in Chelsea, and it seemed like all of Manhattan was buzzing with excitement about the collaboration and unveiling of Korto's new line.

The show marked the first-ever fusion of the worlds of cannabis and fashion on the stage. The energy in the room reflected that excitement.