Forenaire About Us

 

 

Mission Statement   At Forenaire, our mission help change create a positive image for young black* men through the professional clothing that we offer. *Forenaire is not only for young black men. It's for anyone interested in dressing more professionally.

Vision Statement   At Forenaire, Our vision is to be the market leader in providing high-quality professional attire for young black men to represent them in official settings.

 

 

What is Forenaire?

Forenaire is a high-end clothing brand that specializes in producing nice-quality, well-tailored professional attire for young black men.

The vision behind the brand is the help change the negative image currently portrayed on young Black Americans in society. Founder, Aboubacar Barrie, a young black Muslim African American, got tired of how people like him were regarded in the media. As a Black American, he did not like to be associated with a "gangster" or a "thug." Unfortunately, that was just how his people were referred to a majority of the time. 

In an effort to do something about this, Aboubacar figured that a great first step in changing how people perceive others like him is to start off by changing their clothing image appearance. Aboubacar thought: if people like him are seen in nice professional clothing, others will have no choice but to change their perceptions and compliment the professional look. And so, that's how Forenaire bagan. 

However, Forenaire clothing is not exclusively for "young black men." Over the years, many people have found a liking for Forenaire clothes across different races and different continents. We invite you to read more about our history below:

 

November 2016

 Aboubacar Barrie, our current CEO, went to look for a job at a shopping center that was close to his home and school: The Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, GA. He was on Thanksgiving break during his freshman year of high school at D.M. Therrell High. Aboubacar wanted a job to learn how to be more independent and not rely on his parents for every little thing he wanted.  However, things didn't work out the way he expected. Due to his young age of 14 years at the time, all of the booths and vendors he went into were not able to offer him employment. He did not give up on his goal of being a bit more independent. Instead, he decided to hire himself, in what would turn out to be one of the best entrepreneurial stories in history. 

 

December 2016-February 2017

Aboubacar set out to create a high-end clothing brand that would encourage teenagers and young adults to dress more professionally. He came up with a unique name: "Forenaire" after asking himself "what could a foreign person do to become a billionaire in America?" He had to plan and execute it all by himself because his parents didn't believe in the idea originally. With barely any startup capital, he resorted to just creating hoodies, a much welcomed product during that cold season. His vision for a high-end, professional brand, will come afterwards.

 

March 2017

Aboubacar finally introduced his brand to his high school and local mosque. The support was unmatched!!

 

Rest of 2017- May 2018

After seeing potential in his brand, Aboubacar kept working on it and refining it. A lot of his classmates, staff, and local community supported his brand in one way or another.

 

June 2018

Aboubacar filed a trademark application for Forenaire. 

 

August 2018

Great News: Forenaire is officially trademarked!!! 

 

Rest of 2018-2019

Aboubacar added shirts and zip-up jackets to his lineup.

 

August 2020

Aboubacar Graduated high school in May and decided to start his college career at Georgia tech with a major in Business Marketing and minor in Engineering & Business. Given his resourceful nature, Aboubacar leveraged his early college days to connect with all the smart and talented students around him. Together, he and his friends collaborated on a few designs here and there for the Forenaire brand.

 

January 2020 

Aboubacar applied for the National Gucci Scholarship that awards changemakers in the Fashion industry.

 

July 2021

https://equilibrium.gucci.com/gucci-announces-2021-north-america-changemakers-scholars/

Great News: Aboubacar is selected as a National Recipient of the Gucci Scholarship. Woohoo!! He is now motivated more than ever to continue with his Forenaire brand. 

 

August 2021

https://nique.net/life/2021/08/27/gucci-changemakers-scholar-aboubacar-barrie/

Aboubacar and his Gucci award was featured on Georgia Tech's student newspaper, the "Technique".

 

November 2021

Aboubacar made the biggest strides to his Forenaire brand to date with the introduction of "Forenaire Watches" and "Forenaire Belts". He quickly filed for a federal trademark application to protect his iconic two letter "FN" symbol.

  

December 17, 2022 

After saving up money earned from his previous releases, Aboubacar Lanches the biggest Forenaire release to date with the introduction of a Cardigan Sweater, Men's Khaki Pants and polo shirts. His ambitions for entering the professional clothing industry has been slowly progressing. 

 

December 09, 2023

The Foreaire brand finally releases a ready "Professional Attire" brand. The professional collection is complete with additions such as new cardigan sweaters, new khaki pants, new button-down dress shirts, and new designer belts. 

 

What is next for the Forenaire brand?