Some moments Observed earlier this month, at @Sherri.McMullen’s celebration of 15 years of her eponymous womenswear store(s) McMullen, during a week of multiple and overlapping events. There were many more moments that I wanted to draw, but this cross-section of a genuine fashion gathering and the people who attended is still a relatively new feeling. People were *excited* to be out. In attendance were fashion designers whose frocks were modeled, representatives of Vogue, Essence, & Ebony magazines, as well as social influencers (whatever that actually is), and reporters, like myself. McMullen is a really important business in the landscape of the Bay Area. It’s not just a high-end lifestyle and retail outpost in a part of the America that the fashion industry tends to look down at. “Isn’t ‘Bay Area fashion’ an oxymoron?” is a direct quote I heard an anonymous guest utter just within my earshot, but that question betrays a laziness in its conception. It’s not just any business that can success here, it’s the right business, for better or worse. I have something to admit freely. I don’t really care about the business of fashion, while acknowledging that the impact and reach of this ubiquitous industry can’t be ignored. I care about the culture of fashion, paying more attention to the external and internal forces of how a social organism affects the people, places and things around it. In her various speeches of thanks, founder Sherri McMullen extolled the hard work of her dedicated staff and supporters. But the secret to her well-earned success: her Midwestern family, who were in attendance all week. The siblings and their extended members have formed a tight band of reinforcement, reiterated often throughout the evening I attended, has carried McMullen’s through its evolution as a successful Black business and cultural hub. For a week of celebration of this 15-year accomplishment, that pure truth was more inspiring than any dazzling garment witnessed. This is the kind of cultural event I covered monthly for my #ObservedSF column for the San Francisco Chronicle. It felt good to be out with my notebook, pens, and colored pencils again. #ObservedSF