McDonald’s has partnered with five rising Black designers and industry insiders to help change more than clothes.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I never really thought of it being even being a career or anything like that. I just genuinely
00:11just wanted to create stuff. I'd say I was inspired first by my grandparents. My grandma
00:16would be crocheting like scarves or blankets and all type of stuff. What keeps me going is the
00:22promise I gave myself to be an example of black luxury. What inspired me is just the lack of
00:33long pants.
00:52The showroom I worked with in order to get into retailers told me that it would be more difficult
01:02for me to be picked up if they knew that I was a black-owned brand or if I presented myself as too
01:08urban. It's safe to say I left that showroom and I think that's another part of like you know just
01:17your story like learning to find your voice and stand tall in that space.
01:26I am Nigerian. Nigerian means we're never in last place. So just that in itself like
01:34kind of gives you an idea of like our strength of perseverance.
01:39And my dad's Austrian yeah let's not count him out. Copy.
01:42Coming up in Richmond, Virginia at the time creating your own clothes that was considered
01:47too feminine. A lot of people didn't understand. So I learned how to sew through my father. For him
01:56like he used to you know sew his work pants to fit better. Like it wasn't creativity. It wasn't like
02:03I mean I guess like you can say it was creative but like at the same time it was like it was more
02:07I mean I guess like you can say it was creative but like at the same time it was like it was more
02:11just structured to tailor to fit for his job. That's kind of where I sat and learned how to do
02:16it. Sometimes he'd get too tired coming home late from work and I just do it for him. This is
02:25definitely not your average button-up. I mean it has different ways of tightening up around your
02:32waist or your chest. Rock. Kiss. Vibes. I wanted to fit in with the cool kids. I would you know
02:39design things from out of my closet or upcycle things from out of my closet and then over time
02:45it just kind of grew its own legs. Everything started back in my hometown in New Orleans.
02:56My grandmother would after school she'll bring me to like thrift stores and stuff and at first I
03:01thought it was like boring. I used to stay in the car and eventually I started going in
03:05finding cool pieces of cool jeans that I thought like I could use as a base. Made some pants that
03:10I really wanted and I pretty much started wearing the stuff that I was making. Everyone would be
03:15like where you get that? I want some. Can I buy them off for you? What size are those?
03:20And that's pretty much how like my making clothes journey started.
03:26We moved around a lot. It was literally just me and my mom. We landed in Brooklyn because that's
03:33where her sister was. I didn't really expect to be here that long and I would ask her why are we
03:37leaving because it was very hard for me to make friends just having you know an accent and just
03:43feeling out of place. The only way that I saw myself bridging that gap was like through my style
03:49and in the pieces that I would wear regardless of it being from like Goodwill. Having like a
03:54sense of style gave me confidence especially being an only child and not being from here and
03:58not feeling like you fit in anywhere. Getting that acceptance for what you're doing or what
04:02you have on. I just really wanted more of that. Stand clear of the closing doors please.
04:15Well I've always had a love for denim. Ever since even when I was like four I was wearing like
04:19Canadian tuxedos. I'm from Brooklyn, New York. New York you're, you know, you know the vibes, you know.
04:28Denim has always stuck with me. What kind of invited me into like distressing it and like
04:34making it what it is now. I just love other worldly things and I feel like in the world
04:40you normally see a lot of clothes with like you know perfect seams, perfect lines and I was like
04:45you know everything can't be perfect and even if it isn't perfect it's still beautiful.
04:56The concept of creating a piece a lot of times it can come from chaos. It can be a lot of fabrics
05:04and a lot of different embellishments in front of me and I kind of just deep dive into that.
05:09When I design it's really just me. I let my phone die and I really don't speak to anybody because
05:16it helps. And I just start grabbing fabrics, start working with one fabric, throw it to the side like
05:20nah it's not what I thought, you know. Grab the next one, sketch something out. It's just you,
05:26the four walls and your talent. I have a cat so it's actually me and my cat. It's not just me.
05:31It's me and my cat chicken and she watches me sew for hours and just make magic.
05:37It's designing out of love, you design out of sorrow. Finding a way to express yourself when
05:41you feel misunderstood or you feel out of place has definitely translated into me being a designer
05:47and I find that we do that, like all artists do that. That's the reason why we create art.
05:55Hey girl what you doing in Mexico City?
05:59I am working on samples for the next collection. We're trying to have 60 SKUs which is definitely
06:06the biggest collection I've ever done. That's huge. The five change of fashion designers including
06:12myself and Nia have a group chat in which we come in there for questions, support,
06:19outrage. And the best part about it is that there's no ego and we're all hilarious. And I
06:26want to take credit for starting the group chat and naming it. Period. It's going to be exciting
06:34watching everyone grow and tap into each other. I can't wait to see what we all accomplish in
06:4010 years, where we're going to be at, where our companies are going to be at, how we
06:44evolve because I'm always rooting for all of us. It's a blessing to even meet those designers
06:50and I thank McDonald's and we are golden for the opportunity also. Because at the end of the day
06:55these platforms that McDonald's has enabled us to be a part of, you have to really
07:01speak from your heart and let people understand who you are and where you came from.
07:07The fact that we are so underrepresented especially in the fashion industry when most
07:13of our ideas are being used right now on runways, you know, they take from us and they don't,
07:20they put it out there and they don't even give us the credits. Don't be afraid to pull out of
07:25things that aren't serving you. Know your power, your powers and your talent. Find the team in the
07:32community that's going to support you along the way because it's nearly impossible to do it by
07:36yourself. The fashion family is definitely like stylists, other designers, photographers, models.
07:41They definitely want to be involved, want to see a brand grow because if the brand grows then
07:46everyone else around it grows. Got a great therapist and a great accountant and a good lawyer.
07:55We are the people.
08:25you