As a black man who grew up in predominantly white spaces, I was always expected to fit a certain image of masculinity by my peers. So, whenever I deviated from expectation, I found myself alienated within my identity and made to feel emasculated. When I discovered fashion design, my relationship with identity transformed. Through design, I’ve been able to explore gender and culture freely, defining what it means to be a Black man on my own terms. To me, design means creating an outlet for people to step into who they truly are and see the beauty in what their identity holds. When I wrote a story for my local NPR station on local teenage sustainable designers, I saw this same passion for exploration and identity in their work. At the same time, I learned about the industry’s flaws when it comes to sustainability and openness to new voices. Working in art & design would allow me to address these issues head on to expand how we as a culture form relationships with our clothes. I hope that through my work, I can uplift talented and forward-thinking designers like the ones I interviewed for my story, to transform the narrative around the fashion industry. The future of fashion will be led by voices who understand the power of design and our ability as designers to create a more equitable and fair industry.

Dreams are the cathartic release of our unconscious mind’s built-up feelings and experiences. Art serves an identical function for our waking selves as the physical manifestation of that same concept. Art is a tangible dream. Just like traces of our days find themselves in our dreams, traces of our lives end up in our artwork, and ultimately, traces of human culture end up in artistic movements. It's this philosophy that guides my creative practice, which is rooted in using art to understand humanity through the language of dreams. Each piece I create is inspired by the haziness and cryptic symbolism of a dreamscape. My canvases intend to invite open interpretation as a dream might, fostering conversations to encourage emotional understanding. I use this ethos to explore the American Dream, and where I fit into it as a Black Artist trying to accomplish my own dreams. Inspired by my experiences, I explore ideas of oppression and what it means to “make it” in today’s world. Despite many negative experiences, I fill my pieces with messages of hope. Goldfish act as a recurring symbol for growth and potential in my work due to their potential to grow when in the right environment - just as we humans can grow emotionally when in the right environment. “Oxidation” is part of my American Dream series. In the large-scale painting, a cyclone of goldfish races the dream-like composition, surrounding an “oxidized” rendition of me. The piece comments on the game to success American industry incites, creating competition in places where there should be community. To represent these ideas, I emphasized the contrast between the radiant gold of the goldfish, full of potential, and the oxidized green of my figure, which bears a sense of antiquation and lethargy. My oxidized figure represents how it can feel to grow up in today's age when everyone seems to be doing laps around you in life, while you struggle to keep up. These feelings often induce a sense of stagnation and learned helplessness. Oxidation references the green oxidized copper of the Statue of Liberty, an iconic American monument which once served as a beacon of hope for incoming immigrants. I found that referencing the statue emphasized the role of the piece’s themes in the lives of people of color. We often internalize the pressure to succeed and live up to the expectations of our parents and those around us, despite these established ideas of success being rooted in systems not built for us. Thus, it’s easy for us to begin feeling “oxidized” and left behind in our journeys- constantly caught in a race not designed for us as represented by the checkerboard finish line in the bottom right corner. My intention with this piece is to critique the commonly upheld idea that “success” is a race. In reality, success is a personal concept each of us must define for ourselves and pursue at our own pace. To me, that is the true goal of growing up - not to be 1st in having life figured out, but to take the time to define what's truly important to you. I believe we all have “goldfish” inside of us, full of potential to grow and change and become our best selves. The only way to truly tap into this potential is to stop feeling the need to race against others and to accept that everyone’s journey through life is different, unique, and special.

Fashion has a unique magic. Designers transform 2D fabrics into 3D bodily sculptures using solely their imagination. Fashion’s interdimensional qualities drew me to fashion studies, but I quickly realized fashion isn’t solely born from creativity – its the result of a lengthy wasteful production chain. Even once garments are bought, it’s not long before they are discarded. Thus, the US holds 80 pounds of textile waste per person in landfills in an attempt to bury the ugly effects of our most glamorous industry. I learned this when our class began preparing our “Upcycled” fashion show, where we designed using pre-loved garments to reflect on our environmental responsibility. In the 8 weeks I spent upcycling, I learned about the industry’s waste problem, including the overuse of water polluting dyes, the mass disposal of “unsellable” products, and how washing clothes leaves thousands of tons of microplastics in the ocean. Many textiles are manufactured in underdeveloped countries who are then left to face the effects. I walked away from the experience driven to continue exploring fashion’s relationship with the environment, and designers’ power to improve it. I began producing an article for my local news station covering the climate crisis and how student designers are confronting it. I interviewed fashion students, teachers, and professionals about their experiences. Speaking to a local non-profit, I learned about the industry’s transparency issues around sourcing textiles and labor. Many brands underprice garments by outsourcing production to unsustainable manufacturers, overproducing polluting garments. In speaking to student designers, I saw their drive to fix these issues. Young designers are motivated to establish eco-conscious brands. To accomplish a sustainable industry, we must support them. The future of fashion - and by extension the environment - lies in our hands. We can all make a difference, one garment at a time.

In the silence, a 13-year-old boy siloed in his room crouches over his desk, entirely engrossed in the task laid before him. All the lights are off save the surprisingly intense glare of an Ikea desk lamp and his half-awake laptop, lighting a blank 11 x 14 paper. Encircling the boy is a variety of art materials, ranging in price and usage, assembled for the mission at hand. He opens his laptop to Spotify and presses play - bringing an abrupt end to the calm. Instantly, a symphony of electricity bolts out of his laptop speakers and dances about the walls. Shining synths sparkle off the drywall while a colossal basses thump in his chest rhythmically. Leading the orchestra is a voice of metal, cutting through the composition with an uncanny precision straight into his ears. He picks up a pencil with a smile. Now, he can get to work. That boy was me, 4 years ago, staying up to build my art portfolio, motivated by an energetic playlist full of musical pioneers like SOPHIE, AG Cook, and of course, Charli XCX. On those seemingly endless nights locked in my room, I found myself entranced by the world of art, as I drew and painted and colored my canvases all while listening to musicians do the same - with the canvas of an Ableton session. The period was nothing short of inspirational for a budding artist as I consumed media chocked full of artistic experimentation and potential that I came to assume. Now, 17, I continue listening to these pioneers and letting my story unfold in tandem to theirs. With Charli XCX’s newest release, Brat, she details her experience as an artist deep in the throes of the industry; As someone about to enter school and considering a career in the arts, her words are a striking mix of familiar and revelational to my circumstances. On Brat, I specifically resonate with “Rewind”, where Charli muses about her past while questioning the future. As I prepare to enter college, and ultimately my career, I find myself doing the same thing: thinking back to being 13 with unlimited potential and creativity - not having to worry about the tribulations of university/the industry that presently pervade my mind. Charli sings “I’d go back in time to when I wasn't insecure . . .I hate these doubts that keep running through my mind . . . Recently I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout a way simpler time . . . Sometimes I really think it would be cool to rewind”. Despite the darker tones of the song, something I love about it - and the album as a whole - is how it refuses to stay in the dumps. The song closes with one of her iconic dance breaks as if to protest melancholy and embrace a sense of self-indulgent optimism. As I apply for college and venture into the future, I aim to keep this optimistic viewpoint with me. There will always be moments of anxiety, and times when I look back and wish to stay in the past - but Brat reminds me of the power of accepting my fears and facing forward, dancing into a bigger and better future. Just like Brat starts with 360, and ends with 365, I hope to find myself in a similar yet evolved position to where I began. Creating the things I love while playing the music I adore with nothing but hope for what's next.