Success stories can seem just as fantastical as the fairy tales you (may have) loved growing up: Bold career woman finds herself in the right place at the right time, and poof, her mentor snaps her fingers, transforming our hero into an overnight success who brings home a 7-figure salary, jet-sets the world spreading her you-can-have-it-all gospel, all while looking awesome and Instagramming the whole thing. Umm…really? Why do we so rarely hear the other side of the story — the false starts, the waves of doubt, the failures, and the fuck-ups? Those late-night worries and, occasionally, breakthroughs that are so relatable to the rest of us?
The ’20’s era resonates with our culture so much because during that time we were unapologetically ourselves. We didn’t care what people thought and we were free to express who we were through style, music and art. Our people wore bold crazy nails, intense hairstyles and gold that would make a rich man jealous.
It was also the last era before social media. Everyone was authentic. In 2016, I saw that “ghetto” was being praised on the covers of magazines and on everyone’s mood board which is where the inspiration for my collection, “My Love To Our Culture” stems from. It was staged around the iconic Freaknik to serve as a history lesson to those who need it.