Young designers from Detroit are headed to New York Fashion Week to represent the city with two Afrofuturism-inspired looks created under the guidance of experienced design mentors.
The Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan made this possible with its signature Industry Club program, launched in 2020 to help prepare young people for careers in various fields. The Fashion Industry Club was the first of now eight industries available for local youth to gain experience in.
In partnership with Black-owned New York-based retailer Maison Black, the Boys and Girls Club will host its second runway show at New York Fashion Week this season, which runs from Feb. 9-14. Spearheaded by Detroit native Tori Nichel, Maison Black not only spotlights Black designers but also extends its reach through the Maison Black Foundation, dedicated to nurturing Black youth in the arts. The foundation helps connect youth designers with experienced New York-based fashion innovators.
This season’s mentors include Aaron Potts, Patrick Cupid, Dreu Breckemberg, Carlton Jones, Shelley Victory, and Lola Faturoti, who have worked closely with Fashion Industry Club youth designers Nas Eli, Zyana H., Lydia M., Logan H., and TaLeah H throughout the past seven months.
Logan, who is 16, says that she has been into fashion since age 7 or 8, and started in the Fashion Industry Club during her freshman year of high school, calling the experience something she will “never forget.” Nas, an 18-year-old who is also part of the cohort, has been into fashion since middle school and shares a similar sentiment, saying the club has been the “opportunity of a lifetime.”
“For me, working with my mentor Aaron Potts, I would say it has been out of this world,” Nas says. “He helped me find my confidence, he helped me find a way to communicate myself and concepts through my looks in a more professionalized way, and he has really helped me open up and be louder with my ideas.”
Afrofuturism, the theme for this year’s show, holds immense significance for the girls. An aesthetic associated with science fiction, Logan and Nas envision Afrofuturism as a catalyst for unity within the Black community, celebrating its rich heritage while embracing a visionary future.
“I believe that Afro-punk culture is Afrofuturism and that me and the other young ladies participating in the program are contributing to Afro-punk culture and allowing ourselves to create a community where Black designers, Black female designers, are able to be uplifted and congratulated on all the talents and hard work that they've put into this program,” Logan says.
There are mixed emotions in the air as the girls prepare for their upcoming trip, but positivity and gratefulness are at the forefront.
“I’m a little nervous just because I don’t know what to expect because it’s my first time going to New York, but I’m really excited for the experience and the opportunities that will come with the trip,” Logan says.
Nas adds that seeing her friends in the Detroit Youth Choir travel to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall in the recently released Disney+ series Choir inspired her, and made her even more excited for the trip.
“They're from Detroit, they’re going to New York, and they’re doing big things,” Nas says. “They’re getting either great feedback or negative feedback, but they still did a thing, so that just inspired me to go about that the same way. Whatever happens, happens. At least I came, I showed out, I did what I had to do, and I’m gonna keep going.”
Both young women are proud of themselves and feel that their stories can have an impact on not only Detroit youth but individuals anywhere.
“People are looking at Detroit and people are seeing the amazing things that the youth are doing in Detroit, and it’s inspiring them to go on,” Logan says. “That’s literally Afrofuturism in my opinion.”
“All of this is just really shining light on how bright Detroit youth are because Detroit gets looked at as such a negative place, such a negative environment, yet, look at us,” Nas adds. “I feel like within these different things like the choir and the Boys and Girls Club, we’re creating a whole new culture for Detroit, we’re creating a whole new outlook on Detroit, which a lot of people can’t do for their city, so I think that it’s a really good thing.”
After high school, Logan plans to major in fashion design at an art college and Nas plans to create her own fashion brand.
“The Boys and Girls Club has helped me to find that vision and to help me see myself in [fashion] positions,” Logan says. “I really just want everybody to know that all the girls in the program will be somewhere someday. We are all about to be great individuals with whatever career path we go into, but y’all need to look out for us because we’re going to be up there for real.”
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