Sssoooo I was on the Gram (it was after this post that my IG went into purgatory) and saw I was tagged by the Pratt's Black Alumni @prattbap (my alma mater) and Jelani Bandele @telllegacy, in an interview-by Adrienne Jones (Pratt professor) ...for NBC Select. It was a #goodsurprise (and totally un-expected).
NBC even linked the product (a scarf), they showcased, to my website.
I have been in the fashion game since the mid-80's, and I've made a name for myself in the 7th Avenue-fashion industry. However, because shade is real (by my black brothers & sisters) I haven't always been respected by the "old black heads" in the fashion industry. I work from my studio in Brooklyn (basically unheard of at the time), I used models that look like me (and the people I grew up with) a BIG no no back then and questioned all the time about my background and my parents stauts (as if I had to come from black money) some even questioned how I was able to attend Pratt Institute.
Fast forward to the 2000's where I've felted-somewhat invisible, by some of my peers (veterans) in the industry. I've heard things like "Oh is he still around?" or "I haven't seen him in the press (meaning-white media) and it's been a bit dis-hearting. If only they understood how Goggle works, they would see...."I ain't went nowhere".
I did get tired of: running around-trying to be all things to a group of "nobody posers" and constantly knocking on doors that (at the time) were not opening for someone looking like me...who also walked in the room...strong & confident. That confidence really F***** them up (white & black alike).
Actually, on the real-real I enjoyed the ones who were always so unsettled around me and once we started talking and I realize they had little to no knowledge about the fashion's history...I really got a kick out of flexing on them-because then the joke was on them.