- Just ahead on Black Issues Forum, from bold threads to bold statements, fashion at HBCUs is more than just style.

It's identity, culture, and creativity stitched with pride.

We're exploring how the HBCU experience continues to influence the world of fashion from the classroom to the catwalk and echoes pride of power and history.

Coming up next, stay with us.

- Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you who invite you to join them in supporting PBS NC.

(upbeat music) ♪ - Welcome to Black Issues Forum.

I'm your host, Kenia Thompson.

When we talk about our historically black colleges and universities, HBCUs, we often spotlight academic achievement, history, and the culture.

But what about style?

What about self-expression?

Well, this year, PBS North Carolina continues as part of the HBCU Week Now public media initiative, elevating stories that shape the HBCU experience and impact our world.

In year one, we visited the Aggie Eagle Classic.

Year two took us to the Raceway with Motorsports at Winston-Salem State University.

And this time, we wanted to explore a discipline in the arts.

We landed on fashion.

In a moment, we'll talk to the filmmaker and another HBCU grad who captures style in his social media pages.

But right now, let's take a look at Fashion Forward.

(upbeat music) - On campus, fashion is everything.

- How NC has influenced my style, they've influenced it a lot coming from high school where I had to wear uniforms and then coming back to college where I could just put anything on.

Every day, I'm putting on.

- I don't think an HBCU could be an influence.

I think it is.

- There are times in recent and past where HBCUs have influenced mainstream fashion.

We, of course, are familiar with Beyonce's "Homecoming."

(upbeat music) - HBCUs are definitely influencing fashion.

I think they are the spearheads of fashion.

I think Black people are the spearheads of fashion.

- Pop culture without HBCUs would be bland and boring.

(upbeat music) Fashion communicates quite a bit in just the way that we present ourselves.

So during the Harlem Renaissance, African-American dress, it was tailoring.

It was fineness.

It was elegant dresses for women.

For HBCU students, you would see a similar kind of a feel or approach because students that could afford, those students were dressed as well in suits, elegant pieces to emulate pride amongst the race as the creativity was coming out of race.

For many HBCU students, fashion is key.

They will explore and experiment with who they are through the four years that they're here.

By the time they reach that senior year, I think it's cemented.

And then we see, hopefully we will see them move forward and contribute as best they can through the greater society.

Now, whether that is fashion, because not every student is a fashion major, but every student has style.

(upbeat music) (projector whirring) - So I am Tuki Tucker.

I am from Sanford, North Carolina, very small rural town in North Carolina.

I am an alumni of North Carolina Central University, and I am currently a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

Much like NCCU, Howard University, North Carolina A&T, the Tuskegees.

I mean, every HBCU you could think of, they all have influenced fashion in some way.

From the very first day I saw Tuki, he was striking.

He made a statement, he entered the room.

It was like, he had the energy.

He always had energy, extra energy, and he wanted to learn.

I didn't have a traditional start and finish, and Tuki was the same way.

He would start, stop, start, stop.

And so by the time he got ready to finish, he asked me, "Ms. B, I please do not retire "before I graduate."

I made him that promise.

So that way, I told him, "This is when I'm retiring.

"It's up to you to graduate, "because I will not stay any longer than this."

So we had a bond that way, even to the very end to his graduation, we had that bond, and we still do.

So the project that I'm working on currently is for a brand owned by a woman.

It's called Local Style Chips in Chicago.

She wanted this design to be marketable.

So I asked her and I said, "Okay, "well, what did you have in mind?"

And she said, "I kinda wanna use the chip bags "as my fabric."

I said, "All right, let's go there then."

So I learned different techniques, new techniques on how to work with potato chip bags.

And so we came up with this idea of doing the illusion of a ball gown dress, but when she turns, it's a jumpsuit behind.

As a student, you're always constantly learning, and that's something that you're learning about yourself that maybe you would not have learned outside of an institution, or you would have learned too late in life, and then now you really feel like you failed.

So I would advise them to learn themselves, learn the material of fashion, and to learn that it's okay to give permission to yourself, to take a break, it's okay.

And don't feel bad for giving up, but feel bad when you give up and don't go back into it.

(upbeat music) First day of class, welcome to A&T, welcome to NCAT, welcome to whatever you know it by.

First day of class here is a fashion show, every single time, everybody pops out in their best fit, it doesn't matter your profession or your major, even if you're not a fashion major, you can probably fly today.

(upbeat music) So how I got started in fashion was during the pandemic, 2020 rolled around, there was nothing that I could really do besides kind of be in the house.

So I was ordering clothes, I was trying to prepare for college just so that I could be fly.

A&T, that's what they're known for, so I didn't wanna come out looking anything too crazy but it all kind of just blossomed and turned into this whole thing.

My mom, she had seen the fifth or sixth package for that week and she was like, you know, you can make a better hoodie in your sleep.

- During the pandemic, he started wearing all these hoodies, like most young people, right, they're wearing hoodies.

And I said to him, Tyler, you're spending a lot of money paying money for someone else's name, your name is just as valuable, you should consider starting your own clothing line.

So he started out with designing T-shirts, my husband and I invested in all the things, the squeak, the heat press, the Cricut, he started designing T-shirts and then it just soared from there.

- Walking Ticket Co. is basically the three M's of money, memories, and motion.

My whole idea is do what you love while making money, while making memories, just do it all together.

- I'm excited about seeing his walking ticket in stores, like these big name stores, I know that he is going to soar and I know it's his name, 'cause that's something that I pray about all the time, that Walking Ticket and Tyler Cozart will be a household name.

And so I'm excited to see that manifest itself.

- Hi, my name is Haley Aldrich and I am a student at North Carolina A&T from Charlotte, North Carolina.

I'm double majoring in political science and fashion merchandise design, and I'm also the president of Fashion Etc.

Program is a great program, they include events that push their students further and further.

I know my classes, they push me further and further as a designer and my surroundings, like the students that I'm surrounded by, I'm in fashion shows with them, networking with them.

My teachers and professors, they serve as mentors as giving me more opportunities and pushing me towards the places I need to be, like sending me scholarships, sending me internships, sending me just things that I know that will help me, push me, just be a better fashion student, a better person.

- When we think about fashion, fashion marries, it's a part of every, every entity of life.

And it just starts right here with dress and the self-expression, self-identity.

For an HBCU, I'll capture it again, it's about pride, self-respect, dignity, and heritage.

And so, yeah, that is HBCU, it lets you.

- Well, from sketchbooks to the runway, the journeys we just witnessed is not only about clothes, it's about culture, confidence, and the power of HBCUs to shape creative visionaries.

Joining me now is the mind behind the creation of the story, Torrence Hill, the talented videographer and creator of Fashion Forward, and a proud Howard University alum and owner/founder of Noir Prism.

And joining him is Lamar Bryan, an image consultant and Fayetteville State University graduate whose influence in style continues to inspire all of those around him.

Welcome to the show.

- Thanks for having us.

- Lamar, we just have to, I mean, we're talking fashion, right?

So we have to call out the fit today.

Tell us what you're wearing.

- So I decided to, of course, as a graduate of Fayetteville State University, bronco blue all day long.

And that's no shade to Howard University.

- It's all good, it's all good.

- But no, I decided as a black man, I think often about being bold and inspiring those around me.

And so what better way to do that than a bright blue suit and printed shoes?

- Yes, yes, you are making a statement for sure.

Torrence, when you were tasked with this project, how did you approach this perspective and what went through your mind about how to tell this story?

- Yeah, I mean, like, this story's like many other stories that I tell.

First, I just wanted to find some characters who were compelling, some compelling individuals and really build from there.

When Deb and I, we were talking about this project, we didn't wanna go the cliche arts route for HBCUs, which could be like a marching band or a dance program or choir.

We were like, let's really push ourselves and show that HBCUs, we have something unique.

You can go to any HBCU and find something strangely or uniquely different from a different HBCU.

And so we went with fashion and I'm so glad we did.

- It turned out to be a great piece.

I think it showed a unique perspective, like you said, that we don't automatically think of, I think, at any school and then at an HBCU.

And I think when we think about the stereotypes of what roles we go into and maybe what careers and majors we're kind of pushed towards, fashion isn't always that first choice.

Lamar, I didn't go to an HBCU.

I have said this over and over again, I wish I had.

I am jealous of y'all's experiences.

But when you think about that HBCU experience and how fashion intersects with that, how important is fashion on campus?

- It is very important.

You have to be fly on an HBCU campus.

There's nothing else outside of education first, but fashion second.

And I say that because HBCUs, you can think about HBCUs as a big family reunion.

You look at your professors and your administrators as your aunts and uncles, your grandma, your grandpa, and then you look at the students as your siblings or your cousins.

And you know, in the black diaspora, you know that your cousins or your grandma is gonna tell you about your clothing.

And so in that effort, not only tell you about your clothing, but tell you about your behavior as well.

And so you can think of historically black colleges and universities as that melting pot of diversity, culture, pride, and individuality.

And all of that, plus fried chicken Wednesday, which is-- - Not fried chicken Wednesday.

- Fried chicken Wednesday, you have to be stylish.

You probably can have chill outfits for the rest of the week, but fried chicken Wednesday on an HBCU campus, you gotta pull out the threads.

- These are things we don't know.

- It was soul food Thursday for us at Howard on first Friday.

- Yeah.

- Man, you're not gonna come out of your dorm room with anything on.

- How have you seen, and this is to both of you, the evolution of style over the decades and how has that reflected in culture and politics and just day-to-day life?

- Yeah, well for me, working with students and working in politics over the years, I've been able to really express myself 'cause when you see politicians, you really see those folks who just have a regular suit or they stick with solid colors, and sometimes that does discourage students.

They feel like they can't be themselves.

They feel like they can't have their own expression or their own individuality because they have to stick inside of a mold, but over the years, students are saying, "Look, I want to be Jasmine Crockett," and Jasmine Crockett is a stylish elected official, and so when you see Jasmine Crockett or you see Amanda Seals or you see Loni Love or those folks who are in journalism or fashion and arts, you see those folks that express themselves in a way that matters not only to them, but matters to all HBCUs and the legacy of those institutions as well.

- Yeah, I have to agree.

I think that back when I was in school and it was just like 2008-ish, around that time, yeah, fashion was big, but right now, it's more about you being an individual, and I even started to take that from the younger generation.

It's like, let me express myself the way that I want to be, not the way that you expect me to look, but this is how I feel today, and that's a lot of what, I mean, even in this piece, that's a lot of what the students that I spoke to were telling me.

Hey, this is how I feel today.

This is what I want to wear.

- From the color of my hair to the color of my nails.

To that point, when we think about storytelling and dismantling stereotypes and biases and even just perceptions that may not be harmful, but like you said earlier, when we think of HBCU stories, we think of certain things, and so how important is it when we talk about historically black colleges and universities to paint varieties of images and display the diversity that does belong and exist on these campuses?

- Yeah, it's really important.

The biggest thing, at least for me as a storyteller, is to show our community in a truthful way.

It's not to show how I think our community should look.

I can't say, hey, here's this polished piece of how the black community looks or HBCU community looks.

No, I want you to see exactly what it is because at the end of the day, what's important is to show us as humans.

You see, it's not this thing of, oh, well, if you're at HBCU, you're only gonna do this.

No, no.

- We can do everything too.

- You can do everything too.

And so to me, it's very important to show more than just what you expect.

And just because you expect it, it doesn't mean that, hey, that's a bad thing, but lower your expectations, lower what you think you know, and then actually find out the real thing.

- Omar, how influential or impactful was your HBCU experience on your fashion and style?

Or did you always have fashion and style?

- Well, I would say I got my style from my grandfather who was very stylish.

He would go to the grocery store in a fedora and a suit all the time.

- Oh, not a fedora.

- So he influenced me as well as my mom, but I will say at an HBCU campus, I was inspired by the Divine Nine, those Greeks, as a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, huge shout out to Epsilon Zeta.

We always had Thai Tuesday, which was the day that our fraternity was founded.

December 4th, 1906 on a cold Tuesday.

And so we've done that over the years to express our black excellence.

We've done that to show people our professionalism and our creativity through style.

Not only that, but being a part of SGA, being a part of Royal Court.

Those are organizations that you do have to dress up because you may have to talk for the school, you may have to talk to the board of trustees or the board of directors or the UNC system.

And so you want to present yourself in a great light.

And we understand too that as black and brown students, we have to give a little extra because we know that there needs, that along with the skills and the talents that we exude, we have to have something extra when we go into these interviews, when we're going into our fellowships and our internships.

And so from there, for me, I was always that type of guy that was understanding that I wanted to express myself.

I wanted to be that guy that people came and said, hey, you can dress or inspired people to be themselves.

And so for me, I feel like although I always love style and fashion throughout the years through Divine Nine, through different organizations on campus, it really allowed me to express myself and appreciate fashion for what it is and individuality.

- Yeah, and I think that's the beauty of it.

The expression allows you to show up as who you are.

I think the beauty of also the storytelling, we're finally getting to see perspectives of different people, different communities outside of the boxes that they've been put in for decades.

And I think that's the beauty of this piece, Torrence, is that, again, we've shown an angle that is not explored often.

Dr. Dixon in the piece talks about how black Americans have valued fashion for the longest, right?

Using it to express resistance, dignity, identity.

How important was it to communicate that message in this piece?

Because she does go into a bit of history that some may say, why is this relevant?

- Yeah, I think it was huge for me.

I kind of wanted to give folks a little bit of an education, but also let them have a little bit of fun with the piece too.

But to me, it's very important because I feel like you have to understand the why, behind why are we making these decisions?

Why, when you look at historical photos of civil rights marches, you see black people in their Sunday best, right?

Or when they're at that lunch counter.

Yes, and they know someone's about to throw food on them.

But you wore your best clothes.

Why is that?

And she did, Dr. Dixon, she was able to explain that just a little bit.

I wanted to add a little bit more, but it's a short.

But at one point she was saying that, that showed that they were serious about change.

That showed dignity, honor.

You have to respect someone when they come in dressed properly, clean.

- Even if you don't like them.

- Even if you don't like them.

- You're right.

- Even if you don't like them, you don't understand them, there's something that it just kind of commands that attention and at least a minute level of respect.

What has, well, in filming these students, what parallel, and even just watching the film or just experiencing it, what parallels have you seen between creative drive, expression of identity, and the parallels of our own creative worlds?

I know that you're in politics, but when we look at pushing against those boundaries and finding our voice and identity and style, how does that parallel outside of fashion?

'Cause again, some people may say, well, what are you gonna do with this fashion degree?

But we know that there are many interchangeable skill sets that come with many of these majors.

And so how have you seen parallels between what these students have shared to your career and yours?

- Yeah, the biggest thing that I've seen on campus was just this determination.

It's this energy.

And I think the days that we were on campus, I just felt so energized being around these young people 'cause they were just eager.

They're eager to tell me about their story, but also behind that, they're eager to learn, eager to grow in their craft.

So I think the biggest parallel is that these fashion students, they want to cultivate an audience kinda how I do with visual storytelling.

They want someone to go in a store and buy their garment and put it on their body and walk around with it, and express themselves.

I want someone to look at something and guess what?

Enjoy it, but also go and tell someone else.

- Yes.

- And it becomes a part of their life.

So they're on the physical realm.

I'm more on like a mental, you know, but that's the-- - It's both change though.

- Exactly.

- Both change agents, yeah.

- It's change.

And the thing is, is that that's the parallel.

They're gonna work hard and get to it and continually grow.

That's exactly what I'm trying to do.

Work hard, continually grow, hopefully get to that point where you can start to create some change.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, and I'll just share that fashion tells a story.

And I think with these students, they're not afraid to tell that story.

And they're not afraid to tell that story in corporate America, where they may be the only black person in the office.

They're not afraid to tell that story at the General Assembly.

They're not afraid to tell that story on the front steps of the White House.

They're not afraid to tell their story because that's important to them.

And we all have one.

You know, in HBCU culture, we know that HBCUs were created because we didn't have anywhere else to go.

And so to create that space was a form of unity and also a form of resistance.

And so I say that fashion has a story and we're willing to tell it.

Students, nowadays, our students are so bold with what they say.

- Yeah.

- And they're unapologetic about that.

And I think that that compares with style too, because we see on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook that people are not afraid to show their style.

- And so to that end, I ask the question, is there a line that's crossed from having your own individual style to still conforming though?

And being respectful and having obligation to culture and societal norms?

- Well, for me, and I tell my clients this, who I've styled in the past, and even when I was on helping with Royal Court on different campuses, I always told my students, you have to comply, but you don't necessarily have to conform.

And I always say that because it is a time and a place.

And one of the uncles or aunts that I spoke of at HBCU campuses, who may be your professor or your administrator, would tell you, there is a time and a place for certain things.

But we do know that you can comply, you can follow the rules, but you don't have to conform inside.

You don't have to conform your heart to fit in because we were born to stand out.

And so I think that's-- - We're compromised who we wanna be.

- Not at all.

- Yeah.

About a minute-ish left.

And I want to ask both of you this question.

You went to different HBCUs, but what has the HBCU experience meant to you as a student and as an alum?

(sighs) - Yeah, as a student, the HBCU experience, I mean, I always tell people, when I went to Howard, going to Howard made me a man.

- Yeah.

- You know, and that's, to this day, I still believe that.

On this side of it, as an alum, as a professional, it is the foundation of my work.

Being at Howard, my professors always express, hey, you need to be the person that tells our stories.

- Yeah.

- That brings-- - I wanna give Lamar, I didn't mean to cut you off, got like 30 seconds.

- No, HBCUs have made a difference in my life.

It's just shown me how to show up for myself, my family, and those around me, knowing that I was inspired by Andre Leon Talley, who went to North Carolina Central as well.

It's really inspired me to be who I am today.

And it's plus this suit.

- And look at who you are today.

I love it.

Thank you, Lamar Bryan, Torrance Hill.

- Absolutely.

- Thank you both so much for weighing in on this topic.

- Sure.

- And I thank you for watching.

To see the full collection of short films on HBCUs, you can go to hbcuweeknow.com, or find the HBCU Week Now channel on YouTube.

And if you want more content like this, we invite you to engage with us on Instagram using the hashtag #blackissuesform.

You can also find our full episodes on pbsnc.org/blackissuesform, and on the PBS Video app.

I'm Kenia Thompson, I'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) ♪ - Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you, who invite you to join them in supporting PBS NC.