Urban Outfitters unveiled its new Summer Class Collection on Tuesday. The retailer tapped five students from the 2022 Summer Internship Program to design a capsule collection representing historically Black colleges and universities. They each designed five to six limited-edition pieces in honor of their institution.
The design internship lasted 10 weeks and was organized in collaboration with Morehouse College, Tennessee State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Hampton University. Proceeds will go towards a donation made to each school and select designs will be available for purchase at each campus’ bookstore.
The full collection is available to shop on Urban Outfitters’ website.
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Sade Holt studied business management and leadership at Hampton University. She interned with Urban Outfitters Women’s Buying Team and designed six pieces, including a denim jacket, a pair of jeans and graphic t-shirts. She also designed accessories such as a scarf and a corkscrew water bottle with Hampton’s mascot, founding years and motto, “The Standard of Excellence.”
“I knew I wanted to incorporate those details into an edgy collection inspired by our mascot, the Pirate!” she says.
Holt is also developing her own brand and is focusing on personal styling and upcycling.
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Bishr Burns is studying biology at Morehouse College and joined the Urban Outfitter’s Men’s Buying Team during his internship. He designed six pieces, which include a trucker hat, a flannel shirt, a fleece short, a graphic tee and a satin bomber jacket in homage to the university.
“Coming to Urban was kind of a big step out of my comfort zone since I am a biology major who has never really had experiences in the fashion industry besides my own research,” he says. “I’m glad I decided to try it because it gave me another path to explore.”
He advises other creatives of color to never take “no” for an answer when pursuing their passion.
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” he adds. “Don’t feel like you’re not good enough because others have a little more than you!”
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During his internship, Mike Tambashe, who studied at North Carolina Central University, joined the Men’s Buying Team. He created six pieces — a graphic t-shirt and shirt, a corduroy hat with satin stitched NCCU embroidery, carpenter pants, a plaid varsity jacket and a scarf featuring the NCCU Eagle mascot.
Tambashe tapped into archives at NCCU to inspire his designs.
“My approach was inspired by the knowledge that we’d be partnering with Urban Renewal, so the idea of repurposing and collaging was the language I wanted to use in making my pieces,” he says.
He is building his own brand, POOR DAD, and hopes it will be available at Urban Outfitters.
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Faith Reeves graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor’s in Fashion and Communications. During her internship, she worked with the Women’s Intimates and Loungewear team. She designed five pieces, including a champion branded t-shirt, a graphic t-shirt, embroidered denim pants and a denim trucker jacket.
Reeves says her experience at TSU inspired her designs.
“As a Tennessee native, I grew up always hearing about Tennessee State University (TSU) because of the band and the football games,” she says. “The John merrit classic was my very first football game I attended at the age of 10. So I went back to my beginning at TSU, and that’s what inspired my collection.”
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Mya Harris is a North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University senior majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Design with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. During her internship, she joined the Women’s Structured Design Team and crafted six pieces – a flannel shirt, a satin jacket, a scarf, a trucker hat and a graphic tee.
“I really wanted the customer to understand the historic value of my university and the value of HBCUs as a whole. I tried to take real life experiences, styles, and trends I see at my school everyday to speak for the university,” she says about her creative process and her inclusion of university imagery on her designs.
