As the nation’s only design-focused HBCU, Detroit’s Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Black creative talent in the fields of fashion, footwear and design. Earlier this month, PLC hosted the 2025 National Black Footwear Forum in collaboration with the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. Known as “The Industry’s Homecoming,” the event brought together leaders, particularly Black and brown professionals, across the footwear design industry.
The Forum, a gathering of industry veterans, rising stars and emerging Black footwear brands, was a testament to the power of community and support. It provided a platform for connection through panel discussions and networking opportunities, showcasing the innovation, cultural influence and business acumen within the Black footwear and apparel creative space.
One of this year’s highlights was the unveiling of the Ruth E. Carter Apparel Creation Stu/deo. The Adidas-backed design studio embodies the fusion of culture, craft and community.
Ruth E. Carter, a Hampton University alumna, became the first Black person to win and be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Her work can be seen in iconic films such as Malcolm X and Black Panther.
The studio offers PLC students and designers a space equipped with innovative tools and industry-grade technology. The backing from Adidas underscores the creative innovation cultivated at HBCUs.
PLC students Angel Buckens and Rodney Banks designed the stu/deo, bringing fresh perspectives and ideas, including a mural created by Detroit fine arts painter and muralist Sydney G. James.
Blavity spoke with Carter about the Ruth E. Carter Apparel Creation Stu/deo and its profound significance as a symbol of possibility for the next generation of Black designers.
What was it like collaborating with Angel Buckens and Rodney Banks on this project?
Ruth E. Carter: I love collaborating with young people. You know, I used to be a young person, and I’m no longer one, so I like to feel their energy because I feel like I was once them, and I still, in my soul, hold on to that spirit of creativity. So, whenever I’m around creatives who are the next generation, I’m really listening because I think their voice is important. I think their process is important for someone like me to hear them, to see them. So, the collaboration was more me listening and just answering their questions, and being a part of their process.
As someone deeply connected to Detroit, how does the city influence your art and collaborations?
REC: It’s like a Motor City Motown, and because we’ve always known of Detroit, because of the music, and the music was storytelling and inspiring. I did a movie called Sparkle here, and we explored the music creation of the Supremes. It was a period piece, and I kind of fell in love with Detroit then, just knowing its history. Then my exhibition opened at the Charles Wright Museum, and they brought me back here about eight or nine times. I gave lectures, had talks, and led tours, and I really got to meet the people. Knowing the history of Detroit and its economic upturns and downturns, I really felt like I had met a city of survivors.
Why do you think events like the National Black Footwear Forum are essential for Black and brown creatives in design and art?
REC: They get to exchange stories. I’m always amazed that once I tell somebody about what happened to me, something that I struggled with in corporate America or studio films, which is like being in corporate America. You have to deal with a lot of producers and people who think they know. They get 15 minutes of fame outside of their office, and they want to tell you how to do your job. These kinds of collectives provide people of color who are creative and working in a corporate structure with an opportunity to commiserate. And I’m always amazed that when I tell that story about me being challenged, people say, ‘Oh, thank you for telling that story. I thought I was crazy, or I thought it was just happening to me.’ So these kinds of coming together make a huge difference in the life of a creative individual who’s out in the world trying to navigate the system.”
How do you see your role as a muralist contributing to conversations about representation in fashion and design?
REC: I’m not a muralist; I’m a costume designer, and so representation in costume design has always mattered to me. When I worked for Spike Lee, he wanted to show representation on camera because we weren’t seeing it the way that we know. We are seen in our communities.
And then that carried all the way through with Ryan Coogler, and we’re working on Black Panther and telling the story of Wakanda and really imagining a world without colonization.
So if you want to consider collective muralists, as I am the costume designer, there’s a production designer, a director telling a story. We paint murals with storytelling and filmmaking.
What advice would you give to young artists and designers at HBCUs who want to merge their creative vision with industries such as footwear, apparel or visual art?
REC: Yeah, you can’t give up. Even if you think you really are terrible at it, you would be surprised at that little part of you that actually is a diamond in the rough, and you just can’t see it yet. I always say that you have to work through your struggles. I can’t tell you how many challenges I have faced where I felt like I couldn’t do it. Like, oh my God, but I had to, and I pushed my way through the creation of it.
I made myself understand it better, and it did reach a point where I was in a flow state. Still, it took me connecting to that part of my body that was rejecting the assignment and saying, ‘I’m going to ignore that,’ and I’m just going to keep moving one step in front of the other until it’s done.
And when it got done, I was super proud of it.