Atlanta Fashion Week celebrates FUBU’s U.S. return!
Atlanta Fashion Week has been a fall highlight since it launched in 2006. And this year’s event will keep that trend going while also marking a major occasion: the U.S. return of FUBU, the contemporary, hip-hop clothing brand started in 1992 that has been doing business primarily overseas for the last decade. Here, AFW founder Angela Watts and FUBU’s founder and president, Carlton Brown, offer a sneak peek at the week.
Give us a quick background on FUBU.
CB: We began in New York in 1992 but have really been out of the U.S. market for the last 10 years due to oversaturation. We had a huge distribution but saw a lot of counterfeiting, so we decided it was time to pull back.
What is FUBU known for?
CB: We have a full line of suits for business and casual occasions, and football and baseball jerseys. We find through social media that kids are really looking for vintage products and are constantly contacting us about bringing pieces back. And that’s what they’ll see at Fashion Week: a lot of vintage remakes of styles we did in suits, sportswear and casual wear. They’ll also see new items that aren’t as logo driven.
Why pick AFW to reenter the U.S. market?
CB: Outside of New York where we started, Atlanta has been our biggest market, so it made sense to have a major launch here.
AW: Carl expressed how he admired Atlanta and its growth, and as we had more conversations about it, he decided he wanted to do something here. He was prepared to come back stateside, even though the brand has been doing extremely well in Europe and Asia.
What is the FUBU exhibit about?
CB: Starting Oct. 7, Buckhead Art & Company will exhibit items from our archives. We have a lot of one of-a-kind pieces made in the ’90s and early 2000s, along with items that highlight the company: awards, pictures and visuals that haven’t been seen before.
What else will fashionistas see at this year’s event?
AW: Last year, we deviated from runway shows, but this year, we’re moving to a new location and bringing them back with shows for two days featuring 12 designers, including Frame Up and Alani Taylor from Atlanta. Along with some pop up experiences, we’ll have designers such as Sylvia Mollie and others selling their products throughout Bloomingdale’s at Lenox in trunk-show style. And there will be panel discussions that focus on fashion influences in culture, how fashion and technology merge and the state of the fashion.
Where will events be staged?
AW: The week starts on opening night, Oct. 2, at Prime on Peachtree in Midtown where the FUBU founders will be honored. Then there are days of fashion presentations and runway shows at Interlock Tower, a beautiful space on Northside Drive that’s not a traditional event space, but we can build it out. And then there are trunk-style shows at Bloomingdale’s.
If someone has never attended AFW, why should they?
AW: You get the chance to meet the designers, touch the brand and really connect. That’s what people love about it. Often the creative directors behind brands don’t interact, but just as musicians go on tour to engage with fans, designers have to do the same thing, too.
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