In The Jungle With The Carolina Fashion Award’s Main Stage Designers
This year’s Carolina Fashion Awards was nothing short of amazing. Sponsored by Limelife by Alcone, Charlotte’s hottest night of the year had the town mumbling with ohhs and ahhs for weeks. The Love and Laugh Venue provided the perfect space to host guests for the night as it was a stomping ground for creatives to interact. As the night progressed, guests were spoiled with red carpet photo ops, tasty refreshments, and a regal ambiance perfect for capturing instagrammable moments. The cherry on top was the tribute dedicated the late, Andre Leon Talley, who is also a Carolina native.
In hindsight, the eye-catching garments added to the appeal that left the audience grasping for air. The carefully, curated pick of designers this year reinforced the fact that wonderful talent is in the Carolina markets. As they both have signature looks, Elisha Cutter of The Box Method and Tevin Baskerville of Nivet Clothing hit the nail on the head as this year’s main stage designers. Even though both designers share the same craft, their paths, and reasons for doing so were opposite. Continue to read more as I dig deeper into the minds of this year’s designers and opened the floor for them to express what they couldn’t the night of the event.
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Tevin Baskerville of Nivet Clothing
Q: When did you get started in the industry?
A: “So I first started let me see 2018 when I had my first show. […] Yeah so about 2018. 2020 started doing more I guess you could say professional work and client work.”
Q: Was fashion something that you always were interested in or was it something that you know hey I can do this and I can do it really good?
A: “My aunt taught me, and we used to make clothes we called nakey clothes because of the type of material that we would use. [Moving forward] I learned [more] in college when I joined another group called So Distinct. We did fashion shows too. I knew I was struggling to find my own personal fashion, but I really didn’t understand it or think that it was something that I wanted to do until later on down the line. I couldn’t find anything for myself. I couldn’t find things that I like online or anywhere and eventually thought like wow I can try to make it.”
Q: What was your reaction to being a main stage designer at this year’s Carolina Fashion Awards?
A: “I was excited and then I was nervous. I was like OK, so I really have to get on the ball you know. I think anytime that I get accepted into a show it’s a level of nervousness that flows over me. To be able [to] do it so soon after I had started doing shows again right because I stopped. I literally just started doing shows again last year in September. [And] to turn around and do another show in May. I really appreciated it and had a good time.”
Q: What emotions did you want the audience to feel viewing your collection?
A: “It’s one of those things where it’s like I just wanted it to be received. I feel like that’s me in general. When I am [presenting] something I want to be received respectfully. If I’m not for you then I’m not for you but you know still respect it. I was happy I was able to not only get that respect in the sense that young people are appreciating everything. I was just happy that it was also well received so that was just a complete bonus and something that I wasn’t necessarily thinking about.”
Q: Were there any challenges you faced during this creative process?
A: Just time. I hate to sound poetic, but time is such a fickle thing. I think that time is probably one of the most important things to everybody and there were times where I felt like I was running out of time to do a lot of different things. I couldn’t find a way to break away from the other things that I was doing because they were equally as important. […] Sometimes I had to snap at people to set boundaries and just really dive into work.
Q: What gets you inspired before creating a collection?
A: “[…] I normally reference things that are in nature so animals, trees, leaves, the way the ocean flows. […] different things that I find peace in bring me inspiration.”
Q: If you were stranded in the jungle, what two or three things would you want to have on you?
A: “A machete and a fire starter. You can do a lot with just those two things. Haha”
Q: What advice would you share to other creatives in the Carolina market?
A: Be who you are honestly. I feel like it’s always about genuinely being true to yourself and your brand. You’re not going to be able to grow if you’re not true to yourself. Regardless of what anybody says, what’s going to be the best thing for you ultimately in your heart of hearts is doing what is best for yourself and your brand.
