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Science fiction leading light Ursula K. Le Guin has always gone against the grain. Whether it be filling the pages of her Earthsea children’s fantasy novels with a main cast of Black and Brown characters, or using her dystopian novel The Dispossessed to enumerate the benefits of an anarchist-collectivist society, Le Guin used her incomparable skills as a world-builder to challenge cultural norms.
In one of her most celebrated novels, The Left Hand of Darkness, Le Guin took a shot at one of the most all-encompassing aspects of the 1969 American society she was a part of: the gender binary. 55 years later, the novel still slaps.
Nike 
When I catch up with Dex Robinson, celebrity stylist and designer he is on the ground at his alma mater, Virginia Union University amid tunnel outfits. Taylor, Jalen Hurts, and Jaylen Brown have each been able to become the flyest version of themselves due to the capabilities of their stylist. With his guidance, these athletes have become fixtures within the global fashion industry.
But most notably, it’s led to a sneaker design chapter. What he ended up with was a design that was later approved by his school, an institution that is pivotal to his creative journey. Since he was previously a part of Nike’s lauded Yardrunners debut class this opportunity landed in his lap. VUU was a major inspiration to Robinson as he worked on the shoe design–the school’s mascot the Black Panther, heavily inspired the black pony hair that covers the Air Force 1. There are other special touches throughout too; he says he added a nod to VUU’s yard. The end product is one of Nike’s most experimental designs to date.
Nike Robinson born right outside of Philadelphia was raised in Virginia for most of his life. Hence why this reveal is such a special moment. His fixation on sneakers, being a member of the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi, and meeting a key figure who co-created Nike’s Yardrunners campaign, Arinze Emeagwali, each played a part in bringing his design to fruition. Though he has a strong background in visual merchandising the stylist’s prowess goes beyond having an eye for clothing and footwear. It’s a knack that sticks with you. One might even venture to say each of his attributes when combined with his HBCU schooling is a formula for unmatched success.
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The legacy-building shoe is slated to be released online during the holiday season. Before we hang up our video call it’s quite noticeable that Robinson is excited to be back at VUU. He and Taylor were set to host a fashion show at VUU’s “Yard Fest.” A kickback was hosted by Robinson too to further pour into students while he’s in town. He even shared that he urged Nike to include current students in the shoe’s campaign for matters of representation. Each of these elements speaks to his dedication to paying it forward and using his platform to elevate others.
Below we caught up with Dex Robinson to speak about his forthcoming Nike Air Force 1 sneaker, his HBCU experience, image-making, and more.
Is this feeling like a full circle moment for you since you attended Virginia Union University many moons ago?
Absolutely. What makes it even a step past that is that I’m from the town, I went to school. Where a lot of people aren’t from the town, I went to school. So it’s like me coming back. It’s homecoming as in your traditional homecoming for your school, but it’s homecoming like me coming home. You know what I mean? And so I feel like to bring Nike to the city is crazy, especially not throwing or catching a ball.
With such an iconic brand like Nike, it’s huge for me. I don’t know if it has sunk in yet but it’s happening now. They’re setting up for this fashion show. The boxes of Nike are coming in. So it’s a real intense moment right now being in the same buildings I was in when I didn’t know what I was about to do just in terms of career and stuff. It’s really cool.
What can you tell me about your time in college?
I was a mass communications and media art major. I was very active at my university, [I] served as a campus leader overall, [and] an orientation leader. I was in SGA, [on the] track team, and an RA at some point. I also joined the greatest community in the world, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. I was my chapter’s president. I was the sole member at one point in my school. And then I brought back the chapter.
I was very active on campus when I was here. It’s crazy because I was the football team’s RA, and so those were my first clients when you think of when it’s time for them to get dressed. I started those engagements in school.
Do you have a history with footwear and sneakers?
History is an understatement. Sneakers have definitely been my life. There’s been times when my shoes took over my floor. That’s definitely been a way that I expressed myself. I mean, also being from Virginia when N.E.R.D existed and then you have the Yeezy shoes, they were [created by] people that were points of reference for me.
N.E.R.D has ties to the skateboard community, and so Nike SBs and Blazers and Dunks–those were the things that I wore in college when I started to really express myself through my footwear and just had access to that stuff.
As a kid going to school, I’m literally getting two pairs of shoes. There’s a white pair of Air Force 1s and black. Once Christmas comes, you might get something fancier. And so it’s wild to be a designer of such an iconic silhouette like an Air Force 1. And then also, again, me just really expressing myself in a way through sneakers and being a lover of that.
What was the design process like for you working on your Nike Air Force 1?
I started designing my shoe a little over a year ago. I had two different concepts that were presented for me, which was an overall HBCU shoe because my school is not a Nike school. So basically, we had to explore a world where if my school didn’t approve us to design I would have to just do it off of my overall HBCU experience. And so I did that. I thought of ways that I would tap into all HBCUs and the shared experiences that we all have.
I think coming to an HBCU, especially the smaller ones, you have this idea of getting out the mud and just really finding your own way. And initially kind of what the people who were the founding fathers of HBCUs where they were creating these spaces for us to thrive that didn’t exist truly. That was kind of what I leaned into. So I went with really leaning into this melanin color. I wanted it to be brown.
Then I thought of things that I felt were beautiful but aesthetically, [but], you could see that it had been through something. So I thought of a worn torn couch, and I was like, I love the idea of [that]. And so I went off of that because those leather vintage couches, they had these creases and stuff like that, but they’re beautiful still. And so that’s what I leaned into, also just a monochromatic moment felt good to me.
[Next] the way that I would express this shared experience in terms of the yard, I wanted the insole to be green like grass, so the insole and the inlining represents the yard. Also, I wanted to have all of the universities that are HBCUs imprinted inside. Long story short, my school approved it.
Image-making is a skill that appears to come naturally to you. What are the origins of this skillset?
People think that it’s something you can teach or go to school for, and I think you can tell those people who try very hard. Myrel="tag">#hbcuhomecoming Black stylists
The post Dex Robinson On His HBCU-Inspired Nike Air Force 1 Collaboration appeared first on Essence.
Among the final scenes of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, we see the Cap tossing away his iconic shield as a gesture of both resignation and defiance, symbolizing his rejection of the Sokovia Accords, as well as his disillusionment with the Avengers, and the fracture of his friendship with Stark. In a subsequent scene, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff are seen breaking Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, and Wanda Maximoff out of the Raft maximum security prison facility, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean — with Thaddeus Ross still as the facility’s warden.
Despite being branded a fugitive for violating the Sokovia Accords, Rogers later joins whatever remained of the Avengers on Earth during the Infinity War. Without his iconic shield, Steve is now wearing a worn-out Captain America suit, whose tattered condition reflects his conflicted feelings toward his own country. Though it wasn’t officially confirmed, many die-hard fans took Steve Rogers’ new appearance as a nod to Nomad, a superhero identity Steve Rogers assumed when he quit being Captain America back in the Bronze Age of Comic Books.
The Bronze Age of Comic Books remains an interesting period in comic book history, primarily because of the way the stories were told. Back in the Golden Age of Comic Books, whose beginning was marked by the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, writers produced more self-contained stories. This also allowed them to try different things with different characters, as everything would go back to normal by the issue’s end. Apart from a few established, overarching story elements, there wasn’t any real continuity.
The Bronze Age of Comic Books was a period when writers adopted the idea of broader continuity, which did subtract from the writers’ ability to try different ideas. Instead, it allowed them to incorporate these ideas into the overarching narrative and explore their depths. And just like in the Civil War, Steve Rogers from the comics also struggled with the idea of being a symbol of America, a country that didn’t believe in him anymore, ultimately deciding to put down the shield in 1974’s Captain America #176.
The decision to abandon the identity of Captain America and assume the identity of Nomad, a man without a country, didn’t come overnight to Steve Rogers. Instead, it’s a direct result of the Secret Empire story arc in Captain America and the Falcon, which had Captain America targeted by an ad campaign organized by the Committee to Regain America’s Principles. The group used deceptive claims and footage to paint the Cap as unaccountable to legal institutions and a menace to civilians, turning public opinion against the Star-Spangled hero.
Cap discovered that the Committee to Regain America’s Principles, abbreviated as CRAP, was actually a front for Secret Empire, a Hydra splinter cell that seeks to discredit him. Simultaneously, he also uncovered their plan to stage an attack that was supposedly orchestrated by mutants and position themselves as the saviors, ultimately taking over the control of the county. Well, Captain America foiled their plan and uncovered all the lies, only to discover that the leader of the Secret Empire was actually the then-current President of the United States, who took his own life in the Oval Office.
This arc was clearly inspired by the real-life Watergate scandal and explores themes of political corruption and disillusionment. It ran from Captain America and the Falcon #169 to issue #176 and remains significant for its political commentary and its impact on Captain America’s character, setting the stage for his later decision to become Nomad in issue #180. The trend of weaving longer narratives associated with the Bronze Age of Comic Books was what ultimately allowed writer Steve Englehart to implement the idea of a superhero abandoning his identity.
Losing his patriotic symbolism and seeing himself as a man without a country, Rogers traveled the country fighting crime. Now in a new costume, Rogers was moderately successful in his missions and adventures as Nomad, despite some embarrassing moments. One of those moments included tripping on his own cape during a fight with Madame Hydra. Steve always wondered why the designers of his Captain America costume never gave him a cape, and this little incident gave him an answer. Nomad’s cape was nowhere to be seen in subsequent issues.
However, after traveling and fighting crime around the country for a short while, Rogers realized that he could still champion America’s ideals without blindly supporting its government. So, when he was called upon once more to become Captain America and deal with the threat of the Red Skull, Steve Rogers hung up his Nomad costume. He slipped back into his Star-Spangled suit and took up his iconic shield. His Nomad identity, however, was taken by others who would go on to become allies of Captain America in later comic book issues.
The post Do You Remember the Time Captain America Donned a New Superhero Identity? Well, We Do appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.