How Threaded is Redefining Men’s Fashion in the River City
Photo Courtesy of Tyehire Keel of Visible Illusion // Former housing official and Threaded: A Men’s Fashion Week Founder Darrian Hewlett observes a stylist stitching up clothing on a runway model during a model fitting.
Darrian Hewlett is threading the way for the gentlemen to shine at Richmond’s first official men’s fashion week from March 20 to 23.
The former Richmond Fashion Week (RVAFW) front-of-house guest experience lead created ‘Threaded: A Men’s Fashion Week,’ an upcoming fashion week dedicated to showcasing menswear and its trends within modern-day fashion wear. Hewlett combined his love for the Richmond community and fashion to shed light on male models and menswear representation.
“Richmond has this big culture around menswear inspiring women,” Hewlett explained. “It's a lot of menswear inspiring today's fashion trends and it still remains en-vogue.”
Before the voguish weekend, the fashion week will have Threaded Market at the Workshop by T&D at 1400 Mactavish Ave. this Thursday, which will be an open market from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with local business vendors selling clothing, antique items and emerging designer pieces. The weekend will officially begin on Friday with Threaded’s Networking Kick-Off, a networking social with local creatives marking the inaugural fashion week that will take place at Seasons Restaurant and Bar on 1718 East Main St. from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The first fashion show on Saturday, the Eclectic Evolution, will showcase men’s streetwear at the Randolph Community Center on 1415 Grayland Ave. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The weekend will wrap up on Sunday with Threaded’s fashion show finale, A Menswear Affair, showcasing men’s professional and formalwear at the Hofheimer Building on 2818 West Broad St. from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
This marks one of Hewlett’s many independent ventures outside of RVAFW, an organization founded in 2008 that highlights and helps emerging and established fashion designers grow their social platforms and expand their network within the fashion industry. Hewlett first became involved with RVAFW in 2016, then announced his departure in early January to dedicate more time to Threaded.
“You face people just trying to keep you in one shell and me as an individual who always wants to evolve, I'm very results-driven, it kind of pushed me to continue to just do my thing,” he said.
But, Hewlett’s love for serving the community and fashion did not just root from RVAFW. The two stemmed from his former job in the affordable housing industry and his childhood at Sunday's church services.
How it All Threaded Together:
Photo Courtesy of Tyehire Keel of Visible Illusion // Threaded team poses for group photo. From front to back, left to right: Logistics Manager Cassie Long, Threaded Ambassador and Partner Steve Adkins, Threaded Founder and Executive Director Darrian Hewlett, Media Director Feriod Terry, Photographer Bryon Wimbish, Photographer and Media co-Director Shamara Xavier, Beauty Director Gracie Pounder, Creative Director Ron Abangan.
The young Hewlett grew up as the youngest of five children, who are a big but close-knit family. He recalled while growing up, his grandmother instilled the importance of serving the community, which he carried throughout his young adult life. While some kids would dread waking up to Sunday’s church service, Hewlett’s love for fashion grew due to how church-goers often dressed their Sunday best.
“If you grew up in a Black church, anyone who goes to a Baptist or a Pentecostal church, it is a fashion show on Sundays,” he said.
Hewlett recalled that while the church style had to remain modest, congregants were able to still make conservative fashionwear stylish. Despite his love for fashion, Hewlett also said his grandmother would go shopping for him, but he often got teased by peers for not wearing the latest trends.
“I would get picked on sometimes when some things weren't the latest thing,” he recalled. “Kids can be ruthless, but then I begin to develop my own sense of style and continue to love it.”
Being the small world Richmond is, fellow church member Marion Batts was serving as RVAFW’s executive director in 2016 and encouraged Hewlett to become involved. He started as a team member and then worked his way up as an executive assistant and event promotion. While being involved with RVAFW, Hewlett worked as a housing official for over eight years but left the affordable housing industry earlier this year to pursue more career opportunities.
“I had to take a spiritual moment. I was like, ‘I'm not happy. I'm stressed,’” he explained. “My spirit was feeling like it was … time to fly.”
Hewlett then soared with his wings to work swiftly on Threaded, a passion project that has been a long time coming. He noticed that there were not many fashion shows dedicated to showcasing menswear and male models.
“That platform is needed,” he emphasized. “The last strong men's fashion week in the US was Chicago Men’s Fashion Week and it hasn't done that since 2018.”
The Uneven Stitches of Menswear:
Like most industries, the fashion industry gender gap in the modeling workforce and leadership positions are wide, which creates a lot of disparities within pay, leadership roles and thus, the types of fashion shows designers present.
Photo Courtesy of Threaded // Models pose in streetwear clothing for promotional photoshoot
Not Just a Fashion Label reported that the fashion industry has around 14% of females in C-suites positions for big fashion brands; thus, the industry remains a male dominated business that largely caters towards women. Due to brands catering towards women, Hewlett mentioned that not many average retailers sell clothing in stores to both genders equally.
“You go into H&M, you go into Forever 21… as soon as you’re walking up, everything is catered to the women and then you walk around,” he said. “Still, you’re like, ‘oh, men's section is literally a corner.’ There’s your 25%.”
Though Threaded stated that male models represent only 20% to 25% of the fashion industry, there is not a confirmed percentage of male representation within the modeling workforce by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, Zippia reported that female models make up 77% and male models represent 22% of the modeling workforce, which can correlate to the widely recognized gender imbalance in fashion.
“There's lots of men who want to get into [fashion,]” Hewlett added. “They work out, they exercise, take care of their skin, look good, look like models, but they don't show up to [fashion shows] because it's nothing catered to them.”
Richmond-based model Bradley Cox is serving as one of the featured runway models for Threaded and has known Hewlett since the RVAFW 2022 Spring Season. Cox has modeled for several emerging and well-known designers throughout the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region and New York.
He also noticed the gender imbalances in the modeling workforce, especially when menswear is often supplementary at fashion shows for women’s clothing.
“Even when there are designs for both men and women in a show or among even one specific designer, oftentimes the men are the accessories,” Cox explained. “So I think, [Threaded] is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on a segment of fashion style that's often more in the background.”
Despite the gender imbalances, men’s fashion is on the rise, according to VOCAST Fashion and Lifestyle Researcher, Isabelle Kvist. Kvist reported that the menswear market has been on the rise for the past few years due to more choices in menswear and male consumers becoming more conscientious about their style, especially in workplace settings.
“Menswear has been very dominated by the workwear market for a long time, but as workplaces become more casual, the breadth of opportunity of variety for men’s clothing has begun to rapidly grow,” Kvist said in the article.
Binding the Thread
While Hewlett could not give a peek behind the curtains on the lineup of designers who will be showcasing their work, it is confirmed that David Harrell – who also serves as Threaded’s fashion director – of the Suit Brother, Rumors Boutique and various emerging designers from Virginia Commonwealth University will be showcasing their latest designs.
Cox also expressed his enthusiasm for being involved with the upcoming men’s fashion week.
“I am a man who does fashion in Richmond and this is an opportunity to highlight menswear in fashion in the place where I live,” he said.
Hewlett reflects throughout planning Threaded that he never encountered imposter syndrome, a feeling of being an ‘imposter’ by questioning one’s qualifications and abilities.
“I just don't give a fuck. Everyone's got shit with them,” he said. “I'm not easily intimidated, I'm not easily impressed, but I am sure of who I am, and that alone…I can wear through the storm.”
