Talk of the County Podcast | Fashion Alliance

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:00:14

We are here on another episode of Talk of the County. This is one that I've been waiting for for weeks, to talk fashion, to talk style, to talk swag. This is gonna be a fun episode of Talk of the County, I guarantee you. I'm here with, Yogi Terrell, CEO of Warhol & Wall St. & Director of Columbus Fashion Alliance

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:00:41

What's up? What's going

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:00:42

on? This guy wears many titles. This guy is one of the freshest, dopest dudes in Franklin County. And he's bringing up the next generation of swag, here in Franklin County. You can talk New York, you can talk San Francisco. Pretty soon Columbus is going to be right there, right on them. We're chasing down the big dogs because we ain't scared at all. And we've got some ambitious young people with some cool brands. I'm surrounded by some cool stuff that is original.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:01:20

That's what's cool about It's original and it's authentically, Franklin County and Columbus. It's what I expect, when we're talking about the 14th largest city in the country and one of the largest counties in the nation and the largest county in Ohio, Franklin County. We are always punching above our weight, in anything we do. And we are winners here. All those that, follow the Buckeyes, know this. And those that follow the Columbus Crew, the MLS champions, we are a county of winners, and therefore, fans have the expectation of winning. And they turn out when you win and they cheer when you win and they and they support winners. So Yogi, let's let's talk a little bit about your background and what led you to become the director of the Columbus Fashion Alliance.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:02:22

This was not an easy endeavor, I'm sure. And and you had to dare, to do this.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:02:30

Yeah. For sure. I mean, you know, I've been, you know, engaged in the city and doing things around Franklin County for for years now. Whether it was, you know, in media. I had my own online magazine for a while called Flypaper, which was a platform for young urban creatives. I went to radio. I started a marketing firm, Warhol and Wall Street. We've been running that 14 years now.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:02:54

I've always been engaged with the city. And so all of that was before fashion, you know. I'm a strategist at heart. You know what I mean? I love building community. I love bringing people together. So when I learned that Columbus was the 3rd largest fashion industry in the country, instantly, I thought of a couple of things. 1, that's a big opportunity that I don't think that our city was tapping into. But also, knowing that if we're the 3rd largest fashion industry, that's a huge opportunity for us to create some economic development.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:03:27

So as a strategist, I became obsessed with fashion. Like, I don't have my own brand. I'm not, you know, I'm not a designer or anything like that. I am just, an entrepreneur and a strategist. And so I look at it from the entrepreneurial perspective. Right? And I look at it from an economic development perspective. And so I think that's what gave me the passion to embrace it because I didn't have a bone in the fight. I wasn't trying to do something for myself in that instance.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:03:55

I said, here's an opportunity for the for me to use my strategy skills and my passion for fashion, because I do love I do love a nice little fit every now and then. You know what

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:04:05

I'm saying?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:04:05

Mhmm. But being able to bring those kind of worlds together.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:04:08

Right.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:04:08

I was like, this seems like the challenge that I wanna take on. And it has not been easy, right, because it is economic development at scale, but you have to start at the foundation, which we could talk about. But, but here we are. You know, we're we're moving into it, like you said, full steam ahead, and it's about doing it together. As a as a Franklin County, as a city of Columbus, and all the partners in the county. It's about us doing it together and creating opportunity. So that's kinda how I landed here, man.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:04:38

And it's also about, having the courage to, do things during times of great adversity. Yes. One of our partnerships was, mass, during the peak of the pandemic when we all, had to cover our faces.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:04:58

That's right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:04:58

And even you, took that opportunity to say, you can still cover cover your face and have fashion blended into that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:05:07

Yeah. Do the stuff of

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:05:08

it. And and also provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to work on their craft. Right. Making masks. And the county was able to partner with you on that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:05:23

Man, you know what? What was so special about that is because we had just got started. We had just got started in 2020. Right? And so our our first mixer, per se, was gonna be March 19th of 2020. And I was like, we were getting calls that week before, like, people were calling us like, hey. Are y'all still gonna do that, networking event? And we're like, no, no. I think we're gonna cancel that. But once COVID hit, you know, in the beginning we were thinking, okay, what are we gonna do? Right? We were just getting started, and then we saw, you know, that there was a immediate need for masks. And what I loved about partnering with the county was that, initially, we sourced a bunch of different companies that make masks.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:06:06

Like, anybody who could sew or any company that was making apparel, we went to them and said, hey, can you make, you know, 10,000 masks, 15,000 masks? But what we found is that a lot of a lot of individuals and sewers of color were not they couldn't pass the requirements needed to to qualify to be able to get some of those contracts. And so, you know, partnering with the county allowed us to specifically focus on reaching out to all of those people of color who could sew, you know, a 100 or 500 masks from their home. And so we engaged 20 different creatives and sewers from Columbus and Franklin County, and they created another like 30,000 masks. But we did it in style though. So we worked with like 5 designers, and each of those designers of color created a different style of mask. And that just go that just goes to show you that if you that in a time where people were trying to figure out what's next, and they needed money, and they needed support, we were able to help solve a problem for health and safety while still giving people the opportunity to make a living. And so, that was a great, what I call like a proof of concept, stamp of approval. Like this initiative could have more than just impact to designers.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:07:22

It could literally have impact on our city, in our Franklin County. You know? Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:07:27

And, you know, people people like originality. You know, I'm a big car person. So everybody, you know, want something about their car to make it a little bit different than the next car.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:07:41

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:07:42

You wanna you wanna put you wanna you want it to reflect you in some kind of way. That matte finish on them. You know, everybody, you know, same goes with shoes. Everybody want their shoe to be a little bit different. That's why, you know, people, you know, custom design their shoes. They want their shoes to be different. They wanna they want the laces to be different. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:08:02

You know, talk about what personal experiences and influences have shaped your vision for the fashion industry here in Columbus. But you have something in common with, LeBron James, don't you?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:08:16

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:08:16

Where you come from?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:08:17

Yeah. So I'm from Akron.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:08:19

You know

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:08:19

what I mean? And so, you know, Akron in the house. I'm from Akron. And, you know, coming from Akron, I'm glad you brought that up. This is really one of the personal reasons that this made sense to me is that, I grew up in Akron, kinda the same type of environment LeBron grew up in. Like, I grew up in the projects, on welfare, living in poverty. I went to 5 different elementary schools because we didn't have a lot of money, so my mom would literally find a home. We would try to stay in it. Every, like, 18 months we had to move.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:08:51

So literally, I was bouncing from side of town to side of town, going to food pantries, things like that. And so growing up, one of the things I understood is that as a as a young kid, that whatever you wear was very important. And if you went to school and you had bummy clothes on, you got tees in school. And so, like, fashion goes beyond just, you know, looking stylish. It's like a form of, like, protection and pride. Mhmm. And knowing how important that was, it's like, even if I don't have the money, if I can look like it, I can feel like I can get through life. Right? So fashion has a bigger, a bigger meaning to us.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:29

And so me growing up, going through all of that, and I remember I remember my dad, and I wanted some Jordans, bro. This is funny. I wanted some Jordans back in the day, and we were so broke. My dad bought me the knockoff Jordans,

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:40

and it was it was called Hoops.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:42

Oh, no. Oh.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:43

I didn't even remember that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:44

Oh, my God.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:45

It was called Hoops, man. They they look like they look like George but it wasn't quite George, man.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:50

And my

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:51

dad got them to me and I remember crying and I was like, man, I can't wear these heels.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:55

Go outside with the

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:55

hoops on.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:09:56

You know

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:56

what I'm saying? I can't

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:09:57

go outside with the hoops on. And, it was that fashion that was that important because it it made or break you. And so understanding that, when I saw this opportunity, I said, here's a chance for us to do something different in this county. Because if we're one of the few cities and few counties that actually has this opportunity and fashion to have this ecosystem, then that's another thing that can help youth and underserved communities find a pathway because we already know it's important to them. So now every young person that we talked to, we're like, hey, do you know fashion is here? And they're running with it right now. You know what I'm saying? So me personally, that's kinda how it means a little bit more to me. Coming up

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:43

is that members only jacket. Yeah. The jacket had to say members only.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:10:48

It look

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:48

it couldn't look like a members

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:10:49

only jacket.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:50

No. No.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:10:50

You couldn't just If it if it

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:51

didn't say members only, you had no credibility. Don't even put it on. Don't even put the jacket on. Right. You were not a member. Members on it.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:10:58

You're not a member.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:59

Yeah. You ain't you ain't you ain't doing it. You know?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:02

Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:11:02

Starter jackets, all of that thing. I mean, you could like it like kid neighborhood. They have a starter jacket on with t shirt under that. But it didn't matter.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:10

As long as

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:11:10

they don't do the real starter jacket, I couldn't get the shirt, bud.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:13

Yeah. I got the jacket. Jacket.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:11:14

I got a t shirt on. Nothing.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:15

I got the jacket.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:11:16

You know what I'm saying? You know, you're right. Fashion is just like so much of a person's identity and, it's it's through how they look.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:28

Yeah. And it it makes it gives you that confidence. And like I said, even if

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:32

you don't have a lot

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:11:32

of money, you had that starter jacket on, you could move you could move that day. You was feeling good that day. You know what I'm saying? You went to school proud that day. And so to me, I'm like, this is a huge opportunity for us to create here in this county because you can't do that in every other city. You know what I'm saying? And a lot of kids, you know, especially in underserved communities, they think sports, they think music and entertainment, or they think the streets, If they're not going to college, right, so there's only 4 or 5 things that people look towards and say, okay, I can do these things. But now we have another one. And that's what we're really exploring is that we are, in a unique position in this county to create another pathway that could benefit people in that manner. You know?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:12:13

You know, great people tend to be trendsetters. You take, Michael Jordan. He changed the way individuals look when they went out, on the court, to play basketball. Everyone wore everyone wore short shorts until Michael Jordan made it, cool to wet along with shorts.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:12:36

Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:12:37

You know, everybody kinda had that, you know, Kareem with the goggles.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:12:41

With the goggles. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:12:43

You know, everybody, you know, you got everybody, you know, Jerry Rice had this quote, great Jerry Rice. He said, if if you don't look good, you don't play good.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:12:53

Right. So

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:12:54

he always came out. Tau is in the same place on laying on his pants. Socks pulled up. Everything had to be right

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:13:01

because Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:13:02

Had that mentality. If you don't look good, you don't play good.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:13:06

That's funny that you bring that up because you bring you bring another point to the table was that we culturally, we influence fashion. People of color influence fashion. Culturally, we lead the trends culturally. Right? And so for us, knowing that knowing that, Jordan can make people wear, long shorts instead of short shorts. Michael Irvin is gonna put the towel on this side, which creates a whole new trend. Right? So it's that teach you how to fish mentality of, like, if we have the knowledge in our county, we have the knowledge of the brands that are here, if we can teach people the game because we already know they influence it, we already know that they set the trends, now you're creating that next wave of entrepreneurs, that next wave of of global influence, and that all could be, you know, being birthed right here in Franklin County. You feel me? So that's that's another whole point to bring to it. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:13:57

You see the you know, all of the great athletes that I I looked up to. You know? Muhammad Ali, he would be combing his hair during the interview with Howard Cosell, talking about how pretty he was.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:10

Right. Right. I'm so pretty.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:13

I'm so pretty. But he backed it up though. He backed it up.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:17

Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:19

That's whether you in sports, business, entertainment, you are allowed to talk smack if you can back it up.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:27

If you can back it up. Trust for sure.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:29

About backing it up.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:30

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:32

Talking the talk is easy. Walking the walk requires work. And that's what separates the winners from the losers.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:40

Right.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:40

Right. Because you can

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:14:41

see through the talk those that aren't willing to work. Podcast listeners remember that. Talk is cheap. Work counts. It does.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:14:50

Right. Right. Right. You know, I always say something to, my my my mantra is that I never invite people to the groundbreaking. I invite them to the ribbon cutting. You know what I'm saying? Because, you know, you can talk and talk, but there's a lot that happens in between you talking about it and it actually being done. You know what I'm saying? So I'd rather tell you what I did instead of what I'm gonna do. You know? I learned that lesson, yeah, throughout my years.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:15:12

Because if success happens, the mornings when nobody's looking. The evenings when nobody's watching. That's when that's how success is created. Man. People don't normally think of fashion when it comes to Columbus like I laid off. So but how did it become an area of focus for you? And and when you think about it, it's like, how was it, a secret when some of the biggest, companies, apparel wise Right. Have Columbus roots.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:15:42

Yeah. You know, I'm glad you brought that up and and, you know, serving on, the great experience Columbus board, which I'm glad to serve with you as well.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:15:50

I enjoy it.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:15:51

Serving on that board gave me an opportunity to see, you know, just how much, like, even, culture, impacts our, economy here. And when we look at, you know, how many people are coming to Columbus, what do they know about Columbus? We are constantly looking at how is Columbus pulsing outside of the city? How is Franklin County pulsing outside of the county? How do people know about us? And a lot of that is tied to to culture. You know what I'm saying? And so what I think we have a great opportunity to do with with fashion here is, really use it. And I think, you know, we have, here's here's a great analogy. I was telling somebody this the other day. I said, what if there was 10 NFL teams in Columbus? Right? What if we what what if Columbus is blessed to have 10 NFL teams, yet there wasn't high school football. Yet there wasn't little league football. It wouldn't it wouldn't make any sense.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:16:51

You know what I'm saying? And that's literally, like, what we have when it comes to fashion and retail. We have some of the biggest names in the world in a global fashion. You talk about Abercrombie. You talk about Hollister. You talk about, Victoria's Secret. You talk about Bath and Body Works. You talk about DSW. You talk about Justice.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:17:10

They're all here. Right? You got some of the world's greatest designers sitting next to you at the restaurant but you just don't know about it. And so for decades when the mall was like the social media, you know, when we get up on a Saturday, you know what I mean, get fresh and we go to the mall. That was our social media back in the day. So back then, you know, when you go to the mall, whatever was in that store was what you saw. And I think for years, Columbus was just really good at the business of fashion. Right? We've had multiple phases. You know, back in the seventies, Columbus was the biggest manufacturer of shoes.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:17:46

So children's shoes, women's shoes, we were a huge manufacturer of shoes, leading all the way up to, like, 73 or 74. But in between then, we also were a big huge manufacturer of, like, women's apparel and dresses. And then we, were also well known for, the Lazarus family. You know, starting like, you know, big box retail store.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:06

Right. Right.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:18:07

Right. So before the first Victoria's Secret, before L Brands, we were already a factor in the industry. And so we've had these, you know, this history for years. It's in our DNA. Right. And so now that you have this 10 NFL teams of fashion, right, we have to create those programs like the equivalent of a a high school football, the equivalent of community centers for fashion because we have the knowledge here. Right? And so that knowledge is we're trying to bring that knowledge out of the suburbs, out of the big boxes in New Albany, bring it down to the core, to

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:46

the people. It's gotta be unique.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:18:47

And it's gotta

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:47

be unique.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:18:47

Right? It's gotta

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:48

be unique because anybody can go online and and buy a pair of blue slacks.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:18:55

Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:56

But shopping has to be an experience. Right. You gotta have something different to draw people into a store. They had to have a feeling. They had to lead with they had to lead with a feeling, you know?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:19:08

Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:19:09

You walk into a a a luxury dealership, it's a buy

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:19:13

It's an experience. In

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:19:14

their success. It's it's you know? Yeah. You you're buying you're buying a Mercedes, or you're buying a Lamborghini, or you're buying a Bentley. They're going to treat you a certain way. It's an experience.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:19:24

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:19:26

And you leave there writing a big check. And but you're feeling good about it. It's all about it's all about an experience. And, you know, sitting around this is this is an experience, you know. This is not walking into, Old Navy. Right. It's not like walking into, you know, just a store. It's an experience.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:19:48

No knock on Old Navy. Old Navy serves a purpose. You won't go in there. You wanna grab what you wanna get.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:19:53

At a good way good price. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:19:55

Yeah. But you want an experience when you come into certain places. And and as fashion is a lot about experience.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:20:04

Big facts. Fashion is all experience. You know?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:20:07

It's a

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:20:07

real cultural it's a real cultural experience. And that is what we look forward to building here is that taking it out of, you know, just the big box retail sector and looking at it from what's the next generation doing. Because like you said, we built this space. So gallery. Right? This is another great example of our partnership with Franklin County is we wanted to create a space that was, more than just, I wanna buy merchandise. We wanted to create a cultural experience because we know that that is what people want nowadays. Right? They're not they're not flocking to malls just to to to buy clothes. They wanna have a a shopping experience now.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:20:45

They're going to more boutiques. People are shopping to more boutiques because they love the personal approach to it. And so we create a gallery to be a slower experience, a more artistic experience, and a a better way to highlight local brands of color. And so we love what we built here. And even though we've only been opened up, a couple of months now, it's starting to really pick up as a cultural hub. So you're right about that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:09

It's not like you can just expect to close the sale themselves.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:12

Sales. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:13

The music matters.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:15

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:15

That's why, you know, successful stores, they got the right music because it's it's a vibe. It's a it's just a feeling that that you need to get you to spending money.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:25

Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:25

Because if you're like me, when I'm with my daughters and my wife, they'd be like, you're not having fun? I'm like, no. I'm not having fun

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:30

right now.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:31

Because I'm thinking about how much we're spending. So I

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:34

had to

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:21:35

be I had to have some music in my head or something to be inspired while yeah. And fire while I'm spending money because I'm just not naturally you know, is this fun? I don't know about that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:46

You're right. You know, it's it's the lifestyle. Right? It's the lifestyle.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:21:50

It's, I think that is why I think that's what makes people buy clothes nowadays is that they feel like they're part of that community. They're part of that lifestyle. Like you said, you go to the Mercedes dealer, they gonna they gonna treat you nice. You know what I'm saying?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:22:02

You got they will give you some water. You want still water?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:05

Yeah. Sparkling. Sparkling water. Sit down in this leather chair while we, you know, bring and and wash the car for you. That's that's appealing to you. And then when it's your wife and daughter, like you said, it's a you ain't having fun because that's their lifestyle.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:22:17

Yeah. Yeah. I'm at the dealership. Show me how different cut many different colors that car turn on inside.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:23

Yeah. Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:22:24

Ambient lighting. Yeah. That ambient lighting works for me.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:27

Hey. That's crazy, though. That's that's crazy, man. That's crazy.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:22:31

I like me some ambient lighting.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:33

I know that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:34

Good vibes.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:34

I I can tell Ken you like the vibes.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:36

I said, yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:22:37

You know, I had to get in this car and drive to a job for 10 hours. I need that to be a pleasurable experience. The worst thing you can say to me is a car just an object to get you from point a to point b. I'm like, what are you saying? It's much more than that. It's it's an experience. Yeah. I I

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:22:56

ain't got to that I ain't got to the point where I got the ceiling with all the lights and all

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:00

that stuff. You know what? You know what? You know, I've reached the age where I value the simple things. Yeah. I value my mattress

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:08

Facts.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:09

My television, and my vehicle, and a nice meal or 2 in between. In between. Yes. It gets real simple.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:18

I feel it, Val. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:19

Getting real simple.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:20

That's crazy about the mattress thing, because that's a real thing nowadays, boy. I think after a certain date,

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:24

I don't think when I was young, I didn't care about my mattress, man.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:27

Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. And I can't I can't tell you what mattress I sleep on because I don't know we got the right copyright approval. So I had to be careful when I mention brands, but I would still give a shout out for the mattress I got. Make my life much better post 50.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:42

I love it.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:43

So I'm all about fashion. Fashion fashion is back to the point is, is that fashion, music, and you got a lot of shirts here that say fashion is art. And that's a that's a theme here. And you actually have art in here.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:23:59

Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:24:00

And I'm looking at this dope graphic here, that, I'm looking at with the with the, what's the original Yeah. Road river. River. Yeah. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:24:10

Yeah. That's

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:24:10

like This is, our original concept. I I liked it.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:24:15

This was inspired by the county. As you can see, it has the county board commission's graphic on it. This was inspired by the county because we know, 1, the county being such a great partner to us, but we wanted to be able to do it in a way that it could be embraced by more people. And so, we worked with a local artist named Arce Cohen. Super dope. Shout out to Arce. And we wanted to create something that represented workforce development, represented people of color, represented Franklin County, and this is what we created. And so this is one of our signature pieces that sells, really well in the store.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:24:52

It does really well. And, we put the mural here first so we can take pictures. A lot of people take pictures right there. You know?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:24:58

It's a it's a real. And, that leads me to my next question. What are the unique characteristics of Franklin County that make it, an emerging hub for fashion. I know we we we have a lot of young people. We have a lot of

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:25:12

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:25:13

We have the Columbus Art and Design School. We have, you know, it's just kind of a a feeling, you know. We have a arts district, and art is important to the residents in Franklin County.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:25:26

Yeah. So, what's unique to Franklin County is that within Franklin County, you have, like you said, well, first, you got the people. Right? You have young creatives who are the next generation, who are eager and hungry for an merchandising program. You got merchandising program. You got Hopkins College. You have other schools here. But then you also have the retailers. Right? Like I said, you got the NFL, teams of the fashion and retail industry all headquartered here.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:26:01

And then you add on top of that, Columbus has the biggest logistics hub, and Franklin County has the biggest logistics hub, in the country. And so a lot of the other brands have moved their distribution centers to Franklin County. So you look at, the Gap, Lululemon, Flight Club, Shopify, Magnani shoes. There's a bunch of different other brands who said, this is the best fulfillment and logistics hub. This county is where it's at. And so they move here. And then you have designers per capita. We're the 3rd largest in designers per capita.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:26:38

80% of international fashion flies through this, county. Right? So you have all of these pieces of the puzzle that are here. And our job is just to connect the dots. So my thing is if I can connect the dots and show how if we work this all together as a county, as a city, all of the partners in the industry, if we all come together, this is something that is authentically ours. But if we just connect the tissue a little bit stronger, we're off to the races. And so that's what we, there's no other city outside of New York and LA that has that. But one advantage that Franklin County has is that we're 1 hour flight away from 60% of the population, and we're a 6 hour drive from 60% of the population. So we could take advantage of that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:27:24

And and that could be our niche is that, you know, small batch production, smart manufacturing, emerging brands, direct to consumer. Those are the ways that we could build economic opportunity in Franklin County. And we got all the puzzle pieces.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:27:39

Other than access to capital, what are the biggest challenges facing local fashion designers and entrepreneurs?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:27:47

The biggest thing is access. Access. And I know, you know, from working with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that access is a big barrier that we're always trying to break down. There's like I said, you have no shortage of talent that is ambitious and wants to be in it. But if you don't have the ecosystem, if you don't have why don't we have fashion in the schools? Right? We need fashion programming in the schools. Start them off early. We need, better opportunities to get into college, into post secondary education. We also need the retailers to rethink the barriers.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:28:23

Right? So, like, to work in retail, you gotta have a 4 year degree out the gate. But if you're creative, do you really need retail? You could be a stylist. Right? You can't teach style with a 4 year degree. You know what I'm saying? So we're looking at how do we create stronger pathways to it. And then also financial support. Right? There's a lot of people who could be the next big entrepreneur. But if they don't have access to capital, if they don't have, you know, grants and programs like the ones that we're creating to help them understand the professional side of it, then they never get that chance to do that. So I think those are some of the things that, we need in the county to help everybody be able to start to find their their path in this industry.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:29:07

Give me some examples of of how the Columbus Fashion Alliance has, over time, been able to, support and promote these local emerging designers and fashion entrepreneurs?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:29:21

Man, so I could I could, I'll just start with from what we've did. So even our partnership with the county, here's what we've we've only been around 4 years. You gotta think about this. 2020 to 2024. So in that short amount of time, one, like I said, we started with, you know, providing people some economic opportunity just through making masks. Right? And, then moving forward, we started to, you know, continue to grow that partnership, and we started to do things like create other programming for adults and programming for youth to help get them upskilled in things like sewing, graphic design, entrepreneurship. We created our first market and got our first few brands to market. We partnered with, Easton and, had our market for holiday in 2020.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:30:09

I believe that was 2022. And then since then, we've done partnerships with Swaco. We've done partnerships with Express, with Victoria's Secret. With the Hilton. We designed all of the uniforms for the brand new Hilton here in the city. We work with Columbus Crew. We work the Columbus Cap City Marathon. We work with Pelotonia.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:30:33

So we've given we as a convener, because we don't do all of this stuff on our own. We're just the connector. So we've helped put 100 of 1,000 of dollars right into the pockets of local entrepreneurs and local businesses in the county.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:30:46

Glad you say this. I went to a a local, new restaurant that recently opened. And I sat down, had been there. They just opened. And I look at the guy who comes up and wait on me. I'm like, that's a really dumb that's a really nice vest you got on. That's not thinking that it's original to him. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:06

Yeah. I look around the rest of the restaurant. Everybody else got the same.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:10

Got the same.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:10

Yeah. I thought I was crazy.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:12

What I'm telling him is

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:12

what he look he he look good. He like, that's what they gave me to wear. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:16

Thank you.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:17

But he was nice

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:17

about it.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:18

He said, oh, thank

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:19

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:20

And I look around. I'm like, I guess everybody got this vest and pants, the outfit on. Nice outfit, though.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:25

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:25

Nice outfit. Again, I can't say where I was at, but it was style. You may have designed it. I don't know.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:31

It could be. It could be.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:32

It's pretty good, man.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:31:33

But that's what we wanna do, you know? I mean, we wanna we wanna partner with all of our legacy brands and partners in the city. Like, you know, when you like you said, it's all about the experience. So when you come to Franklin County, when you are at the restaurant in the hotel, like, man, they look good around here. Right? Those are little things that we could do that can help support the local economy and also express that we're a county that is about fashion. Right? Like, I think that's the biggest thing that we need to do is start being proud of what's in our DNA. Some people think, oh, because I'm not into fashion, you know, that's that's for them. And it's like, no. Like, we should start reflecting throughout the county that this is who we are and be proud of that and be bold in that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:11

And like you said, we're already winners. Right? We're already hiring. It's you know, fashion is one of the top five industries in this county. And so we think about jobs it creates, the attraction that it brings, all of those things, it's already in our DNA. I just think that we have to I kinda equate it as like, you know when you're in school and you got the guy or the girl who sits in the back and they got the button all the way up, they got the glasses on, you know, to taper around the thing, you know, some Clark Kent type stuff, you know. But if they just took the glasses off and let the hair down, you

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:42

know what I'm

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:42

saying, they'd be bad.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:32:44

You know

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:44

what I mean? I think that's Columbus right now. I feel like we're in that space where we're finally starting to take our glasses off, starting finally starting to up button that top button and be like, this is this is who

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:32:53

we are.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:54

This is what we are. This county is all about that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:32:56

Yes. Columbus, which is a new,

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:32:58

experience Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:32:59

Yeah. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:00

Yeah. I'm excited about that campaign too.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:02

We we we living out loud in Columbus, in a major way.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:08

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:08

And I think we gotta we gotta we gotta we gotta be more braggadocious about what we're doing and and playing up our wins Exactly. And not be afraid of embarrassment later by stumbling.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:22

No. No. When when you look at

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:25

Stumble, just get back up. Just get back up. Walk it off.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:28

But at least you're doing it. You know, at least at least at least you're in the game, you know? And that's the thing, is that, one of the things that we notice is that when you look at other other cities and what they're doing, right, when you look at, you know, especially cities, you know, being on a experience Columbus's, you know, board, we often look at other cities that we compare, you know, our cities to

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:51

We're trying to beat them, you know?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:52

Yeah. We're trying to

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:53

beat them. Target 5.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:54

Exactly. There's target 5.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:33:55

So we

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:33:57

have to look at it and say, okay, you know, is it gonna be music? If we're gonna be a music city, we're gonna be a music county, then we gotta bring the heat because you got St. Louis to compete with. You got Detroit, Motown City. You got, who else? Nashville. Right? You got all these cities that are, like, entrenched in music. Even Cleveland, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So if you're gonna if you're gonna be a music city, you gotta step it up. If you're gonna be an art city, you gotta step it up.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:34:23

But nobody can get with us when it comes to fashion.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:26

We can never live with being average. And I think No. If we're doing okay, you you cannot have leadership in anything that's okay with being average.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:34:37

Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:38

And you can't just get comfortable either in your own individual prosperity. Right. You gotta be committed to carrying others along. Yeah. Because just you doing well and your circle doing well is not enough for the collective. No. You know?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:34:58

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:34:58

You know, one of my things is, in government work and trying to promote programs like this, trying to promote youth, my objective is, it's not you know, initially, your first goal is, in any community, you want everyone to eat sufficiently. Mhmm. My ultimate goal is, as long as I'm doing this type of work, to be a part of something about everybody eating well. Right. Right. That should be the bodacious objective of everybody Exactly. In anything we do. But when you settle for being average, you can't spread average out there for me.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:35:40

No. No. And you you made a great point there too, Ken, is that, you know, it's not about you just doing enough. Right? I wanna see you just do good for yourself. If I see you do well, I know you'll be able to impact other people's lives. And so that's how we feel about it. If we can help create that next generation of entrepreneurs, like and we're starting with the young people. Right? So, like, we start with them because we know if every year we're bringing 50 to a 100 young individuals into this community, 5, 10 years from now, what do we have? Right? Now you've got, you know, of a handful of them become the next entrepreneurs in this industry.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:36:17

They're gonna headquarter those, you know, businesses right here in Franklin County. They're gonna hire people right here in Franklin County. They're gonna create economic impact right here in Franklin County. So, like, what we're trying to do is, like you said, see everybody do great. How can we help you do great? How can we take this knowledge and help you be that next big thing, whether it's design, innovation, sustainability, you know, logistics, whatever it is in this ecosystem? If we can help you be great, then you're gonna hire people. You're gonna create economic impact in your own community.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:46

I'll you know, I like to stare down complex problems and put them in a simplistic fashion.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:36:51

Okay.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:36:52

It's really not enough to teach the youth how to hunt or fish, whichever analogy you use. Yeah. Because, otherwise, they just program. They go to the pond each day. They throw the hook in, and they get some fish. They take them out. They eat them. They go back to next day.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:10

At some point, if they don't know how to create a ecosystem where the fish gonna reproduce themselves and how they need to plant Yeah. Some vegetables on the side, it's not sustainable.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:37:24

Yeah. That's a good thing.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:26

It's not sustainable. You've gotta create a ecosystem at anything to where it's sustainable.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:37:32

Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:32

It can't just be about doing the same redundant thing.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:37:36

I like that. I like that take on that. I I never thought about it like that. I like that though. You're right because you can just you can just go and you can learn how to fish, which is great because you can eat. You're gonna eat. You can eat. But how are you gonna grow that? Right? You can eat a lot more and help other people eat

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:49

too if you got a good system. You create a sustainable system Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:37:53

Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:37:53

Where there's more fish so others can come in and enjoy that same pond.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:38:00

Right. Right. Then you could focus on the spot.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:38:01

If you got no game plan to to to assist in the reproduction. Mhmm. You gonna only be able to be like, you see others show up in the pond. You gonna be like, no. And that's why some people fear diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Mhmm. Because they feel like it is a limited supply, and they see DEI as something that's gonna shrink the supply, and they're gonna get less of something.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:38:37

Yeah. We gotta we I don't I don't know what we need to do, but we need to combat that narrative because it's a very dangerous narrative right now. You know, there's there's a lot of opportunity out there for everybody. Right? But if we look at it as a place of scarcity, like you said, if we look at a place where, well, there's only enough of this for for only a few of us, so I have to block out everybody else. Right? You're actually pouring gas on the problem. You know what I'm saying? And, I think we need to really flip that how we frame that up to say, you we do have a ton of opportunity out here. And, actually, there's no threat in DEI. There's actually a benefit.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:39:15

How do we position the benefit of diversity? Right? Because if you got I mean, the studies have been done already. If you got diverse people at the table, then your outcomes are always better. Like, that's been proven over and over.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:27

Different experiences.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:39:28

Different experiences. Right? It's been proven over and over. But for some reason, the fear creates these systems that people put in place to to block that out or they fight against it or they resist it. But the proof is in the pudding. And I think we need to keep pushing that narrative. It's like your competitiveness as a county depends on diverse people at the table.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:39:47

Right. Because you're not have you're gonna lose at the end of the day if you want to think that you, as an individual, is the smartest person in the room, and because you at the top, you cannot, uplift and produce other leaders.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:07

Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:08

You're gonna lose. You got to be able to allow other people to grow, other people to prosper, other people to shine. Yeah. And you can't be insecure as a leader. And it's easier said than done for many because they they struggle with that whole part about uplifting others others because they see that, hey, they might be after my job. So I don't want them to be too successful. I want them to be successful enough

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:39

Enough.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:40

To make me look good. That's the wrong type of leadership.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:44

Right. Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:46

It exists.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:47

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I need you to

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:48

do good enough to make me look good, so then whom I report to, they tell me how great I am.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:55

I look right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:40:56

And I don't talk about nobody else involved in the process. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:40:59

That's not a good leader though. You know what I mean? That's not good leadership right there. That's not good leadership.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:41:03

He like, they they they great because of me. Now come on now. That's all easy. We all know that ain't true. Yeah. That's all easy. That's buying that, you know. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:41:14

You're going on a year. You get deeper to that. It is. To that. So let's get back to I I talked to some of the youth, before we started here. And they shared with me how important this program is because it gives them a avenue to do what they wanted to do anyway, but they wouldn't have had Right. The exposure and the mentorship and to be able to cultivate it, what they're doing, the youth that are in this program.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:41:46

You know, a lot of young people, if they're in this creative space and they're interested in fashion, there's a couple things that happen. We we we talk to them about it. We see it. Either they think that they have to move to LA or New York. Right? And and you see it in videos and and and stuff. When you think about fashion, you think about those 2 those 2 markets. And they they wanna move to LA and New York because they just wanna be around other people that they feel like are like them. And so that's why when you go to New York, you see so much creativity and so many of the other young creatives altogether because they have found their tribe.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:42:23

And they know, if I wanna if I wanna be in this space, I need to go there. But what we're seeing is that we have all of that talent here, and we can keep them here because we're building this kind of culture around them. And so for us, we look at it as like year over year. When we talk to them, the things that they say to us is that in my school, I thought I was a weirdo. In my school, I thought I was like, you know, like a standout. Right? Mhmm. Because I like to dress this way, or I like to make my own scarves, or I like to do this. And what we always see is that when we bring them in these rooms together and they meet each other, they're like, oh, I didn't know you was into this too? Oh, you you crochet too? And then next thing you know, you see these, like, lifelong bonds that are forming.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:43:08

And again, we look at this as a long game. We know economic development is a long game. And so we see that every year, year over year, this community grows and grows and grows. And that is what we're providing. When they all meet each other in this program, they all come from different walks of life, Southside, Eastside. They're all over county. Right? And when they come in, it's funny because always the first day is always like everybody's kind of quiet. They're kind of looking around.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:43:32

They're just writing stuff down. And then 2 weeks later, you see them hanging out out at the mall together. You see them coming up with brands. This group is starting a brand together. And you see the bond and the love and that you could see the happiness in them. Like I found my people. And, when we bring people from LA, New York, this is how I know we're on the right track. We bring people we bring experts from all over the country to Columbus and to Franklin County to be a part of our programming.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:00

We just had some of the biggest names in fashion design. We're just here on Friday. We got another guy from New York. We got people from Gucci coming on Friday. And what we hear over and over again

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:09

People from Gucci coming on Friday? Yeah. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:11

Yeah. Not this Friday, next Friday. I'll make sure I invite you, bro.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:14

I need to see the people.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:16

Dapper Dance people too. Dapper Dance people is coming next Friday, so you might wanna be there for that. Yeah. You might be there for that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:22

Gucci come to Columbus. Some Gucci representatives.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:25

And Versace. Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing, but that's the thing can

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:29

All them designers, my people.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:30

We got the connects here, though.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:31

Yeah. Them my people.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:32

We got the connects here. You know what I'm saying? So that is the type of vibe we bring. But

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:36

I'm trying to get a contract to, like, sample gear or something. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. I feel you, man. I can I just want a sample gear? I just wanna be their test case.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:45

You know, Kimberly Blackwell

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:47

get over group.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:48

Shout out shout out to Kimberly Blackwell. You know Kimberly Blackwell?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:44:51

Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:44:51

Yeah. See, if you ever see her, she's always laced in Gucci, Fendi, all of that, man. She's killing it. I feel like she's got that connect, man. So we need to tap we need to tap in with her.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:45:01

Yeah. They holding they they holding down that corner at Easton

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:45:04

doing well.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:45:05

They are. They are. But, but, yeah, that's that's what we got. You know? We have that here, and I'm excited about that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:45:13

How does your work blend with the CFA in Warloff and Wall Street. 1 is marketing. 1 is creativity. 1 is building brands, and the other is more of, the whole, you know, this kind of brick and mortar scene with showing and selling the retail Programming.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:45:32

Yeah. Well, you know, we started Warhol on Wall Street 14 years ago, and Warhol on Wall Street is a branding, you know, agency. We we specialize in, first thing, strategy. Strategy, brand building, storytelling and experiences. So we've been doing that for all these years and working with, you know, organizations like Franklin County on some projects, all the way to working with like Mountain Dew at All Star Weekend. You know? And over the years, just honing that that skill of strategy, brand development, storytelling, and experiences, all of that prepared me for where I'm at today. Because when I took this initiative on and started the fashion alliance, I understood all of those things that I learned through working with many different brands and and creatives through Warhol and Wall Street. And so that is what we bring to this initiative is that I look at it almost like a client.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:46:31

Like this is the biggest client I've ever had, and it's the city and the county as as our client. And we look at it as how do we help this client live their full potential? How do we help them improve this brand? How do we help it create opportunities for others? So that's the approach that I bring to it. I bring that strategic approach to it, and I think that's what's helping us gain as much traction, as we're doing. So they kinda help each other out very symbiotic for sure.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:46:57

Yeah. Yeah. We're coming. Man, I could I could I could we we could chat on this stuff all day, but we we coming to the end. I've got a I've got a question that's kind of a weird question. But when you mentioned Swayco and I know your initiative with Swayco was around, recycling the materials, the excess material. Yes. Because there's a new wave, I know, but it's not wide yet, of machinery and and technology to reduce the number of, the the amount of waste associated with the production of garments.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:47:33

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:47:34

But in the meantime, you know, I think back to, the great great great grandmothers, and and they carrying this craft on to future generations, little to my knowledge, still in the south in certain area. And that's quilt making. Yeah. I mean, they could, they could these quilt makers, man, the skill from just scrap clothes, you know, because they just didn't throw anything away back then. No. I would just take this, this scrap clothes with that have been worn out and just create works of

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:48:15

art. Yeah. And, I

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:48:16

was on a a recent civil rights tour, and I saw the just the the quilts that there's a quilt making club that's associated with a church. It was in Selma, Alabama. And, I was just blown away.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:48:29

They was they were what they was creating?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:48:31

What they was creating. Wow. Wow. And they were creating quilts. They were creating the bags that you can put the plastic bags in when you go from the grocery store. I mean, I was blown away. And I was like, this is the resourcefulness. This is the creativity Facts.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:48:49

That came all the way from, you know Yeah. Being, you know, impoverished in the deep south, coming out of slavery

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:48:59

Right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:48:59

Making the most out of every resource that was available to them.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:49:04

Very scrappy. You're right about that. And you know what's funny? I'm I'm super glad you said that. There's 2 things I thought about that. 1, from an economic development standpoint, the project that we did with Swayco was to start understanding how much waste we create in the county. So, like, if we are the 3rd largest fashion industry and our our specialty is specialty retail, you gotta imagine we're creating 1,000 and thousands of garments out of this county. It's 1,000. And so we know that we're we're just as, part of the waste as we are, you know what I mean, in the industry.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:49:39

And so understanding that, we think there's a huge opportunity in Franklin County to become a leader in sustainability because there's new companies, like you said, who are finding new ways of, you know, reimagining what to do with this textile waste, finding ways to repurpose cotton, finding ways to, like, take polyester out. And there's all types of new things that are gonna revolutionize it. And I think what we could do in Franklin County is create jobs by attracting those companies here. And because we already have the logistics, so we have the we have the brands here. So that's one. And then on the flip side of that is that it's very cool now to rework items. They call it upcycling. They call it reworking.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:50:20

Some of the biggest names in LA and New York are just doing that. They're taking old pieces of garments, old jeans, old denim, old cotton, and they're creating masterpieces out of it and selling it in some of the biggest stores in the in the in the country. So it's it's good that it's cool again. You know what I'm saying? It's cool again. And they we we gotta connect those dots of where it comes from and why it's still relevant now. But I think Franklin County has a huge opportunity to lead in that space. Yeah. And and what do

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:50:51

you where do you see Columbus in fashion 20 years from now?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:50:56

20 years from now, I know it for a fact. 20 years from now, Columbus will be recognized as the fashion capital of the Midwest. It will become even higher. We're I think we're the number 5 top industry in the county, but I think it will increase. We will start to become the hub for where the next generation is incubated. I think we're gonna be the home for direct to garment, direct to consumer brands. If you're not a brand who's thinking of being a brick and mortar first and you're gonna be selling online, I think we're gonna be the home for emerging entrepreneurs in that space. And I think we're gonna have a whole new economy based on fashion that will touch all of our communities in Columbus, whether it's underserved communities, scientific communities, sustainability.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:51:39

Columbus is gonna be a huge factor in this industry. And, I think the industry needs it, and the industry is looking for it. So I think it's gonna be very refreshing when people, come back 20 years from now, and Columbus is a force in this industry.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:51:56

Well, you wanna leak out what's what's next, from the past that will come back? I never thought the mesh back baseball cap would come back.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:06

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:07

It was ugly at the time. Yeah. That was all I had to buy. So with the phone fronts.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:12

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's like standard nowadays. That's like standard. You know what's come you know what's I

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:17

I thought when the fitted hat came out, I'm like that. They was done. They they they never.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:22

Nothing goes away, Ken. Nothing goes away except Hammer pants, bro. That's one thing I don't think is coming back.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:28

Never come back?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:29

MC Hammer pants ain't coming back, bro. Now, look, I hope I

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:32

The late great. I'm a ask you another question. In honor of the late, great, Michael Jackson, will Be The Jackets come back?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:44

Bro, I believe a Be The Jacket wave we can start that right now, Ken. Let's get some, bro.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:51

I'm just I'm picturing the video in my head, and I'm thinking, well, beaded jacket

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:55

Hands down, beaded jackets

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:52:56

will always beaded

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:52:58

jackets will always win. It's Michael Jackson?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:01

Didn't nobody have no leather beaded jacket.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:03

No. No. No.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:03

I ain't know nobody with no leather beaded.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:05

If you had a leather beaded jacket, you have some money. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:08

I ain't know nobody with that. Yeah. You have some money. The pluther beaded jacket.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:11

That peeled after a while.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:12

Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Then don't use the zippers, because they might not go back up.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:18

Come back up. Right, right.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:19

Them to be the Jagged I remember. But you're right. I mean, I hope you worse than them Hammer pants was them zebra pants with them come back that the athletes were wearing Yeah. Zebra stripes with different colors.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:34

Yeah. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:34

The, what was they called?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:36

Like The Rock would wear them and Man,

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:38

what was it called? Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:39

I don't think so. There's

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:41

certain things I

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:41

don't think is coming back, man, because that was a that was like what? Eighties, nineties? Eighties.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:47

That was like, I

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:48

forgot what it was called.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:53:48

184 and 86, 87.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:53:51

That was a unique time. See, that was around the same time. Hammer pants was out. So I feel like there's just a gap in our history that's not coming back. And I think those pants is a part of it. Those are hammer pants as a part of that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:54:02

And no one will ever, ever, ever see me in bicycle shorts again, and I'll go in the eighties. That was a that I don't even wanna see no pictures of me with bicycle shorts on, but I know I had some. I remember it. What was we doing?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:19

What was we doing, man? I don't

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:54:20

know what I was doing. You had the biker the the biker show. Not have followed that trend.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:25

With the big stripe color on the

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:26

side, I don't even know.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:54:28

I had some Nike ones.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:29

Oh, man.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:32

I don't know.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:54:33

I didn't even have a bike. I was getting in a car with them on. Man. I didn't even ride bikes no more.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:39

Yeah, man. I remember we had we had a you know when you would take the your high school field trip to the amusement park and stuff?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:45

And I wore my first pair of biker shorts on that trip, bro. And I was I was so mad at myself. I was like, what am I doing?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:54:53

Oh my god. I would oh, them plastic was shorts. I am never ever ever I don't

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:54:58

I don't think that's coming back for guys.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:00

I ain't doing I would never do it again. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't really

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:03

I mean, half of us at this age, I ain't worried no shit.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:05

Somebody should've told me, take them off. Somebody should have told me take them off. Alright. Talk of the county. This has been fun.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:16

Oh, man. Listen.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:17

Before we

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:18

go, we got a little photo shoot to do. You know what I'm saying? Hold on. I wanna get you something real quick.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:21

It's just been

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:22

on one second. My man, limited edition. You know

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:29

what I'm saying? Oh, yes. Let me come over here with you too. Not the way it is. This is timeless. Listen.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:36

Come on with it. Lace you up real quick. 1st, I'm a show show the back of it. You know what I'm saying?

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:41

I'll take the photo off.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:42

It got the Rosie the Riveter. You know? It got your name on the front, you know what I'm saying? A one of 1. Here you go, my man.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:49

Work that for this problem. Can I see that?

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:52

Of course, bro.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:53

Come on. Work out.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:54

There you go. Look at that. What? Oh, it's looking good on you too.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:55:57

It's tight.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:55:58

This is slim. Yes. It's slimming. I love it. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:56:04

Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's, that's

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:06

That's how you do it.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:56:06

That's what's up right there.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:10

Let's see the, yeah. Look at that back.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:11

Alright. Alright.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:56:12

The back is best Pacific.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:14

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:15

Let's turn around. Alright.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:16

Alright. Talk to the county. First of all, thank you for having me on the show. Thank you for coming by gallery. Thank you for being such a great partner. I always wanna give a shout out to Franklin County. You guys have been a blessing to the county. You've been a blessing to the people, and thank you for trusting us to help be a part of that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:56:33

So, I appreciate that. And what we are looking forward to is there's a big move coming up with, Clum's Fashion Alliance. We're actually about to, launch phase 2, which is we wanna build the 1st fashion innovation center. So we're looking at purchasing a building, from the Columbus College of Art and Design. And that is a 43,000 Square Foot Innovation Center that is gonna be a hub for retail, community, youth, everybody to find their path. And that's that asset that I think we need in this county to help catalyze us and get us into that next phase. And so we're really excited about that. We're hoping that's all gonna come online in 2025, so stay tuned for that.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:57:14

Thank you for the opportunity to shout it out.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:57:17

This is, great stuff. Definitely check out this studio. It is definitely,

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:57:23

the experience

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:57:24

stopped by

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:57:25

the gallery. Yes. In the short north.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:57:27

In the heart of the short north.

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:57:28

1241 North High Street. Yes. Come check it out.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:57:31

All things happen. So, proud that, under the leadership of the Franklin County Commissioners, we're able to be a a major part

of Columbus Fashion Alliance [: 00:57:40

Yes.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:57:41

Of this whole program. And we are going to wrap this episode up with my parting words. Do you because no one else has time to.