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Passion for Fashion Memphis-born designer Prep Curry partners with Banana Republic for a floral collection. BY JESSE DAVIS
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t all started with a bet. Prep Curry asked his parents for a sewing machine for his 25th birthday. “They all laughed,” he remembers. Curry had pursued other dreams to varying levels of success, and his parents wondered if he would stay dedicated to sewing. That’s when his mother decided to sweeten the pot. If he kept up his work, she would pay for two sewing classes from an instructor at Hancock Fabrics. Curry stuck with it, and now, years later, he has a partnership with Banana Republic. The collection features bold colors and patterns, a splash of spring after what felt like a yearlong winter. The Memphis-born, now California-based, designer says that was his intention — to give people flowers after a year of loss and pain. He says he wants people to feel good about themselves when they put on his designs, and the partnership with Banana Republic has extended his reach. Now anyone can find themselves wearing Curry’s flowers. “I learned a lot about fashion from my mother,” Curry says. “A lot of the sense of color comes from her. She would start looking for our Easter clothes in Septem-
above: A young Curry with his mother and sister. above right: Curry at the sewing machine he received for his birthday.
ber. She would make sure that we were so fly, but she always did it on a budget. She made me and my sister think about fashion in a different way.” It inspired a young Curry to be unique, to establish his own style. He would paint his shoes or change his shoestrings out for different colored laces. Eventually, in 11th grade, he got a job at Finish Line selling shoes — and his passion for fashion took another step forward. “I don’t like dressing like anybody else,” Curry says. “I always wanted to just be me. That’s what I want to be said, ‘Be you. Be unique. If you have a talent, if you have an eye, show it.’” His first passions were art and dance, and he spent time dancing in groups while he lived in Memphis. But a leg injury left Curry looking for another way to express himself. So he asked for a sewing machine and moved back in with his parents. “When I wanted to start learning how to sew, I watched YouTube,” he
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remembers. He learned the basics in those first sewing classes, but he continued honing his skills, displaying the determination that is a hallmark of Curry’s story. “I moved back to my parents’ house and locked myself in my room, from sunup to sundown,” he says. “They heard that sewing machine all day long.” Before long, Curry’s cousin invited him to move to L.A., admittedly more of a fashion center than the Bluff City. Because he wanted to challenge himself, he agreed. “I want more. I want to see people who push me.” Shortly after moving to the Golden State, Curry found himself flying to Miami to participate in shoe designer Angela Simmons’ design competition. It was another step forward into the world of fashion. “I didn’t win, but I just kept hitting the ground running as soon as I got out here,” he says, “I was determined to make something happen. I didn’t want to come out here and just be here.” Eventually, Curry found himself living in his car, then bouncing around among hotel rooms. “I moved 31 times in five years.” He says that time of his life was all about fashion — being dedicated to it, taking orders
ABOVE PHOTOS COURTESY PREP CURRY PERSONAL ARCHIVE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BANANA REPUBLIC
5/11/21 11:00 AM
