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CITY BEAT~ by jesse davis
CITY BEAT Passion for Fashion
Memphis-born designer Prep Curry partners with Banana Republic for a floral collection.
BY JESSE DAVIS
It all started with a bet. Prep Curry asked his parents for a sewing machine for his 25th birthday. “ ey 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. at’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.
e collection features bold colors and patterns, a splash of spring after what felt like a yearlong winter. e Memphis-born, now California-based, designer says that was his intention — to give people fl owers 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 fi nd themselves wearing Curry’s fl owers.
“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 fl y, but she always did it on a budget. She made me and my sister think about fashion in a diff erent 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 diff erent 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. at’s what I want to be said, ‘Be you. Be unique. If you have a talent, if you have an eye, show it.’”
His fi rst 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 remembers. He learned the basics in those fi rst 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. “ ey 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 fl ying 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 fi ve years.” He says that time of his life was all about fashion — being dedicated to it, taking orders
left: The Banana Republic photo shoot in progress. above: One of the images from the marketing shoot.
and producing the pieces himself.
“ ere were times I wanted to come home,” he remembers. “Some days I didn’t eat.” His mother told him he was out there for a purpose. She encouraged him to keep working — and told him he wouldn’t have a place to stay if he moved back to Memphis. It was tough love, but Curry says it gave him the confi dence to continue.
In 2019, Brandice Daniel, founder of the Harlem Fashion Show, invited Curry to go to New York to participate in New York Fashion Week. He was worried about being able to aff ord the trip, but Daniel urged him to make it happen; do not miss this opportunity. So Curry posted about the trip on social media and got an immediate response. “Put your CashApp out there. Put your PayPal up,” his friends and family told him. Before long, Curry was hiring models to wear his designs and paying for a ticket to New York.
“ e show was so amazing,” Curry remembers. e
above: For a time, Curry moved from hotel room to hotel room while pursuing his dream in California. left and right: The Banana Republic x Prep Curry collection is gender-neutral, but unlike many such fashion lines, it bursts with color and patterns.
next day, he met Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of Banana Republic at the time (he is now president and CEO of Gap Inc.). Curry told Breitbard he thought he could give the company some new fl are. Breitbard agreed, and the two began a correspondence. “ ey ended up flying me to San Francisco to see their facilities,” Curry remembers. “When I got back to Los Angeles, I got an email that said, ‘Hey, we thought about doing a collaboration with you. What do you think about it?’”
Now, when asked how he’s celebrating his successes, Curry says it’s not time to celebrate; it’s time to get to work. He is quick to acknowledge, though, both the support he’s received and his commitment to his own vision. And Curry wants to help support others in turn. His story, he says, is one of perseverance and determination.
