By Darnesha Cotton

Instagram is no longer being used for just keeping up with celebrities and taking "selfies." A University of Memphis student is using it to build her new accessory line.

“I posted the earrings on Instagram and people responded saying ‘I want it, I want it,’” said Kristen Bowen, 21, a junior social work major at the University of Memphis.

Bowen's inspiration for the earrings developed from a love of fashion and a habit of rummaging through her grandmother's things.

“I was looking through my grandmother’s jewelry box. I picked up a button and said ‘This is a pretty earring.’ That’s when she told me it wasn't an earring, it went on her suit,” said Bowen.

Bowen said the conversation influenced her grandmother to give her a machine that helps her turn fabric and metal pieces into earrings.

After creating her first pair, she took to Instagram to show off her new hobby.

She received an overwhelming request on the photo, giving Bowen the idea to create Lend Me Your Ears. Bowen said the name was inspired by a monologue she had heard and felt it was catchy enough for her new business.

By Darnesha Cotton

Fashion Moguls Memphis (FMM) hosted #reWERKd, their debut fashion on Monday, March 24, in the University of Memphis Ballroom.

The event showcased designs by Lena Evans-Ray, Christina Dang, Dyneesha Bradley and Jeromy Clear along with other pieces from local boutiques such as Crazy Beautiful, Langford Market, Wish and Plato's Closet.

The clothing featured are being sold on the #reWERKd website with the proceeds benefiting St. Jude's Children's Hospital Research. 

By Darnesha Cotton

Fashion Moguls Memphis (FMM), a newly formed University of Memphis organization, will host its debut fashion show, titled #reWERKd,  on Monday, March 24, in the University Center Theatre at 7 p.m.

“It’s a different approach to fashion; it’s not just able the labels. It’s about using what you’ve got and adding your flare to it,” said Christina Dang, Fashion Moguls Memphis president.

Members of FMM collaborated with each other to redesign and create new garments to be modeled and sold during the show. Lena Ray, one of the stylists for the show, said she is anticipating the response of the audience to the shows approach towards fashion.

“I look forward to seeing how the people react to the clothes that we created,” Ray said. “A lot of the clothing we reworked for the show were donated by students at the University of Memphis that they didn’t want.”

FMM hosted a clothing drive at the university in December 2013 and January 2014. The clothing donated during the clothing drive that was not used in the show was donated to Clothes4Souls.

Every model in the show will be wearing two #reWERKed garments partnered with clothing provided by local boutiques: Wish, Langford Market, Crazy Beautiful and Plato’s Closet.

By Darnesha Cotton

The University of Memphis African Student Association will be making the world their runways. The student organization is using cultural fashions to unite students of different backgrounds and heritage.

Senior film student Lawrence Shaw and Justin Brookes, a sophomore health and human performance major, are co-directors of the first Multicultural Fashion Show on campus. 

 “We are trying to show the diversity of the world," Shaw said. "The best way to learn about a different culture is through their food or through their clothing."

 The show is set to occur in April during the University’s Multicultural Week, an annual
celebration done by the University to honor the diversity of the students. 
 
“The vision is just to show everybody that although we are all from a different culture, we all
of one body, we are all the same. We can celebrate each other’s diversity,” said Shaw, the creative half of the duo.

By Erica Horton

Montreal Bradley has style.  

“I would describe it (my style) as mine," he said. "It isn’t too different and it isn’t too plain.  It is versatile and totally mine." 

Inspired by designers such as Jonas Bevacqua, Ralph Lauren, Nicky Diamond, Calvin Klein and Benny Gold, Bradley, a 24-year-old south Memphis native, decided to make it his business to brand and sell his style to others.

He began his career as an entrepreneur, working with Built Together Clothing, mostly making T-shirts for men and women with an original logo drawn by him.

The logo features what appears to be a blindfolded angel with lion heads and snakes for wings.

“My logo means several things,” Bradley, a sophomore business administration major at the University of Memphis, added. “The angel means we all have some good in us. The snakes mean we all have some bad in us, and the lions mean that no matter what, we all have royalty within us.”

Priced at $15 each, Bradley’s designs are printed on fitted, crew neck T-shirts and jersey tanks in sizes ranging from extra small to 2XL on a variety of colors such as pink, white, red, cream and black.

Bradley sells his products in person and online. His items will soon be featured on Karmaloop, an urban and street wear website with other custom designs.

Karmaloop is one of many upcoming partnerships with Built Together clothing. In the upcoming months, Bradley plans to expand his clothing line to include scarves, hats and jackets for men and women.

Bradley said self-motivation and nurturing is the key to being a young, successful entrepreneur and that he wanted to work for himself for as long as he can remember.

“It is a great feeling to know that I built something from the ground up with hard work and support from the people who help me,” he said.

A solid example of Bradley’s style is his shoe collection. His monthly clothing budget fluctuates between $150 and $300 depending on the pair of shoes he will buy for an outfit.

Among the top five items in his wardrobe are a pair of grape Air Jordan 5’s, which can begin at $90 and price upwards of $300 online depending on where they are bought, as well as the condition and age of the shoe.

“Fashion is more than just what I’m wearing; it is an expression of my true personality,” he added.

A man of few words, when Bradley is not working on his line, he is working on himself with daily trips to the gym and hobbies such as skate boarding, basketball and flag football.

When he is not going to classes at the U of M, he works as a team leader—“basically ensuring all employees have what they need to work properly and effectively”—at night at the FedEx Memphis World Hub.

“My passion is people,” he said. “I truly believe in people, and I feel that we all are built together as equals.”