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VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) – Finding a place in the fashion industry requires commitment, dedication and of course an eye for design.
Just ask Vicksburg resident Raymond Banks, who recently returned from the Big Apple where he was one of the fashion designers invited to participate in New York Fashion Week.
Banks started designing booties and said his love for fashion grew from there.
“I started designing in 2013. I made a bowtie for our church’s Black History Month program, and from that bowtie I got into the fashion industry,” he said.
People started asking who made the bot and where they could get it.
“I was like, ‘I made it,'” he said.
Business took off for the young designer and for the next five years Banks made and designed unique bow ties.
In the year In 2018, he launched his brand Hoodvenchy, which earned him a spot on the runway.
Banks said the Hoodvenchy concept started as a joke, inspired by the name of the luxury brand Givenchy.
“It should never have been a brand,” he said.
But Banks’ spiel on designer labels has been well received.
“A friend of mine at Jackson State asked me to participate in a fashion show with his modeling group, so I was like, ‘I’ll do it,’ but I had to come up with something different than what I normally do,” he said.
So, inspired by the luxury brand scandals plaguing the design world in 2018, Banks said, “You know what, I’m going to do something about it. I’m going to have fun with them, so I’m going to do Hudvenci.
“People loved the brand and loved the name,” he added. And then Hoodvenchy was born.
One of the pieces Banks designed for the Hodvenci brand includes a leather coat with a list of well-known fashion brands emblazoned with their names.
“It started with Gucci and Prada, Louis Vuitton and Fendi. Those names were passed around, but I wrote Hoodvenchy underneath and circled it,” Banks said, adding that the design was meant to convey the message of “dropping and scrapping” internationally recognized top designers and choosing Hoodvenchy instead.
For the New York show, Banks’ collection was titled “Fall Semester Hodvenci University,” and described the 28-piece collection as consisting of streetwear, hoodies and jackets.
The whole collection is androgynous, there are banks, and both men and women can wear it.
“This line was all about comfort; there was nothing restrictive, and there was no avant-garde look,” Banks said. “Everything was accessible to everyday items.”
Before New York Fashion Week, Banks said, he attended Los Angeles Fashion Week in March.
And now he plans to hit the runway in Vicksburg when he returns home.
“I’ve given my time to LA, I’ve given my time to New York. Now is the time to let people in Vicksburg see those works up close. You can watch a video – that’s fine and you can see pictures, but I want to let you see the clothes for yourself.
Banks said he is hoping to have a runway show sometime in October.
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