One of the images from the Banana Republic photo shoot, featuring Prep Curry’s colorful designs.
It 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.
photograph courtesy prep curry personal collection
Prep Curry at the sewing machine he received as a birthday present.
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 September. 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.”
photograph courtesy banana republic
The Banana Republic X Curry collection is gender-neutral, but unlike many such fashion lines, it bursts with color and patterns.
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.’”
photograph courtesy prep curry personal collection
A young Curry with his mother and sister.
“Other people I watched motivated me. Now that I have the opportunity to motivate the world, I’m ready to do it. Because it was hard for me, and I know it could be hard for other people.” — Prep Curry
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 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 and producing the pieces himself.
“There 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 confidence to continue.
The show was so amazing,” Curry remembers. The 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 flare. Breitbard agreed, and the two began a correspondence. “They 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.
“Other people I watched motivated me,” Curry says. “Now that I have the opportunity to motivate the world, I’m ready to do it. Because it was hard for me, and I know it could be hard for other people.”
