Stitch Please

Sewing for Beyonce!

Episode Summary

In this week’s episode, Lisa is joined by three founding members of the Black Sewing Network to learn about their process for creating their own costumes for Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour. Julian Collins, Carmen Green, and Terrance Williams have done powerful work in the sewing community to change culture, lives, make demands, and step forward to create a space that is more loving, more inclusive, and more in line with what it means to be a free people. Their community shares ideas, resources, and an appreciation for Beyonce, and today they share how anyone can create a Beyonce-worthy costume whether you’ve been sewing Beyonce designs since 2010 like Carmen, will be center stage as a VIP like Terrance, attending your very first concert like Julian, or singing along at home on the livestream with your friends. This is the summer of fun and acceptance, your chance to celebrate you and your uniqueness and be proud of who you are.

Episode Notes

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Julian Collins

Julian Collins works in public health, but loves to bring joy to the world through his colorful menswear creations by night as Julian Creates. His work has been featured in multiple publications including Sewn Magazine and Sew News. He is a BERNINA and Laurastar Ambassador and a current Fabricmart Fabricista. When he is not sewing, he loves connecting with people throughout the sewing community, especially in his Facebook group Sew “Manly”.

Carmen Green

Carmen Green is a stylist, an influencer, a community builder, an absolute fashionista, and a role model entrepreneur who always aims to learn not only about fashion and sewing but marketing as well. She is the founder of the Black Sewing Network on TikTok. She believes in building creative communities on social media not only by shifting the culture of Instagram to be more fun, relaxed and authentic but also by trying new platforms such as TikTok to to create a really inclusive and safe space like the Black Sewing Network where women from various countries not only learn to sew but are seen and supported in order to thrive.

Terrance Williams

Terrance Williams is a small business owner, self-taught sewer, makeup, and skincare enthusiast, brand ambassador, and content creator. He designs, creates, and sews dresses, scarves, handbags, totes, and other accessories, and Terrance Williams Designs has been featured everywhere from NBC News to Buzzfeed. Terrance believes that it’s important to not just create beautiful, expressive, and quality pieces that are gender and size-inclusive, but crafted in a way and with materials that support a sustainable lifestyle. All of his items are made with ethically sourced and sustainably produced materials to make, create, and inspire a better tomorrow.

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insights from this episode:

How they designed and created costume patterns in the spirit of Beyonce’s Renaissance tour
The power of music to connect generations even if we don’t have the same tastes
Tips for sewing with Renaissance tour-themed fabrics like glitter, sheer lace, and stretch mesh to play it up for Beyonce
How to upcycle and create a Beyonce-worthy costume if you’re not ready to start from scratch

Quotes from the show:

“We can all appreciate Black artistry at its finest in all different platforms, and basically in sewing that’s what we’re doing. We’re practicing our all-Black artistry.” – Julian Collins, Stitch Please, Episode #188
On why they took the time to put on some sequins and design costumes for Beyonce’s tour: “Renaissance is everything LGBTQ+, really celebrating us–specifically the Black people and people of color within that culture–so it’s really important for us to show up because this whole Renaissance is for us. It’s our songs, it’s our music, it’s our dances. It’s the voguing, it’s the fans, it’s the handclaps. It’s everything.” – Terrance Williams, Stitch Please, Episode #188
“The LGBTQIA+ community has such a huge influence on my style personally, and I thought I was going to show up to a ball. I wanted that experience for myself, so I’m like, ‘No, you gotta show up and show out!’” – Carmen Green, Stitch Please, Episode #188
“I love this idea that ballroom culture is something that is specific to Black queer, Black trans folks, and that as Black cis-identified folks [like Carmen and I] we are being invited to respect that space, and you do that by being courteous and mindful. The way that we tend to do that is to honor the looks that are so spectacular and so generative. This is an occasion, so you will dress for the occasion.” – Lisa Woolfork, Stitch Please, Episode #188
“Don’t be afraid to be yourself! Step out of your comfort zone, do something a little out of the ordinary!” – Terrance Williams, Stitch Please, Episode #188
“If no other time but now, you have been given the permission to be extra, so be extra! Have fun! Concentrate yourself down to an essence and show up. We are in the summer of acceptance of ourselves.” – Julian Collins, Stitch Please, Episode #188

Resources Mentioned:

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Lisa Woolfork

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Julian Collins

Website: Julian Creates

Instagram: juliancollins

TikTok: juliancreates