After being invited to New York Fashion Week by fashion brand Coach, senior Pierson Stringer attended a showcase called “LANVIN X FUTURE” where he saw models wearing the clothing designs he created for rapper Future.
Stringer began designing merchandise for celebrities after their management teams reached out to him.
“I did tour merch for Lil Baby and Chris Brown,” said Stringer. “I designed sweat suits for them that they wore all throughout [their] tour. For [former boxer] Floyd Mayweather, I did a track suit that only he had, only he wore. That one didn’t get sold online, that was just for him.”
Celebrities’ management teams ask Stringer to design clothing for the celebrities’ albums.
“If I am designing merch for an album, I will get the album name, and then I’ll ask the artist for the inspiration behind the name because that helps me brainstorm ideas and get into their mindset and see what they are thinking,” said Stringer. “Then I brainstorm ideas and look at Instagram or Pinterest for inspiration for the kind of vibe I want to go for. Usually, I will look at the artist’s Instagram to see what kind of vibe they have and what would match them best, and then I’ll just start designing.”
Stringer began to design clothes in 2020 as a way to combine his passion for fashion and art. He started posting the graphics he created on social media, and his designs received many responses.
Stringer’s process begins at his computer. After digitally creating designs, he sends them to manufacturers who print the designs on clothing. The clothing is then shipped to the celebrities who can choose to pose wearing Stringer’s design on social media or sell the designs as merchandise on their own website. Celebrities often send Stringer a physical copy of the piece of clothing with his design on it. This entire process usually takes around two weeks from start to finish.
Stringer’s designs were first noticed by a celebrity when he was a freshman.
“It was an unreal feeling,” said Stringer. “I opened Instagram, and I saw that Future and Birdman had posted a song cover I [designed] for Future freshman year, and my heart dropped. I was like, ‘Wow, this is real.’ That’s when it really hit me that I could make this a career.”
While in New York for New York Fashion Week, Stringer met with agencies to discuss modeling opportunities and his clothing designs.
“It was amazing to see him in his element,” said Pierson Stringer’s mom Jenny Stringer. “It was completely about him for those four days … It was just great to see him in an environment he should be in, a fast-paced one.”
According to Pierson Stringer, he plans to create his own brand in the future.
“[Going to New York Fashion Week] inspired me, just seeing how people that I work for live and the money that they have from fashion design,” said Pierson Stringer. “People can actually make careers out of this.”