This Black Historical past Month, be a part of City Outfitters in honoring Black affect, tradition, and historical past with a month-long celebration that includes Black artists and advocates who transfer us and who transfer our tradition ahead. To kick off the month, City Outfitters will launch seven restricted version UO-exclusive capsule collections designed by distinguished artists Kehinde Whiley,  Ron Bass, and Mía Lee, along with trend manufacturers PISHPOSH, Riveriswild, Electrical Circus, and musician Oswan Benjamin. The collections will launch in choose retail places and on-line on February 1st, with a primary take a look at the assortment out there throughout a particular pop-up presentation at The Brooklyn Museum on Saturday, February 4th. Later this month on February twenty third, UO will launch a commemorative collegiate merch assortment in collaboration with Cheyney College, the primary Traditionally Black College, and sportswear model Mitchell & Ness, with proceeds from the gross sales of the gathering being donated to the college, persevering with UO’s assist of Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities (HBCUs). The collections and initiatives launching in February communicate to City Outfitters’ ongoing dedication to nurturing long-term connections inside our neighborhood by celebrating numerous expertise and provoking the subsequent generations of inventive youth.

To proceed its assist of Black inventive expertise, URBN Inc, City Outfitters’ dad or mum firm, has partnered with nonprofit Creatives Need Change to assist the (CWC) Fellows Scholarship Program for Black highschool college students that gives entry to pre-college trend design applications, serving to create efficient alternatives for Black college students into the style business. URBN Inc. has dedicated over  $150,000 to CWC and can encourage its neighborhood to assist by means of checkout donations in-store at City Outfitters places. As well as, URBN staff can take part in CWC’s mentorship program. Every semester, present and former CWC Fellows are matched with URBN staff, who assist information them by means of school exploration and purposes and supply insights into totally different profession paths throughout the trend business. This yr’s utility for CWC Fellows is now open by means of the tip of February.

Designs for the seven Black Historical past Month Capsule Collections will likely be a mirrored image of every inventive’s particular person model and inventive medium.

A curated collection of items from the capsule will likely be on show throughout First Saturday, a month-to-month occasion at The Brooklyn Museum that includes instructional programming, a pop-up market, and premiere entry to its collections. On February 4th from 5pm-10pm, UO will activate at First Saturday with a desk on the market that includes unique collections from Ron Bass, Riveriswild, Oswin Benjamin, and Electrical Circus. Choose kinds may also be out there by means of The Brooklyn Museum Store on website. A particular behind-the-scenes look of the collections will likely be out there on the UO Group Web page and have the gathering designers, their distinctive capsules, and what impressed their designs.

Meet the creatives behind the UO-exclusive collections under:

• Kehinde Wiley is a world-renowned visible artist whose colourful and naturalistic work of African-American people problem the traditional notions of European and American portraiture. The three-piece Kehinde Wiley capsule features a graphic tee, hoodie, and basketball with vibrant imagery pulled immediately from Wiley’s earlier works. Proceeds from Kehinde Wiley designs profit Black Rock Senegal, a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program based by Wiley in Dakar, Senegal, whose mission is to assist new inventive creation by means of collaborative trade and to incite change within the international discourse about what Africa means right this moment.

  

• Ron Bass creates artwork and attire that draw inspiration from his upbringing in Brooklyn, the legendary Jean-Michel Basquiat, spirituality, African tradition and textile. The 4-piece assortment contains two short-sleeved tees, a crewneck sweatshirt, and canvas tote bag. Bass’ use of shiny colour and cartoonish graphics communicate to his final function for his work: leaving a profound mark on artwork tradition by creating items that encourage and uplift the lots whereas reflecting a love for oneself and others.

  

• Mía Lee is a up to date painter and textile designer whose cartoonish graphics and playful use of colour and texture showcase an sincere depiction of her inside world. The 8-piece assortment, launched forward of Black Historical past Month, features a cardigan, colourful crewnecks, printed satin shirts, trouser pants and a sherpa-lined trucker jacket that includes vibrant colours and shapes alongside Mía’s signature designed characters she calls The Girl, The Gents and A Demon.

  

• PISHPOSH is a Philadelphia, PA, primarily based model based by artist, designer, and artistic director Imani Harris. Harris hand-paints all her designs, creating assertion items which can be wearable types of artwork. The PISHPOSH assortment will function 30 distinctive kinds designed by Harris and created for City Renewal, UO’s division of repurposed, remade, and one-of-a-kind classic items.

  

• Riveriswild is a Nigerian idea model devoted to the exploration of esoteric blackness. The Riveriswild for UO capsule consists of a protracted and quick sleeve tee and matching jacket and quick set with printed geometric graphics in daring colours paying homage to Nigerian tradition.

  

• Electrical Circus is a social experiment from the design and narrative centered minds at Cool Calm Studios, a inventive studio primarily based in Los Angeles. Electrical Circus creates tangible items with a playful aesthetic that make the most of the tales of the previous to assist us higher perceive our current. The restricted version three-piece graphic tee assortment highlights influential Black artists from numerous genres depicted by means of psychedelic screenprints and nostalgic designs.

  

• Oswin Benjamin, an Emmy and Grammy nominated emcee, has been working his approach up the musical ladder with appearances on BET Hip Hop Awards Stay Cypher, MTV TRL, Soundset Competition, Brooklyn Hip Hop Competition, Rolling Loud Competition, and Essence Competition. His 2019 debut album, GODFREY, obtained nationwide notoriety with over 1 million streams and landed within the prime 10 on the iTunes charts. The Oswin Benjamin merch assortment features a hoodie and UO-exclusive quick and long-sleeved tee that includes graphics from his 2022 single “Don’t F*ck Up My Day” and nods to his 2017 mixtape, Hueman.

  

The Black Historical past Month festivities broaden with the discharge of the Cheyney College x Mitchell & Ness UO-exclusive merch assortment celebrating the legacy of the nation’s first Traditionally Black School. The 7-piece assortment contains graphic t-shirts, loungewear, and equipment honoring the colleges’ historical past as being the “First Of Its Form.” Types will likely be out there on-line on February twenty third and through a particular pop-up on campus on the Cheyney College Pupil Union on Friday, February twenty fourth. On the pop-up, college students will be capable to store the gathering, seize distinctive giveaways, and meet with URBN Inc. expertise workforce representatives offering insights into the business. A portion of gross sales from the gathering will likely be donated to Cheyney College, furthering City Outfitters’ dedication to supporting Historic Black Faculties and Universities (HBCUs) as seen by means of the UO Summer season Class Program, a 10-week internship and mentorship alternative for college kids at HBCUs acknowledged for his or her educational excellence and artistic prowess that culminated with particular capsule collections representing every college students college.

URBN Inc. is on a journey to domesticate an surroundings that gives inspiration, unity, and worth to our numerous neighborhood. URBN’s efforts to construct a gifted, inclusive, and united tradition will proceed all year long with further partnerships and programming spearheaded by the URBN Variety & Inclusion Committee. URBN Inc. may also broaden on its initiatives to assist marginalized teams by means of neighborhood engagement and extra charitable donations. For extra data, go to  https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/celebrate-black-history-month