Photo Credit: Liliadriana Knox
Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC Detroit) recently celebrated the opening of its new Carhartt Apparel Lab. The dedicated space will give students hands-on experience developing apparel and accessories concepts while helping them build the skills and industry knowledge needed to pursue careers in apparel.
“Carhartt has been part of PLC Detroit’s journey from the beginning, and I’m incredibly grateful for the relationship we have built,” said Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, president of PLC Detroit. “The Carhartt team believed in our vision, supported our first industry masterclass, and gave our students an opportunity to learn directly from its design leaders. We have already seen how that access can create pathways to internships and employment. The Carhartt Apparel Lab builds on the work we started together and deepens our shared commitment to preparing Detroit’s next generation of hardworking creatives for meaningful careers.”
During the ribbon-cutting, executives from Carhartt and staff from PLC Detroit, Michigan’s only HBCU, noted that the college is “focused on design is positioned to develop the city’s creative talent pool and show students how their creativity can become employable skills.”
Carhartt executives added that they have a “very organic relationship with PLC.” Ben Ewy, vice president of global product design, research and development at Carhartt, explained that “PLC has actually turned into almost the minor leagues for Carhartt, if you want to call it that. We’ve hired several PLC students that have come to Carhartt and have been leading people on our team.”
He enthusiastically added, “They’re excellent, excellent, excellent. You know, when you get somebody from PLC, they’re going to come in polished and ready to work, and that happens. So we love that relationship because it’s been a very great way to bring product into our team, but also for us being able to work with the students to see just their fresh perspective, how they approach design, the new tools that they’re working with, their uncompromising need to have a performance function, and making sure that it looks good too-it’s been incredible. So we love our relationship with them, and to be able to bring this functional apparel lab is just a blessing for us.”
The professional studio environment will help students understand how apparel moves from an initial concept to a finished product while strengthening their portfolios and preparing them for internships, employment, and other professional opportunities.
Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design is Michigan’s only HBCU and the nation’s only design-focused HBCU. Based in Detroit, PLC Detroit provides industry-connected education and professional development in design and related disciplines, helping students build the skills, experience and relationships needed to pursue careers in the creative industries.
PLC president, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, explains the importance of the partnership, explaining that Carhartt’s functionality translates to student’s long-term career planning noting that the historic product which is both functional and trendy teaches students, “If you know how to design products that last, then it’s easier, even if they never see the intended purpose, right?”
He adds, “But you’re learning how to build product right. You’re learning with a foundational structure that you can prove, and you’ll have more job opportunities if you have the structure of how to build something to last versus just to build something that looks good.”
Learn more about Pensole Lewis at www.plcdetroit.com
You can reach Biba at Biba.Adams@MIChronicle.com.