Designer Aaron Potts is Redefining Men's (and Unisex) Fashion

Designer Aaron Potts of A.Potts is a rising force in the fashion industry. As one of the only black men at the helm of his own high fashion label, Potts has the unique opportunity to share a point-of-view through his work many might otherwise not experience. We had a chance to talk to the designer about his background, inspiration and recent collection, take a look below:

(Thumbnail Photo: A.Potts)

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1. Can you tell our readers/followers about yourself? How did you get started in the fashion industry?

I grew up an artistic, bookwormish kid who was very much a mama's boy.  Since my carpenter dad was very much an outdoorsman, I spent countless hours fishing and camping all over the Midwest, the South, and in Canada.  I was recently in Detroit and was reminiscing about fishing on the Detroit River and watering the ground under my aunt's pear tree so we could "pick worms" for bait for our fishing excursions. On the flip side of this quasi-Grizzly Adams upbringing, I also learned to love all things glamorous. I was a church kid - and there is nothing more glamorous than a Black Pentecostal church on Sunday morning. Other components of this glamour quotient were the experiences of classic Motown, Soul Train, The Scene (Detroit's local answer to Soul Train), beauty pageants, Ebony Fashion Fair, award shows, Style with Elsa Klensch and the style pages of The National Enquirer and Star Magazine. All of these influences, coupled with the fact that I was a pretty adept artist, seems to have set me on a path to fashion. When I got to Renaissance High School, I took a fashion illustration/design class in ninth grade. After week two or three, I had what felt like an epiphany....the movie type with the deep voice and the parting cloud effects. It told me that THIS IS IT...THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO DO. My then art teacher and the most important teacher in my life, Ms. Oni Akilah, introduced me to the idea that I needed to go to Parsons School of Design. I applied and got in, and thank God I did because it was the only application I filled out. From there, I began building my brand, A.Potts.

2. You were born and raised in Detroit, but live in Brooklyn – how have these two cities influenced your design aesthetic? 

Coming from Detroit, as with most "chocolate" cities, there are so many iterations of Black creative expression and style. One that resonated with me the most is what I call "The Black Sophisticate." It is sort of a mixture of bougie blackness with an artsy sophistication and worldliness. I had two aunts, Johnnie and Sylvia, who embodied this - silk blouses, pencil skirts, jazz music, hoity-toity jobs, college educated, and cool sports cars. Sylvia was the first person I knew who wore designer clothes. There were also the cool uncles who sat with their legs crossed and their arms elegantly draped over their knees with waved back hair, sleek gator shoes, leather coats, the most gorgeous girlfriends, and drove cars that would make you think they were either a pimp or a preacher. These images are seared into my brain and I often reference them as a way of grounding myself and staying connected to Little Aaron.

Brooklyn, for me, has always been about urban creativity. When I first moved to Fort Greene, I did so because it was cheaper than the East village and it was where all the cool Black creatives lived: tons of actors, models, musicians, writers, fine artists and other fashion designers. The neighborhood was also the de facto campus for Pratt and LIU, so there was a youthful, irreverent energy. I say all of this to say that Brooklyn has always felt like home, and that feeling of connectedness has allowed me the best opportunity to create what I love.

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3. Before starting your own line you interned and worked for several major fashion houses. Which do you think had the biggest impact on your career trajectory?

Ellen Tracy and Escada were the two most impactful jobs I had. They demanded a level of creativity and offered access to the most amazing resources that I have ever had. I worked for people that truly wanted me to be my creative self, people who knew the business and knew the process, so there was an understanding there. I subsequently had other jobs where people didn't know shit from Shinola, so that greatly complicated the process.  Ellen Tracy was where I really learned and honed my love of color, fabric, shape, and fit. Escada was where I learned to amp up everything into a certain level of dreaminess, where cost was not a factor. I created outrageous things there like hand-cut sequin gowns and dresses made with 20 yards of fabric - it was a heaven on earth. Plus I was living in Munich, which I will forever love. Interning for Marc Jacobs at Perry Ellis was my most important internship. That is where I learned to love high fashion firsthand.

4. From my research I know that the church played a big part in your love of fashion; how do you incorporate that reference into your clothing and/or collections? 

The biggest way that I incorporate it is through my love of gospel music and gospel-house music (yes, it's a thing!), which are the soundtrack of my life. I love everything from the New Romantics movement to Fleetwood Mac, Shalamar, Aretha, Bey and Cardi, but gospel and gospel-house are my go-tos for working out, sketching, cleaning, almost everything! Even in Gospel, I can go from enjoying a traditional singer like Lemmie Battles, to the creativity of the Clark Sisters, to the power-house vocals of Kenny Bobien. The spirit of gratitude, love, and freedom that the music gives me is what I want to infuse into the clothes I create. I sometimes think of how the big vocals and the emotion would translate into fabric; is it billowing chiffon or is it a bold, geometric, unmoving shape?

5. You are known for experimenting with different types of silhouettes and designing what some may consider "gender-fluid" clothing. Can you speak more about your vision for menswear and how that influences the types of silhouettes you present in your collections?  

The biggest thing for me is that I want people to look smart, artsy, thoughtful, relaxed, natural and timeless. At some point, every article of clothing has been "normal" for men to wear: ruffles, heels, ribbons, lace, embroidery, skirts, dresses, etc. If we strip away the man-made strictness of the gender definers, then it opens us up to greater expression and creativity. One thing I try to NOT do is just throw a dress on a boy. I no longer think that is subversive or interesting. What's more interesting is actually exploring who we are as individuals, all the layers and facets, and then finding a way to honestly express that through our clothes. This is why I love artsy shapes and silhouettes so much - because they can be translated into so many different expressions. They have a sense of presence, remind you of sculpture, and work on so many different body types and sizes. They become a base layer, as such the person can then shine through that lens. I want to make clothes that people of all genders, sizes and ages can use, clothes that can tell the story of who they are and how they feel that particular day. I know that there are people of varied genders, larger sizes, different body shapes, varied ages, etc. that feel like fashion either doesn't see them or that it just placates and tolerates them, and I hate that! I want everyone to feel cool, centered, loved, and seen.

6. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your fall 2023 collection? 

Fall '23 is named NEORASCALISM. I came up with that name when I was reading the biography of Billie Thomas, who famously portrayed Buckwheat in the Our Gang and Little Rascals TV shows and movies. I found his story and the story of Hal Roach, the creator of the franchise, to be modern and interesting. From his office window, Hal Roach saw some little kids playing together with no adults in sight.  He saw the natural, unguarded playfulness they had and knew that was what the world alsp needed to see. I thought the metaphor of adults irreverently being ourselves, as if no one was looking, was prescient. Additionally, his cast was the first interracial cast shown by any major studio where the black and white kids were peers, shared equal screen time and where the black actors made the same or more money than their white counterparts. The character of Buckwheat was originally played by two different little girls. When they needed to recast the role, they chose Billie, who was a little boy.  He played the character as a girl (a sort of topsy-turvy doll look - an inspiration I have explored in the past) for the first year, and then they slowly morphed him into a little boy.  I thought that was extremely modern, brave and extremely controversial for the time. He faced backlash from racists in the South, but he did NOT relent. I felt so much synergy with Mr. Roach's thinking, which was so ahead of its time. I had also been thinking so much about the idea of NYC I imagined as a little kid: a bustling town where everyone was creative, wearing all black, and sophisticated beyond words.  My brief for the collection morphed into The Little Rascals who end up in NYC. attending Parsons in the 90s. STRANGE, yes....but it felt right, so I went with it! 

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7. The collection was primarily in black and white (with pops of red/orange toward the end). What was the intention behind this color pallet? 

I wanted to speak to that grittier, uber-stylish NYC that I fell in love with before NYC became sort of suburban and faux-polished. I wanted to make things that my friends and I would wear without having to think about it. I am also very big on making clothes that will seamlessly go from season to season. I think of an A.Potts wardrobe as one that is constantly added to; having a multitude of black textures will make it easy to integrate the pieces into someone's closet. The ivory and tomato red colors were added as punctuation.

8. What designers, living and dead, do youconsider as inspirations?

Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith, Issey Miyake, Donna Karan, MarcJacobs, Claire McCardell, Bonnie Cashin, Yohji Yamamoto, Alaia. 

9. How would you describe your customer? 

My customers are creative spirits who often work in aligning fields: stylists, models, musicians, DJs, writers, designers...or people who aspire to live a creative life! They truly span across different ages, races, sizes, genders, and expressions; it is the creative spirit that ties us all together.

10. Have you achieved your dream of dressing Whoopi Goldberg? 

I haven't yet! But Whoopi...if you are reading this, please know I want you in A.Potts. I've loved your sense of style, your confidence, your self-love, and your depth of talent, expression, and creativity since I first saw you on TV doing your brilliant, one-woman show. You've been a huge inspiration for me, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!