The African American Textile Society (AATS) is an organization dedicated to providing a place on campus for creative students to find belonging while participating in textile- and fashion-based activities.
While the organization is mostly textile and fashion related, AATS is open to anyone at NC State in light of its mission to have an inclusive environment. Jordan Everett, president of AATS and second-year studying textile technology, said anyone with a creative mind and passion for fashion can take part in the group’s festivities.
“We focus on fashion and design, but we mimic a diverse inclusive community at textiles and NC State,” Everett said. “We aren’t closed off to just textiles.”
The goal of AATS is to put together a fashion show at the end of each academic year during pan-Afrikan week. Everyone gets to showcase their work, find models, help out backstage and more, Everett said.
The show falls annually in April and will be occurring on Thursday, April 6 this year, and allows students to compete for scholarships by showcasing their talents in design and textile construction.
“It shows tradition and offers a community for a minority group at the University,” Everett said. “You can look at improvement and evolution throughout the years as the organization grows.”
Everett also said the annual fashion show gives the University an opportunity to see what a minority group on campus is interested in, and shows growth throughout the community. For example, last year’s show had six participants, and this year has grown by over 10 people.
Jacori Crudup, the fashion expose chair of AATS and fourth-year studying fashion and textile management and Africana studies, said the organization began with hopes to bring together the small community that is NC State textiles.
“Textiles is pretty small and while we are open to other people in the major, we started it [AATS] because we wanted to meet and connect with people in the college of textiles,” Crudup said.
AATS is not a national organization and was created on campus through the Wilson College of Textiles. This fashion show will be the 25th show AATS has put on, making it NC State’s longest running fashion show to date.
According to Everett and Crudup, the organization holds four main values: creativity, inclusion, diversity and community. The organization puts emphasis on creating a space where anyone with interest in a textile- or fashion-related field can feel welcomed and showcase his or her talents.
Students interested in joining can reach out to the organization via email, and do not have to be part of the College of Textiles to participate. The organization wants to prioritize finding like-minded students who are interested in design and fashion to be a part of the show.
“We want to have a focus on fashion, design or any other related skills,” Everett said. “Even if you’re an engineer but love fashion, we want to showcase that. We just want to provide a space where technical people or designers can unify, communicate and feel included.”
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