- 1 day ago
Fireside Chat with Caroline Wanga & Russell Wilson on being unapologetically you in Fashion.
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01:08Hello, Melanated folk.
01:10How are you?
01:11Hey.
01:12Listen, I am, I told y'all I was excited about this conversation.
01:15I'm even more excited about this conversation.
01:18Because one of the things that happens with us as black people is when we meet each other,
01:21we act like family that just hadn't met yet, right?
01:24And there's this instant vibe and connection.
01:26We don't need introductions, names, and whatnot, right?
01:29We just get into the conversation.
01:31So I'm gonna introduce the person sitting next to me just to give respect to what he has done,
01:37what he has delivered, how he's living his life.
01:40But I know he needs no introduction.
01:43This is just a matter of respect.
01:45I am sitting next to the Russell Westbrook.
01:54Of course an athlete.
01:57My people's in here.
01:59Somebody here.
02:00Who did that?
02:01Somebody, family member?
02:02Yeah, yeah.
02:03Somebody, somebody.
02:04My cousins and them.
02:05Cousins and them.
02:06Well, everybody a cousin in black community.
02:07We just, some are plays, some are biological, some are chosen, some we don't wanna choose.
02:11But anyway, so you are a lot of things.
02:15Yeah.
02:16But I wanna give you an opportunity because I am sure that people spend their lives introducing you.
02:22Yeah.
02:23If Russell could introduce himself, who would he say he is?
02:30You know what?
02:33I do, I do a lot of things which I don't really know how to kind of explain it all.
02:39But I'm big on fatherhood.
02:43Being a father is really, it's changed me and allowed me to do so many different great things.
02:51Being a husband, being a family man, leaning on my faith in God is probably the core things where I would say which describes me.
03:02But the things I do wouldn't happen if I didn't have those four things, you know, connected with me.
03:06So, father.
03:08Yeah.
03:09Husband.
03:10Yeah.
03:11Family man, man.
03:12God.
03:13God.
03:14Yeah.
03:15Where does your story start?
03:17Where do you come from?
03:18Yeah, I'm from the inner city of Los Angeles.
03:21I grew up in the inner city of LA, South Central Los Angeles.
03:24Any of those people here?
03:26There's one.
03:27Uh oh.
03:28There we go.
03:29You're right over there.
03:30There you go.
03:31Yeah, I grew up in LA, inner city.
03:32Me and my dad, my little brother.
03:35And yeah, made it out the hood.
03:38Got drafted to Oklahoma.
03:39Went to UCLA for a couple years and now I'm here.
03:43Did you always wanna play basketball?
03:45No.
03:46I grew up wanting to play football, honestly.
03:49Play football.
03:50But that didn't work for me.
03:51What does that mean?
03:52Is that like when they tried to make me play basketball in the 11th grade because I was
03:555'11 and I wasn't good?
03:56Yeah.
03:57Okay.
03:58And you chose something else.
03:59And I found other paths.
04:00Yes.
04:01Yes.
04:02That's kind of how it went for me.
04:03Okay.
04:04So you go to UCLA.
04:05You're playing basketball.
04:06Yeah.
04:07You end up in the NBA.
04:08Yeah.
04:09I mean, I know it's more complicated than that.
04:11No, it definitely is.
04:12But I get drafted, go to NBA, go to Oklahoma City.
04:16And when I'm in Oklahoma, I'm trying to figure out, you know, how to make myself not just
04:22useful but impactful, inspiring, figuring out things to do.
04:26Whether in the Oklahoma City community or Los Angeles community and finding things to
04:30do.
04:31And boom.
04:32Fashion starts to kind of evolve for me.
04:36You think I'm really going to let you be like, boom.
04:39Fashion starts to evolve?
04:40Because it's not like you just do like light fashion.
04:43It ain't like you don't enter the room.
04:44We had a conversation about this outfit and you told me it's because it's Monday.
04:47Yeah.
04:48It's just like, you know, I just, we're just chilling, having a conversation.
04:51So I just, you know.
04:53But where did this fashion thing come from?
04:55Because you're not like the fashion person that goes into the store and is like, I just
04:58want what's on the mannequin.
04:59Yeah.
05:00Like what you put together takes creativity, takes skill.
05:04Like where does that come from?
05:05Where did it start?
05:07Why?
05:08It comes from my mom.
05:09My mom is my fashion icon.
05:12I look up to her when it comes to fashion.
05:14What's your mother's name?
05:15Shannon.
05:16Shana?
05:17Shannon.
05:18Shannon Westbrook.
05:19Yes.
05:20Hi, Shannon.
05:21She inspired me as a young boy growing up and figuring out how to not just put clothes
05:28on, but put them on with confidence, with swagger.
05:32And I took that with me as I became older.
05:34And I still call her to this day and ask FaceTime and ask my mom how this looks.
05:39Does it go with this?
05:40Does it go with that?
05:41So having that relationship is big for me and has allowed me to be able to grow to
05:45doing things that I'm able to do now.
05:48Why was it important for you to join us today?
05:52You were telling me a little bit about kind of what you wanted to be true about today,
05:56but why come to Essence, this place that talks about black women during New York Fashion Week?
06:01Why stop by and visit us?
06:02I think it's important, man, just for people in my position growing up, where I come from,
06:07being able to express and inspire and impact people no matter what parts of the world people come from,
06:15but seeing people come together, being able to tell a story to impact.
06:20My goal each and every day when I wake up is to make sure I try to impact and inspire one person.
06:26Whatever, whoever I come across, hopefully that's something I did or said,
06:30impacts them to do something in their lives that may not be fashion,
06:33may be whatever field they want to be in, but that's my goal.
06:36And coming here today is something, another opportunity to be able to give something out that God has blessed me with,
06:42with the platform and be able to help and give knowledge to other people.
06:45Is your fashion activism?
06:48You know, I think so.
06:50Like my brand, if you guys don't know, my brand is called Out of the Gift.
06:53I was trying to get that, I was like, just trying.
06:56It's called Out of the Gift.
06:57I started back 2017.
07:01The name, Out of the Gift, I believe, I'll give you a short definition,
07:06but I believe everybody in the world has been given a gift.
07:09God has given everybody a gift, and we all should honor a gift that we have.
07:13And that's how I came up with the name, Out of the Gift.
07:17And yeah, like, back to your question.
07:20It's based around the inner city, underserved communities of Los Angeles.
07:23A lot of my stuff in designing is based around how to make clothes affordable for those who can't afford the higher end,
07:31but also be fashionable, also have clothes that last a long time.
07:35And that was my inspiration.
07:37And as a brand, we make clothes and design, cut and sew, whatever.
07:41It makes it affordable for people that, you know, can't go to the high-end stores to get clothes.
07:48And you had something happen in Paris with this year line?
07:52Yeah, this year, first time we had a—I was actually showing spring, summer of 23.
07:58We did, like, a small, like, showroom.
08:03It was very, very, very exciting and inspiring to see so many people come through
08:07and check out the line and see the things that we're doing.
08:10We're expanding at a higher rate, which I'm truly blessed and thankful for with the team that I have.
08:17We do women's, if you guys didn't know.
08:19Tell them more.
08:20Because there's women in here, like, I want what he has on, but you make stuff for me, too.
08:24I make women's, kids, and men's.
08:27So we do about six or seven collections per year.
08:31We're in about 180 doors globally, you know, do a couple collabs per year.
08:37But just steady growing with the constant message just based around the inner city
08:41and making sure clothes are affordable for people all across the world.
08:45It's not about, for me, making money.
08:47It's just about designing and creating clothes that people can feel fashionable and confident in
08:52and put it in and be able to wear it, so.
08:55So one of the things that we do here is celebrate our accomplishments.
08:58Ladies and gentlemen, did you hear what he just said about his clothing line?
09:01Y'all ain't gonna clap for that.
09:02That's not easy.
09:04That's not easy.
09:06It doesn't matter who you are.
09:08For those of you guys that are designers and have clothing lines
09:11and are trying to get into mass retail, you know the grind, right?
09:16That starts when you start designing your clothes and then you see it in 180 stores?
09:20Yeah.
09:21180 stores globally.
09:23Yeah, globally.
09:24And what he opens the door for, the rest of us get to take advantage as we build our piece.
09:29So from a design perspective, if you've got folks in this room that consider themselves to be people who want to do more with design
09:36other than just the flyness that is being black on a Monday, right?
09:40If they really want to try to make that a business, what advice would you have for them?
09:44One thing that I always stand on is staying true to yourself.
09:50And as a designer and as I design collection after collection, I design based on and I create stories, what I'm inspired by,
09:59what I'm inspired by, but also understanding that everybody's not going to like everything that you design.
10:04And that's an important key.
10:05That's why I think it's important.
10:06As long as you stay true to what you believe in, to yourself, and stand on that, regardless of kind of what's going on outside of that,
10:13I think, you know, you can kind of do whatever it is that you want to put your mind to.
10:17So there's these, like, videos of you arriving at NBA games, and a lot of times people talk about what you got on.
10:24Yeah.
10:25Right?
10:26Right.
10:27Like, and it's always a pleasure, because it's usually eclectic.
10:31Yeah.
10:32Right?
10:33Like, what is the process of you deciding what to put on, says the girl with the fish fin on her head and a cape?
10:40The process has become a lot easier before.
10:44It took me some time.
10:46What do you mean by that?
10:47Because now I just don't have as much time.
10:49I got three little kids running around in my way to get dressed, so it's not as easy.
10:54I just kind of just grab and go.
10:56Okay.
10:57But beforehand, when it was just me, I would take my time, figure out what the weather is, figure out what type of mood I was in,
11:03figure out what I'm inspired by, and that's kind of how I start.
11:07I usually start from my shoes, work my way up.
11:10Oh, so your bottom's up.
11:11Yeah.
11:12Okay.
11:13I start with my shoes, work my way up, and if that don't work, you know, just end up figuring something out along the way,
11:19modifying some clothes, cutting some stuff up, just going with the flow.
11:22But it's really just based on how I'm feeling that particular day, honestly.
11:26Those of us that live on the eclectic side of fashion, again, I know a girl with a fish fin on her head, tend to be criticized whether we care about it or not, right?
11:36Sometimes our fashion can be loud, right, or different, or not mainstream, right?
11:43Not that we dress for others' opinions, but we hear that.
11:47Right.
11:48How do you manage that?
11:49Especially on those videos where you're walking through the tunnel to the game, and you got that outfit on, and they're like,
11:54is Russell wearing a skirt?
11:55Right.
11:56Hypothetically, somebody said that.
11:58You know what, listen.
11:59I'm going to give you all two answers.
12:00Yes.
12:01My answer is I really don't care, right?
12:04I don't.
12:05I just...
12:06I knew that was going to be an answer.
12:07I just...
12:08That's my real answer.
12:09I just don't care what other people think in a negative way.
12:12Like, obviously, positive feedback is great, but, like, negative energy that's not impacting me or that's inspiring me, I don't care about.
12:20Yeah.
12:21And then next, I would say, like, using other people.
12:27Like, for me, like, when I see people I'm walking through and somebody make a comment about something, I use it as just as a sense of, like, accomplishment.
12:35Like, somebody's giving me a compliment.
12:37Like, somebody's hating on what I'm wearing.
12:39They must wish they can wear it or they wish they had the confidence to do so.
12:44So what I heard you say is that one time on a Monday where you put a fish fin on your head and you're walking down the street and somebody has something to say.
12:50Right.
12:51Take it as a you wish you could.
12:52Absolutely.
12:53Okay.
12:54I received that.
12:55I received that.
12:56People wish they had the confidence and the swagger to walk in.
12:59You wish you could.
13:00Straight like that.
13:01Like, take that persona, right?
13:03Right.
13:04Your alter ego is you wish you could.
13:05Right?
13:06And then you don't care.
13:08At all.
13:09Because, so for me, when you were talking about honor your gift, it aligned to a principle that I have.
13:15Mark Twain has a quote that talks about the two most important days in your life is the day that you're born and the day you find out why.
13:22And I believe that everybody is born with a purpose on this earth.
13:26Absolutely.
13:27And that purpose is theirs and theirs alone.
13:29And if they don't get to it, nobody else can do it and the world goes without.
13:33Right?
13:34So our obligation is to deliver on our purpose because there's something the world needs from us.
13:39Right.
13:40And part of what that helps with is you really don't care.
13:44Because the affirmation that you get for you pursuing your purpose is a much louder voice than the inner saboteur.
13:51Right?
13:52That'd be right over there like, and you really think that's what you're going to wear out today.
13:57Do you have that voice of doubt within you that sometimes comes up, whether it be about your entrepreneurial, your game, your skills, your life, your roles of father, husband?
14:11Like, is there that voice of doubt?
14:13And if so, how do you deal with it?
14:14Because we all live with one.
14:15Yeah.
14:16You know, any time there's been some moments of doubt as it pertains to just trying to figure things out, whether it's fatherhood, whether it's fashion or different things that I may be doing outside of basketball.
14:32But I honestly and I truly believe that God has blessed me with this platform.
14:37Like, I didn't grow up saying I wanted to be in the NBA or I wanted to do this.
14:42Like, God has put me in this position, and I believe that his duty for me is to be able to use what I have and to be able to impact and inspire people.
14:52So whenever I'm, I feel like I'm, you know, doubting myself, like, not understanding what am I doing it for, I just push through that and make sure that it's not for me.
15:02Like, I feel like what I do is not for me, and I feel like it's for, to impact people across the world, to make our world and people a better place, and that's just how I feel.
15:11I love that.
15:12Can we take a couple questions from the audience?
15:14Yep.
15:15Let's do it.
15:16Two, one.
15:17Stephanie put up one finger, which means we can take two.
15:19Well, who has a mic?
15:20We give you all two.
15:21We give you all two.
15:22We give you all two.
15:23Who's got a mic for somebody to ask a question?
15:24Here you go.
15:25Really, y'all ain't gonna jump at the opportunity to ask Russell Westbrook a question.
15:38Take the moment offered.
15:39Hi.
15:40Tell us who you are.
15:41My name is Leona Preston.
15:42I am a restaurant manager slash hospitality guru, and I'm a mother.
15:46Nice.
15:47I do have a son.
15:48He is one of your biggest fans.
15:50I do, you know, support his basketball dreams as well as his artistic dreams.
15:57Now, as a parent to another parent, what can I do, because I love your style, and my son
16:06is a little eccentric too.
16:07Yeah.
16:09And I'm okay with that, but how do I, as a female and as a mother, encourage him to not
16:17care about what the other guys are doing?
16:19Yes.
16:20Fantastic question.
16:21Yes.
16:22You know what?
16:23It's so funny.
16:24That question I get asked probably more than any other question.
16:29And I think it's important, like, especially for you to constantly instill confidence in
16:37him and not focus on things that's not beneficial or helpful to him.
16:42And I think that's something that I always, like, I have a little brother that's like
16:45two years younger than me, and he kind of has this thing where sometimes, you know,
16:49obviously with social media, the times are totally different.
16:53And I think it's important that you make sure that you focus on him and his confidence
17:00and make sure that he is, whether you got to tell him every day, like, you know, you
17:05the man.
17:06You, like, instilling this confidence in him to where he's, like, not arrogant, but
17:11he comes in the room and he knows that he's confident in himself.
17:15He's not worried about what his other peers or his friends are saying.
17:18Yes, there will be times where people, they're going to talk about whatever that may be,
17:22but he knows that he has his trust in you, that you got confidence in him, and I think
17:26that's all that matters.
17:29And I love your question, and because you need to be in places, we won't take another
17:36question, but I'm sure that there are ways that if people want to send you via DM or
17:40whatever, there's ways they can get a hold of you.
17:42But I do think your question was really poignant, and I'll use it to close, which is I think
17:47we need to pay attention to the way that we react to the people that come outside, outside
17:53of the mainstream within our community.
17:55The words we say to people, the affirmations we give people, the way we said, you look good,
18:01sis, you fly today, bruh.
18:03Those things are what give you the power not to care.
18:07When we do the eyes and the weirdness, that gets received too.
18:13What we have the power to do as a community is empower everybody who shows up their way with
18:18words of affirmation that you would want to hear on your day of doubt in a different way.
18:23So as we close, sir, if this community, here and on the internet, is to support the purpose
18:31of Russell Westbrook, how can we support you?
18:34What's important for us to be doing in alignment with your purpose as your closing statement?
18:39I would just say there's obviously so many different things that I do, whether it's
18:46sign of the gift, whether it's doing things in community, which to me are the most kind
18:50of hand in hand.
18:52But to me, it's always just figuring out whether you follow me, whether you follow somebody
18:57else.
18:58But with me, it's figuring out how to use what you have to help inspire the person, impact
19:03the person next to you in a positive way.
19:06And I always think, why not?
19:08Why not is my mantra.
19:09It's what I live by.
19:10It's what I stand on.
19:11Believe that you can do anything you put your mind to.
19:14And that's what I'll end it with.
19:16So I appreciate you guys.
19:17And thank you guys for coming out.
19:19So take notes.
19:20Do it better.
19:21Thank you, brother, for joining us.
19:23We appreciate you here.
19:24Thank you, y'all.
19:25Thank you, Fashion House.
19:26Woo-hoo!
19:36Give it up for Corey!
19:37Woo-hoo!
19:38Thank you, guys.
19:39Hello, hello, hello.
19:40Tessie.
19:41Hey, guys.
19:42Awesome.
19:43That was a really amazing chat by Caroline and Russell.
19:45Thank you all for joining.
19:46That is the end of session two for Essence Fashion House.
19:51Please step outside, experience the brands outside.
19:52We have the Diet Coke bar in the back, grab a drink, cop a new issue of our September-October magazine.
20:08And thank you, guys.
20:19Have a great Fashion Week.
20:21Woo-hoo!
20:22Thank you, guys.
20:23Have a great Fashion Week.
20:24Woo!
20:25Woo!
20:26Woo!
20:27Woo!
20:28Woo!
20:29Woo!
20:30Woo!
20:31Woo!
20:32Woo!
20:33Woo!
20:34Woo!
20:35Woo!
20:36Woo!
20:37Woo!
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