Cross Colours Designer

In 1990, Walker became the first in a succession of notable African. Cross Colours was the brainchild of Carl Jones the entrepreneur who studied fashion at Otis Parson's School of Design and Trade Technical College in Los Angeles, then worked in various fashion enterprises before starting his own T-shirt company. He eventually started a company called Surf Fetish, which rode the wave of beachwear trends.

He also hired Thomas Walker, a graphic designer who would. Cross Colours offered a fresh perspective for the young generation of the culture, while opening doors in the apparel industry for African American designers and sales persons. And with the inception of Cross Colours, he produced a clothing brand that stood for a message far greater than just t-shirts.

A native of Watts, Carl Jones obtained his immense experience from studying fashion at the prestigious Otis Parson's School of Design and Trade Tech schools in California. The exhibition, Cross Colours: Black Fashion in The 20th Century, runs from now until March 1, 2020. "I found close to 300 pieces of clothing and accessories," Walker says of his online hunt.

Cross Colours, founded in 1989 by Carl Jones and TJ Walker, revolutionized streetwear by combining vibrant, Afrocentric designs with powerful social messages. The brand became a cultural icon through celebrity endorsements and its portrayal on TV shows like In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After facing rapid growth and over-reliance on major retailers, Cross Colours went.

In the late '90s, one of Cross Colours's biggest retailers, Merry-Go-Round, filed for bankruptcy and, subsequently, the brand couldn't survive. In 2019, after a lengthy legal battle over the Cross Colours logo, Jones and Walker revived the brand that had paved the way for FUBU, RocaWear, and, in more recent years, Off. Founded in 1989, streetwear brand Cross Colours has always used fashion as a form of protest.

With its bright dynamic designs, social messaging and hip-hop influence, the brand was created to unite Black and brown communities during a time of national unrest, fighting racial injustice, police brutality and the war on drugs. Rooted in producing "Clothing Without Prejudice," their mission proves. The year before Cross Colours originally launched back in 1989, the movie Colors (and the memorable Ice-T single of the same name) brought Los Angeles gang life to the big screen.

When settling on their clothing brand name, founders Carl Jones and TJ Walker considered their previous expertise that they earned from studying and working in the garment world.