Style is Elemental: Showcasing Deyonté Weather
Deyonté Weather’s career as a designer has taken him many recognizable places: season 16 of Project Runway, creating a Game of Thrones-inspired capsule collection for HBO and The Bellevue Collection’s 2020 Independent Designer Showcase, to name a few. Now, February 15 through March 10, you can see his designs on display in the Deyonté Weather Collection: Style is Elemental showcase at Bellevue Square. The collection consists of six displays of Deyonté’s work, including three pieces designed specifically for the showcase.
“I try to incorporate the weather in my designs as much as possible,” he says, referencing his surname. “But I’m inspired by life, love, people and everything to do with the elements.”
“It feels amazing to be seen with this Black History Month celebration because with Black culture, we’ve been adding so many different things to the fashion world, and we see so much value in it,” Deyonté says. “Sometimes, you know, we don’t always get the opportunities to showcase our talent. I feel like with this actual Black History celebration, it just feels great to be noticed, and to know that I’m making an impact in the world of fashion.”
For Deyonté, fashion runs in the family. His great-great grandmother upcycled blankets from old materials, his grandmother made her own clothes in the 1970s, and his mother’s grandparents made clothes for their children based on styles they saw on TV. His mother, Wendy’s personal style is a huge inspiration for him, and his grandparents Nina and Robert, who he calls his “heavenly angels” had a style all their own. When he thinks of leaving a legacy, Deyonté says, he thinks of his wife as well as their two young sons who love to spend time with him in the sewing lab, “thinking they’re my little assistants.”
Of the three original pieces in the showcase, the first is a dress inspired by birds of paradise flowers, with dramatic structure and bold, vibrant colors. It’s avant-garde, graphic, and inspired by the natural world.
The second piece is a bold, futuristic plaid coat that mixes wool, mesh, and faux leather, and blends natural and ultramodern materials for a show-stopping look.
The third piece is inspired by a lesson Deyonté learned during his time on Project Runway.
“I saw this graffiti on the wall in Brooklyn, and I instantly knew I wanted to design a look with this graffiti on it,” he says. “And I usually stick to my first line, I never steer away from that, and it’s never failed me. But I ended up going with something the total opposite, and I was so upset with myself. I never forgave myself for that.”
That graffiti and its accompanying lesson stuck with Deyonté and inspired him to design a puffer coat with hand-sprayed graffiti, now on display in the showcase, which he calls his “vindication moment.”
“I’m never stepping away from who I am,” he says. “That’s where I come from, that’s the roots of who I am. That’s my culture. Why would I ever, ever be scared or afraid of that? So, I would say to anybody out there who’s up and coming or trying to be a designer, always stay true to yourself. Never steer away from that.”
Come see the Style is Elemental showcase, featuring six original pieces by Deyonté Weather, February 15 through March 10 at Bellevue Square as part of our celebration of Black History Month through the Lens of Fashion.