Local fashion activist transforms Iowa City dry cleaner building into house of fashion

IOWA CITY — Take an old dry cleaning building, but make it fashion.

That’s what a local fashion leader and Black activist in Iowa City is doing for youth and young adults at the former home of Varsity Cleaners, 910 S. Gilbert St. Through a new nonprofit sprouting up there, industry leaders will teach them the ins and outs of fashion, textiles and creative industries where faces like theirs are underrepresented.

In short, the Wright House of Fashion is giving a new meaning to “take them to the cleaners.”

After nine months vacant, the former Varsity Cleaners that closed in January after 106 years in Iowa City is getting a new breath of life with a different kind of “varsity” team.

“We went from a building that was toxic as a dry cleaner and transformed that to a sustainable space for people who want to make sustainable fashion,” said Andre Wright, founder of the new nonprofit and co-founder of other movements like Humanize My Hoodie and the Black Liberation Space. “What we’re doing is trailblazing and pioneering a whole new industry here.”

Purchased in partnership with significant investment from Resilient Sustainable Future for Iowa City, a nonprofit committed to “re-localizing sources of our power and health with a diverse set of leaders,” the space will be transformed over three phases to serve myriad functions and programming.

With a pop-up retail incubator, podcast room, screen printing and manufacturing area, multimedia studio with video and photography equipment, multipurpose room with sewing stations and more, the fashion house pioneers a new model for youth focused on giving them an outlet to hone creativity and confidence. With a focus on serving the BIPOC, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities, youth and young adults can attend workshops and receive mentorship from volunteers on virtually any creative field, from screen printing and graphic design to fashion modeling, sewing and photography.

“This is probably Black Liberation (Space) 2.0, but with a more targeted focus,” said Wright. “These are all very direct and driven things I’ve used throughout my life to get to where I am now.”

Defying the term usually reserved for brands exuding exclusivity, this fashion house is a place for truly inclusive community and education. But in a rural state not exactly known for its sense of fashion, the Wright House of Fashion is working to create something transformative. Its namesake calls it remarkable: a new ecosystem.

After years of running local fashion shows, working with models and designers, and mentoring youth, a sustainable system to support creative individuals often overlooked is key to what’s happening in the space.

“We’re in a really good position to make a revolutionary mark in our community and beyond,” Wright said. “We’re creating a whole new market … for others to get involved and be expressive of their bodies, their mentality, the way they want to see themselves in the world and be unapologetic about that.”

For some local youth, often underrepresented in creative industries and told to play sports, instead, the group of peers already using the space for the last five months have been a lifeline. Overall, Black designers from all disciplines only represent about 3 percent of the design industry.

Arriana Hawkins, director of talent attraction for the fashion house, said there were no local resources when she wanted to get into modeling about five years ago. As a Black woman, she received a lot of “no’s” when she tried to break into the field — rejection, she says, is typical for Black models, plus-sized models and others who don’t fit the fashion industry’s cookie-cutter standards.

By instilling confidence, she is hoping to help other models like her with the encouragement they need to push their career forward. This month, she started modeling workshops to teach participants how to strike a pose.

“Models like me couldn’t find the resources, which leaves a lot of people, especially BIPOC people, in situations where they have to do other things to fill up their time,” said Hawkins, 20. “We encourage people to have confidence to fulfill their dreams and focus on what they know they’re capable of doing in the creative community.”

Wright said mentorship and workshops will deliver many soft skills that will help youth through the rest of their lives, whether they continue in fashion or not. Practice and networking are other key skills he hopes to instill in a supportive environment.

For youth of color with institutional disadvantages, those skills are particularly important.

“There’s not enough ways for us to combat adversity, oppression, segregation,” he said. “This is one small portion of the potion that needs to be mixed up for a true solution. This is my way of doing my part.”

Next year, the nonprofit hopes to achieve a fundraising campaign goal of $1.5 million to build out the organization and hire three Black women who will serve as its backbone with continued growth. In time, Wright envisions the nonprofit fashion house as something that could be replicated for youth across the nation.

The first two phases of building renovation, including the screen printing area, multimedia studio and retail incubator, are slated for completion by May 2023. The final phase of renovations should begin sometime in 2024.

“It’s not so much about how much money we can make as fashion people but (how we can) create an ecosystem that’s supportive of all who want to participate,” Wright said. “We’re being superheroes and saying ‘Look, we can do that here.’”

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