Fashion Designer Chuks Collins Teams With Berkeley College
BACK TO SCHOOL: Fashion designer Chuks Collins is taking on the role of designer in residence at Berkeley College in a very public way.
Through a partnership with the New York school, Collins will be opening a studio on campus later this month. The yearlong alliance is designed to educate and inform students beyond classroom learning.
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“Funnily enough,” Collins said he did not graduate from Berkeley College, but studied at the Art Institute of New York. After working for Ralph Lauren and Nanette Lepore, he started his namesake company in 2018. That assortment is sold primarily online, but Collins is speaking with specialty stores and department stores about distribution.
Mentorship is being extended to not only students enrolled in the school’s fashion design program, but in other areas, too. Founded in 1931, Berkeley College now focuses on the business of fashion.
The partnership stemmed from Collins attending a Berkeley event and meeting the school’s chief operating officer Linda Mauro. He also participated in a panel discussion at the school at a later date. Committed to sharing “real-life skills” with students, the designer said he has enlisted some of them — including students in visual merchandising, marketing and public relations — to help with a campaign that will highlight the new studio.
Collins also created the “Reflection” capsule collection that was inspired by the cycles of life and the vivid cultural tapestry of Africa with the help of some students. There are repurposed styles as a nod to the designer’s interest in sustainability and use of recycled and organic materials. His designs blend African and Western fashion and the company advocates for social responsibility.
Collins has dressed such notables as the actress Kerry Washington, the comedian Jimmy Fallon and the Jonas Brothers, but students are his compass at the moment.
In an interview Tuesday, Collins said that more than anything he wants “to amplify the learning experience for students” by having them work with him on ideas and hands-on projects. Collins said of his interest in this new project: “I’m a student at heart. One of the most important things for me to do is to have impact. I also want to be able to pass forward what I know. If I am able to do that for students and prepare them for a future in the fashion world and protect the planet, I consider that a success.”
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