Jeff Karly

MPS Fashion Management

Title: I am Creative Too

Updated: July 29th

"I am Creative too": The Black American Dream

The American dream -- The Black American dream. The American dream has always been a fragile agglomeration of (1) individual freedom of choice in lifestyles, (2) equal access to economic abundance, and (3) the pursuit of shared objectives mutually advantageous to the individual and society (Zangrando, J., & Zangrando, R., 1970). While personal liberty, financial attainment, and community promise the eventual attainment of happiness, this has not been universally true for Black Americans. I am Creative too #IACT attempts to fill in research gaps by addressing the following questions: (1) How has generational wealth or family status relate to identity expression? (2) How has socio-economics of a neighborhood impacted professional, creative, and life path? (3) What structures or community programs impacted self-growth and identity expression? And (4) Who has access to become inventors/creator?

Jeff Karly is a Haitian-American designer and storyteller from Brooklyn NY. He is a Parson’s alumnus, graduating in 2018 with a Master’s in Strategic Design and Management. He's currently a student in the MPS Fashion Management program at Parsons School of Design. Jeff is the founder of the private label, Unique Expozzure. Through both his work at Parsons and his private label, Unique Expozzure, Jeff examines dichotomy within the context of the Black experience as it relates to where and how we were raised, and how this impacts our perception of creation, design, self, love, and fear.