Greedmont Park x Bishme Cromartie [Interview]
Thursday, August 5, 2010 by Team Greedmont | No Comments | Category: Entertainment, Fashion
Let’s be honest, a high school senior’s accomplishments are few. Being able to make it through the SAT’s, spring break, prom night and all those senior skip days with your head still on straight, is considered one of the biggest feats for most. Most “kids” are satisfied with the basic life, plagiarized test here and there, barely making it out of the bah-hum-bug concrete jail cells that the school system has dubbed “classrooms”. You’re lucky if you come out with some type of talent and for most this “talent” is being able to locate the caps lock key on a standard keyboard.
That being said, I would like to introduce to the world a young man by the name of Bishme Cromartie. How does he fit into all of this? Bishme will be graduating from high school in June. Why do you care? Before you stop reading and flip to the next page, let this sink into your medulla oblongata: Bishme is a designer who started sewing at the age of nine and fully designing at the age when most people were learning the different componentes of a cell, fourteen. He started his fashion line YingEdge at the age of fifteen and he admits that it is more of a “movement and learning process”. How did he come up with the name? Simple. There is an edge in all of us.
His most recent collections “Evolution” and “Insect” are awe-inspiring. “With the actual ‘Evolution’ collection, I was telling the story about a girl transforming into a woman”, Bishme tells me. The collection consists of pieces that are perfectly draped, and the most impeccable folded ruffles. With the “Insect” collection, lines and edges are exaggerated and earthy browns, grays and creams are used with the thickest and most healthiest of fabrics. “With this collection, I wanted to show very bold and dramatic shapes, and tell a cohesive story”. Just like Bishme is never afraid to go against the wind with his line, so is he inspired by designers that are the same. One of his favorite designers is Giambattista Valii, who is known for being dramatic and paying the upmost attention to detail. When asked what was so special about this designer, Bishme told us: “[he] is never afraid to go against the norm and it is a very pleasing thing to see such creative work from [him]”.
Bishme is inspired by life to the fullest, he has a crazy imagination and is a big fan of art shapes. You would think that if you asked him who he looked up to that he would give you some major French or Italian designer but instead he gives me someone whose name might not be as big but whom he ranks highly and even greater in stature: his sister. “I look up to my sister. She is determined and very strong and I love her so much for that. She’s probably going to cry when she see’s this”, he tells me laughing.
And trust me he will be legendary. Bishme has been dubbed the Alexander McQueen of Baltimore by many including myself. Bishme Cromartie is in no way afraid to express himself. Most designers get down on the runway, with the most extravagant shapes, fits and combinations, but when you look at their ready to wear you’re like: Is this sold at all Target locations? “My ready to wear clothing is very dramatic and different but still wearable. I design for the person who wants to stand out and have all eyes on them”, Bishme states.
Unlike most, he is not scared of the future. Bishme Cromartie has big plans, but he is still able to stay humble. When asked what he wanted to do in five years he told me that he wanted to intern for a big fashion label, which I thought was funny because in five years I’m pretty sure that YingEdge will be a huge fashion label. “My dream is to be a world wide designer. I want to have stores in almost every state, city and country”. Bishme is currently in the process of planning his own fashion show, but he has plans to start his own accessory line soon and will be doing a line of heels also.
For all those designers who have been sleeping pretty thinking that no would ever catch up to them. Please wake-up, the new generation of fashion has graduated and the valedictorian is Bishme Cromartie, also known as: Most likely to replace Alexander McQueen.
-Rose M. Bellefleur of 12thDisciples
