{"id":3227,"date":"2019-08-15T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.alumni.ncsu.edu\/?p=3227"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:39:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T20:39:32","slug":"at-the-top-of-her-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/2019\/at-the-top-of-her-game\/","title":{"rendered":"At the Top of Her Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Sharon Overton<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Angela Medlin \u201991 takes the stage in Portland, Ore., in high-heeled boots and a sleek black dress slung casually off one shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auditorium is packed with creative professionals who\u2019ve come to hear a series of talks by local leaders in the worlds of design, film and publishing. On the big screen behind her are logos for the high-profile brands where Medlin, 51, has made her mark: Adidas, The North Face, Levi\u2019s, Eddie Bauer, and most recently as design director for Jordan apparel at Nike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medlin clicks to an image that seems out of context in this hip, urban setting. It\u2019s a photograph of a run-down shack in the rural south, with broken windows, a sagging front porch and a hen-pecked yard. The picture is \u201calmost identical\u201d to the four-room house in Hamlet, N.C., where she lived as a young girl, Medlin says. The house had no running water or indoor toilet. The walls were stuffed with newspapers for insulation; if you poked your finger through the paper, cold air blew in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But within those walls, she says, Medlin flourished in an atmosphere of \u201ctotal creative freedom.\u201d Her grandparents and teenage mother encouraged her love of drawing and design. They bought her pencils and notebooks from the feed store, and she filled page after page with sketches of faces, figures and Barbie doll fashions. When they didn\u2019t have money for art supplies, she says, \u201cthey gave me a wall to draw on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family gave Medlin the courage to believe she could accomplish whatever she set her mind to. She\u2019s applied it to her work, from designing urban tees worn by hip-hop icons to helping Air Jordan once again take flight in the mid-2000s. And it\u2019s the message she now brings to her Portland audience, and as a mentor to the next generation of aspiring young designers: Don\u2019t let your dreams be limited by your circumstances. \u201cWhatever box you put yourself in, or somebody else puts you in,\u201d she says, \u201csmash the box.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever box you put yourself in, or somebody else puts you in, smash the box.\u201d
\u2013 Angela Medlin<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A Badass \u201cDesign Mom\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Wedged between a coffee shop and an artisan leather store in Portland\u2019s edgy Old Town, the Pensole Design Academy is a long way from that four-room house in Hamlet. Described as the world\u2019s first sneaker school, Pensole attracts dozens of promising design students from around the globe who gain real-world experience tackling projects for industry sponsors such as Under Armour, New Balance and Adidas. Classes range from multi-day skills-building workshops to an accredited 12-week design intensive in partnership with the Pacific Northwest College of Art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medlin joined the faculty in 2017 as founder of the Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio. She describes functional apparel as \u201can extension of the body. It\u2019s apparel that gives athletes their superpowers. It enhances performance to push bodies beyond their natural limitations. It\u2019s the product that keeps everyday consumers cool, warm, dry, comfortable and protected from inclement weather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea for the studio came out of a serendipitous meeting with Pensole creator D\u2019Wayne Edwards, a celebrated sneaker designer and fellow Nike alumnus. After nearly three decades designing for the world\u2019s leading activewear brands, Medlin was ready to share what she\u2019d learned. Edwards saw an opportunity to expand the school\u2019s curriculum beyond footwear to include a full range of functional clothing and accessories. \u201cShe is a talented designer with an amazing career history,\u201d Edwards says. She\u2019s also a \u201cnatural mentor and teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pensole feels like a cross between an industrial trade school and a high-tech start-up. In the cavernous footwear studio, students ranging in age from their late teens to early 30s lounge on black leather furniture or slouch behind laptops at long wooden tables. Like the student body, the \u201cdress code\u201d is decidedly diverse\u2009\u2014\u2009from ripped jeans and hoodies to high-end athletic wear. On one wall, prototype sneakers are displayed like futuristic works of art. An upstairs workshop is filled with industrial sewing machines and bins of brightly colored leather and synthetic fabrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Clockwise: Students at Pensole listen as Medlin conducts a critique of their designs. Prototype sneakers designed by students are stacked nearby. Medlin gets a hug from D\u2019Wayne Edwards, Pensole creator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, the vibe in Medlin\u2019s apparel and accessories studio across the hall is calm and uncluttered, with white walls and minimalist modern furniture. She calls it her \u201cZen den.\u201d On a fall morning, a handful of students gather on a large sectional sofa to offer each other feedback. About a third of the way into the 12-week session, they\u2019re already neck deep into design projects ranging from protective head gear for female soccer players to a wearable shelter for people living on the streets. Giant storyboards covered with their sketches and design inspirations line the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simone Bakke, a 28-year-old graduate student from Copenhagen, discusses her early concept for the soccer helmet. A young woman in a black motorcycle jacket says Bakke\u2019s design reminds her of an \u201cold-school football helmet\u201d and wonders if teenage girls would actually wear it. Medlin poses a question: Is there a way to make the wearer feel both beautiful and powerful? \u201cLike a crown,\u201d she suggests. A tall young woman in a gray hoodie jumps on the idea. That\u2019s \u201cso badass,\u201d she says. \u201cThink Wonder Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBadass\u201d can also describe Medlin herself. Compact and soft-spoken with the slightest trace of a Southern accent, she dresses mostly in black and keeps her platinum curls closely cropped. On a recent day, she wears a hooded fleece tunic and leggings with bright red sneakers, matching lipstick, and bold cat-eye glasses, bringing to mind a mashup between Marilyn Monroe and a hip-hop monk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the classroom, Medlin can be funny and encouraging, but also tough. She wants students to get a realistic idea of what it takes to be successful in a highly demanding and competitive industry. Students are assigned to cross-disciplinary teams, just as they would be at real companies. They work on tight deadlines and are expected to behave professionally, which means \u201cshowing up on time and doing more than you\u2019re asked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Details like zippers and fabric swatches on mood boards are just as important as sewing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

They get regular feedback from industry sponsors, who sometimes subsidize tuition, which runs roughly $11,000 per session. At the end of the session, teams present their work to sponsors and faculty, and it\u2019s not just a grade that\u2019s at stake. Since Pensole opened in 2010, more than 250 students have been placed in jobs or internships with footwear and apparel companies around the world, according to the school. \u201cThis is essentially a 12-week interview,\u201d Medlin says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is a talented designer with an amazing career history. She\u2019s also a natural mentor and teacher.\u201d
\u2013 D\u2019Wayne Edwards<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Scheer was a student in Medlin\u2019s first class in the fall of 2017. She and her teammates were tasked with designing an all-weather layering system for people with limited mobility. They often worked past midnight, perfecting their prototypes. The reward came when their
designs were chosen to appear on the runway during New York Fashion Week. \u201cWe call Angela our design mom,\u201d says Scheer, 22, who\u2019s now working as an apparel design intern in the San Francisco Bay area. \u201cShe expected the best from us because she saw the best in us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStraight Outta Hamlet\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the headline that tops a \u201chometown girl does good\u201d article in the Richmond County <\/em>(N.C.) Daily Journal <\/em>from May 2018. The article includes a photo of Medlin with a group of high school friends in the mid \u201980s, hanging out on the bleachers on a sunny day. She\u2019s  sporting preppy plaid Bermuda shorts and a crisp white polo shirt; a straw fedora and Esprit shopping bag give the impression that\u2019s she\u2019s got places to be, even then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And she did. Medlin excelled in high school and graduated near the top of her class. Armed with a scholarship to attend any North Carolina university, she chose NC State for its design school. At the time, the school didn\u2019t have a formal fashion track, so she created her own independent study program, focusing on fashion and textiles. Chandra Cox, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Art + Design, became her mentor and adviser. Cox recalls that Medlin had a \u201cnice stylized drawing sense,\u201d but what stood out was her hard work and determination: \u201cAngela was just hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Richmond County Daily Journal<\/em>, Medlin\u2019s hometown paper, ran this photo of Medlin (at right in hat) hanging out with some friends in high school before she made it big.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After graduating with a degree in environmental design, Medlin had an assortment of odd jobs before being hired as a design assistant at Cross Colours, the Los Angeles hip-hop brand known for its baggy jeans and positive message tees. At Cross Colours, Medlin got a crash course in casual fashion while rubbing elbows with sitcom stars and rap royalty. (She met rapper Tupac Shakur when she wandered into a tattoo parlor while waiting for a doctor\u2019s appointment. She left with an African ankh inked on her left shoulder.) When Cross Colours folded a short time later, Medlin was scooped up by Adidas. From there, she landed high-profile gigs at Levi Strauss, Adidas (again) and The North Face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this period from the early \u201990s to 2000s, the lines between athletic wear and street style were becoming increasingly blurred. Inspired by the hip-hop craze for track suits, flashy logos and status sneakers, companies such as Adidas and Nike partnered with famous athletes, entertainers and high-end fashion houses. At the same time, \u201cCasual Friday\u201d was rewriting corporate dress codes, and consumers were demanding greater comfort in their everyday wardrobes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n