Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC Detroit) is expanding access to creative education with the launch of the PLC Detroit x adidas x Ruth E. Carter Costume Design program. This free digital learning experience—developed in collaboration with two-time Academy Award-winning and five-time Academy Award–nominated costume designer Ruth E. Carter and adidas—offers a transformative course designed to democratize design education globally.
“Our relationship with Ruth E. Carter began with a MasterClass, where she guided four PLC students in designing dresses for her awards ceremonies,” said Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, president of PLC Detroit. “In 2025, she collaborated with PLC alumni on the Ruth E. Carter Apparel Creation STU/DEO by adidas. Today, we invite aspiring creatives worldwide to learn from her through our online platform, ePLC. Her groundbreaking career inspires us to open doors for the next generation to shape the future of design.”
Carter—an HBCU graduate of Hampton University and PLC Detroit’s first artist-in-residence—leads a four-part video course offering insight into storytelling and costume design.
The curriculum centers on her approach to Afrofuturism, blending culture, imagination, and storytelling to demonstrate how design informs character and world-building.
“Afrofuturism has always been about expanding our imagination—about seeing ourselves in worlds that honor our past while designing the future. Costume design is storytelling. It requires research, cultural respect, and the courage to continually evolve your craft. I’m proud to be part of a collaboration like this. Support from institutions like PLC Detroit and partners like adidas is critical because it invests in the growth and development of artists. When brands champion creative education, they help open doors for the next generation of designers to discover their voice, shape their vision, and step fully into their purpose.” — Ruth E. Carter
The course includes four video modules covering Carter’s creative methodologies, including character development, research techniques, visual storytelling, and strategic problem-solving—drawn from her more than three-decade career spanning over 70 credits across film, television, and theatre.
Students will gain practical tools to translate ideas into compelling visual narratives, strengthen their creative decision-making, and develop a deeper understanding of how storytelling shapes both career pathways and personal voice across disciplines.
Carter’s history-making contributions to film, including her prolific costume design work on “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” have garnered widespread acclaim and multiple Academy Awards, firmly establishing her as one of the industry’s most influential visual storytellers.
Equally celebrated for her meticulous period work and commitment to cultural authenticity, Carter continues to shape cinematic storytelling with films such as “Malcolm X” and the recent history-making 16 Oscar nominations for “Sinners,” demonstrating a rare ability to move seamlessly between grounded historical narratives and imaginative world-building.
Her collaborations with cinematic visionaries including Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, and Ryan Coogler underscore her extraordinary ability to weave research, culture, and design into unforgettable characters and worlds.
Notably, Carter became the first Black person to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and later the first Black woman to win multiple Academy Awards in the category. Following her nomination for “Sinners,” Carter also became the most-nominated Black woman in Academy Awards history.
This partnership underscores PLC Detroit’s commitment to innovation, industry collaboration, and culturally aware creative education, extending Carter’s mentorship to a global audience. The PLC Detroit x adidas x Ruth E. Carter Costume Design ePLC course is now available on the ePLC platform, marking a new era of accessible digital learning in the arts.
For more information and to sign up, visit https://www.plcdetroit.com/eplc-ruth-carter/
Photographer: Scrill Davis
