Student apparel concepts and prototypes were on display as guests toured the new Carhartt Apparel Lab at Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC Detroit). For the students who will use it, the room offers another place to make their ideas tangible and learn from people working in the industry.
PLC Detroit and Carhartt celebrated the lab’s opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Sept. 21. The partnership brings together Michigan’s only HBCU and the nation’s only design-focused HBCU with Carharrt, a family-owned workwear company founded in Detroit in 1889.
In the professional lab, students can develop apparel and accessories concepts, create prototypes, and follow the steps that take a product from idea to finished design. Carhartt associates and design professionals will share their experience as students build portfolios and prepare for internships and careers in apparel.
For PLC Detroit student ambassador Rohna Battle-Woodger, the space represents a connection between what students learn at the college and the industry they hope to enter.
“The apparel lab is the intersection of education and the industry, with a shared purpose,” Battle-Woodger said during the opening. “It provides the next generation of designers with access to world-class resources and symbolizes our partnership, commitment, and a new chapter for every student who enters these doors.”
The lab expands the professional resources already available at PLC Detroit. It also supports the college’s focus on workforce empowerment: Students can develop their creative and technical skills while gaining a clearer understanding of how designers work in the apparel industry.
Carhartt’s relationship with PLC Detroit began in 2022, when the company supported the college’s first industry masterclass. Since then, its design leaders have shared their expertise and mentored students through several PLC Detroit programs.
“Carhartt has been part of PLC Detroit’s journey from the beginning, and I’m incredibly grateful for the relationship we have built,” said Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, president of PLC Detroit. “The Carhartt team believed in our vision, supported our first industry masterclass, and gave our students an opportunity to learn directly from its design leaders.”
Edwards said those connections have helped students see a path into the profession.
“We have already seen how that access can create pathways to internships and employment,” he said. “The Carhartt Apparel Lab builds on the work we started together and deepens our shared commitment to preparing the next generation of hardworking creatives for meaningful careers.”
Ben Ewy, vice president of global product design, research and development at Carhartt, said the company wants the space to help students develop their skills and professional connections.
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with PLC Detroit to provide a space where the next generation of creatives can develop the confidence, skills, and connections needed to succeed,” Ewy said.
The opening included remarks from Edwards and Ewy, PLC Detroit’s student ambassador Rohna Battle-Woodger’s perspective as a student, and the official unveiling of the lab. Guests viewed student work and apparel prototypes and met with PLC Detroit students, instructors, and Carhartt associates.
Carhartt’s workwear history began in Detroit. Through this partnership, the company is sharing its design experience with students developing their own point of view in apparel. At PLC Detroit, those students now have another space to turn a concept into a prototype, get feedback, and build work they can carry into the next stage of their careers.
Photos by Liliadriana Knox
