LET THE BLACK STAR SHINE: TJ SAWYERR FOR CONVERSE ALL STAR

Starting out as a model after getting scouted waiting in the queue for Supreme in Soho, the creative director used his initial introduction into the world of fashion as a jumping off point – a springboard to catapult himself further into the world of fashion and learn as much as he could from the people around him. Expanding his talents from modelling to styling, writing, photography, creative direction and consultancy, Sawyerr has rapidly built a name for himself as a figurehead of the new generation of multifaceted creatives who have shirked the conventional routes into the industry, preferring to carve their own path and celebrate their own cultural reference points out with the traditional fashion sphere. 

Working alongside Converse as a member of their All Star program, in 2021 Sawyerr visited his father’s home town of Accra, Ghana, to revisit his roots and work on a charity project with the brand. Sparking a new sense of direction and a passion for connecting with his roots, Sawyerr has returned to Accra to create an editorial for Converse and UrlfreezeShops, working with an entirely Ghanaian team, to celebrate the country, it’s community and the inspiration that Ghana provides him.

Sitting down with TJ Sawyerr, UrlfreezeShops delve into his multiplicitous creative work and the influence that Ghana has had on his outlook, drive and creative goals.

Having worked as a creative director, model, photographer, writer and stylist from such a young age, you have built out an extensive roster of talents throughout the past few years – how would you describe your creative approach when focussing on a project? 

I definitely am someone who enjoys being busy and having my hands full with multiple projects on the go at all times, which has naturally helped a lot in terms of the consistency of my output early in my career. Contrary to some, I find it beneficial to allow my differing ventures to cross over and flow between one another, partly because they are oftentimes so naturally intertwined anyway under this broad umbrella of fashion media, but moreso because I like to keep my mind stimulated with as many thoughts/material as possible, with ideas for one project often coming to inspire ideas for the next. I’m always thinking about what more I can do, and I’m still at a youthful stage where physically and mentally I can push myself hard. Even when working on this project, my mind of travelled into thoughts about challenging what’s possible in the future. That’s just how I roll.

As a creative polymath, what is your favourite role to take while working on a project?

I think everyone likes to be the boss, and I’m certainly no different. To be trusted to take the helm of a production, as the director/producer and have the unique opportunity to steer the ship from square one, towards creating a special moment that may live long in the memory, is a blessing that I definitely embrace and cherish. I have been enjoying actually shooting myself (photography) a lot more, because it allows me to connect that little bit more with the actual image making process, rather than being the 3rd party director, trying to mediate photographer and subject. So that has been a growing interest that has been building for a while, aside from the direction and production stuff.

Fashion has traditionally been a difficult industry to break into, especially when you’re a young person. Why do you think the industry is changing and making space for younger people and their perspectives?

It’s quite simply the natural trajectory of the industry. The young impressionable mind has never had access to more information, inspiration and skills than it does today, and so when that alleviated tangible skill set and knowhow is paired with the inimitable social perspective that a younger person naturally has, it makes us a lot more desirable to work with than those many decades our senior. In this digital age, all tradition is slowly being left in the dust, and it’s only us who understand the new trends because it’s us who set them. We’re in a really interesting transitional period where ‘potential’ is being regarded more and more closely in value to ‘experience’, which is a stark sign of the desperately changing tides at the very top of the game, as they try to catch up with this new perverse state of social existence that we exist within.

This project with Converse has ended up taking you to Accra, Ghana – a place with familial ties for yourself, with your dad growing up there. Why was it important for you to go back to Ghana for this project?

I have always felt strongly that it’s essential to return to whence you came if you are to find your ultimate purpose in life. For me, it was through the lens of a charity project that I ran with Converse in Accra back in 2021 - the project that started this journey - that I really rekindled my connection to my roots and found my sense of true direction in my young adult life. From then, til now, and onwards, I have and will never stop telling the stories of my people and using my work to challenge the misinformation and prejudice that surrounds them. This project is a huge part of that, shedding light upon the raw beauty of our culture and homeland, as a direct challenge to the ignorantly misleading and negative media that so often surrounds it. After the foundation that I had laid with Converse in Ghana all that time ago, it only made sense to finish what we started.

How does the creative culture of Ghana inform your own creative practice?

I’m informed and inspired by absolutely everything around me, especially when I’m back in Africa, because of how striking and raw everything is. Spending a lot of time in Ghana, even over the course of the multiple visits I’ve made shooting this project over the past 2 years, I have been exposed to and entirely immersed within the Ghanaian creative scene, and have met some of the most impressive innovators I know in the process. Home will always be a primary source of inspiration, because it’s at the roots of the reason why I do this in the first place.

With the editorial centring around key themes of community and family, why was it important for you to focus on this subject matter?

As I’ve said, in this case, I’m just the messenger, telling stories on behalf people who may not have the means to tell their own. Family is an integral value in African culture, life revolves around it, because many people have very little else. It has always interested me how people with so much less can smile so much more, and the existence of family and community when all else lacks, is the true answer.

You have worked with the Ghanaian photographer Jude Lartey on the editorial – how did you connect with Jude? How does his work inspire you?

Jude is absolutely excellent. He is the perfect example of somebody who’s natural taste and knack for resourcefulness has quickly grown into a legitimately top level flair and skill for evocative image making, which is all the more impressive considering the challenges of working in this field in Accra. We first connected in 2021, and had been discussing a collaboration of sorts for a while before we decided to come together and shoot a concept editorial using Converse shoes during my visit to Accra across New Years 2022. It was that link up that evolved into Converse’s formal project proposal for this extended project, which we’ve been working closely on over the past year. Throughout we’ve been able to bounce off of one another ideas wise, and our skillsets aligned super nicely from the get go. Has been an absolute pleasure working on this with him!

What differences strike you between the fashion and creative scene in Ghana and the UK?

Of course, aside from the major economic disparity between the two countries, the main difference is a quite simple mentality difference. Fashion and creativity in the UK today is a job. In Ghana it’s a way of life, a hobby, it’s for fun. There isn’t a hugely sustainable local industry there, which obviously does make it difficult to monetise your work and subsist as an artist, but it also means people can and do create far more freely than they do in the UK, in the absence of ‘industry standards’ and material social boundaries. Most people in the UK, once they get to a certain point, create because they have to. People are more concerned about not losing their job than actually creating work with substance. They tell stories that people want to hear, not real truths, for fear of condemnation. That’s the main difference.

How has being a part of the Converse All-Star program influenced your creative work? 

Working with Converse over the past 3 years has provided me with some of the opportunities and experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Allowing me to return to Africa and work on projects that are important to me, commercial value aside. From a young age, they’ve been invested in me and have shown faith in my craft before I even had it. Will always be grateful to Converse for that