Xarea Lockhart has come to expect the unexpected. After graduating from Pratt Institute in 2019, the college grad was eager to get started building her future – until a global pandemic came around and disrupted her plans.

Undeterred, Lockhart bet on herself – launching her own website and started selling her creations online. Needless to say, the gamble paid off. The designer is steadily growing her own business, XAREA – and has even caught the attention of Manolo Blahnik.

The famed cobbler tapped the emerging designer to help celebrate the opening of its new Madison Avenue store. To kick things off, the Brooklyn United marching band gave a special performance, with Lockhart reimagining the uniforms. Lockhart worked closely with the brand’s in-house team to create a modern iteration of the traditional marching jacket, resulting in a stunning white suit that enhanced the performance.

To celebrate the occasion, we spoke to the emerging talent to hear more about her latest project and path to success.

Take us back to your early days – what was your relationship with fashion growing up, and did you always know you wanted to work in the industry? 

Fashion – or fabric rather – wasn’t always my medium. I did a lot of writing and mostly 2D work like sketching and painting. In high school, I started making jewelry and then eventually switched to making clothing. My mother is a teacher, so she had summers off. Growing up, we spent our summer days visiting art museums, picking fruit and reading – she really wanted to give us spaces for self-expression. Art and fashion was just my form of self-expression. I had no real understanding of the “industry” in comparison to what I know of it today. Even though I recognized everyone participates in fashion, whether it be with the brands they shop or styles they combine, it took a bit of time for it to click that this is truly something that people monetize and make a fairly huge deal about. Learning more about the fashion industry opened the door to so much possibility, you don’t have to be a clothing designer to be in fashion. Designing is just what feels organic to me.

You’re a recent graduate of Pratt Institute. How has your post-graduation experience been, and how did your studies prepare you for your work today? 

Looking back to when I graduated from Pratt in May 2019, it was a weird time to be a fresh out of college; we were a few months away from a life changing pandemic and didn’t even know it. There was hardly any time to make solid decisions on the next chapter of our lives before everything shut down. On top of the pandemic, there was so much heat on social issues that there was no true “normal” way to move forward as everything required a larger discussion. Overall, it felt like a scary but right time to just bet on myself. I decided to return to hometown in Connecticut and keep going – on my own terms. I moved into my first studio/office space and officially launched my website selling products under my own name in June of 2020. My time at Pratt definitely helped me cultivate that “keep going” attitude where I learned to always be ready to re-plan, redirect and even start over.

Tell us about your namesake label, XAREA. What inspired you to start this brand?

I started my label with the idea of developing sweet, simple, and responsibly made accessible luxuries. Everything is currently made in-house, on a pre-order or small run basis. I play with a lot of beading, textures and soft colors. Recently we launched a cute new top for the summer which is currently available on my website. When I started, I just wanted to make my own rules and develop a platform that could become more than the clothes. As a young Black woman, I am grateful that no one stood in my way and told me I couldn’t do this- but not everyone has the same story. It is important to put yourself out there to be the example you want to see. I always imagined designing for myself, but it is definitely much harder than I expected because you are the only thing keeping yourself going. It’s only been a full year and I’m having a lot of fun. At the same time, I am taking every step possible to ensure I am building a legitimate foundation- at the end of the day you have to take yourself seriously or no one else will.

Congratulations on your latest collaboration with Manolo Blahnik. How did this opportunity come about?

Thank you! This opportunity was presented to me through my former textiles professor at Pratt, Gina Gregorio. She heard about the project through Sara Byworth who is doing PR and communications for the new Manolo Blahnik store. I became a part of the conversation because I often use surface embellishments such as beading and embroidery and the project seemed like a great fit for me. Both Sara and Gina were amazing during the process!

Describe the process of designing these costumes. Where did you start, and what was your inspiration?

When designing the costumes I knew it had to be something that was modern but still emulated the marching band aesthetic. The bomber jacket silhouette brought the modern element and the familiar braided trim and cascading buttons brought the marching band vibe for a very happy match. The clean and classic color palette of white and grey was intended to mimic the Manolo Blahnik logo and the beautiful silver tones you often see on the buckles of Manolo shoes. What’s super cool is we were able to source an embroiderer local to me in CT to embroider the logo on the back of the jackets. Finding out there are resources so close to home was everything to me!

What does it mean for you to work with such an established label and see your work come to life? 

It means a lot to me to work with such an established label. Manolo Blahnik is an iconic brand and it is easy to feel like just a small drop in the bucket but something that is important to me is celebrating any and all of your achievements which involves knowing you are deserving of the opportunities that come your way. I can be pretty protective over my work and often stress the small things- especially since I do so many things by hand and independently. Revealing anything you’ve spent time on and care about can be a bit nerve racking and the road to any goal isn’t always smooth but projects such as this really inspire me! Everything I experience and learn now will one day inform my future decisions as a business owner and designer. I am super grateful to have gained this experience early on in my career.

Where do you see yourself in five years? What’s your hope for the future?

In five years, I’d like to see myself still happy, encouraged and actively growing my label. I don’t have a definition for growth just yet but I would love to expand into shoes. I also love making clothing in-house and hope I can continue that in some form by establishing a team. In the industry, I’d like to see more brands highlighting a variety of faces and bodies (and not just on the runways, but in their offices too). In the world, I hope there is more understanding and acceptance.

Visit the Manolo Blahnik store at 717 Madison Ave.