HBCUs and the Divine Nine have always influenced culture — from the way we lead and serve to the way we show up, celebrate, and express ourselves. That influence rarely gets the credit it deserves when it shows up in fashion. For The Culture 2.0, a new Cross Colours campaign, is one attempt at closing that gap.
A Campaign Rooted in Real Chapters
The campaign centers Los Angeles-area undergraduate and alumni members of the Divine Nine, styled in a mix of vintage and contemporary Cross Colours pieces and presented by Black Radiance Beauty and the Black Design Collective. It was co-created by two HBCU alumni: myself, a Virginia State graduate and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Kadeem Pilgrim, a Hampton graduate, member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Cross Colours’ senior director of marketing and brand partnerships. The goal from the start was simple — give the community something that feels like us, made by people who actually come from it.
Who’s Represented
The campaign features HBCU alumni connected to Virginia State, Hampton, Morehouse, and Spelman, alongside a few voices who’ve carried Divine Nine pride publicly for decades. Brandy, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., wore custom Cross Colours during her Roots Picnic performance in Philadelphia and her ESSENCE Festival set in New Orleans. MC Lyte (Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.) and Yo Yo (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.) round out the lineup, connecting hip-hop’s history to the campaign’s present.
The Legacy Behind It
Cross Colours was founded in Los Angeles in 1989 by Carl Jones and TJ Walker, pairing bold color with socially conscious messaging to become one of the defining visual languages of hip-hop’s early years. That’s the lineage this campaign is stepping into — not a nostalgia play, but a continuation of a brand that’s always spoken directly to Black identity. Timed to National HBCU Week, For The Culture 2.0 is a reminder that the culture running through fashion, music, and entertainment has real roots, and a lot of them trace straight back to HBCUs and the Divine Nine.
