Xavier McMillan

• xmcmil@saic.edu

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Receiver of Sage Scholarship

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Bio

Xavier McMillan is a Chicago native whose family moved to the city during the Great Migration. Xavier uses his work to explore his identity as an African American and insert narratives of others in the Black Diaspora into the fashion and art world. His process begins with historical research that helps to crystallize his perspective and the message he wants to tell. Fabric treatments, embellishments, and construction details create a visual language to help tell his stories. Hand-dying and machine knitwear processes have been key in his exploration of fiber and its potential to communicate those ideas. Xavier received the Lester and Marcia Novy Scholarship and the SAGE Foundation Scholarship.

 

“FIREE!”

Collection Inspiration | Artist Statement

I was inspired by “FIREE!” a publication released by the Niggerati in 1929 which challenged the image of the “respectable” Black person at the time. Using that spirit of rebellion I created a physical manifestation becoming “woke,” then “staying woke” and the ambiguous emotions you experience when you don’t know how to feel. Fabric treatments show the rage and frustration that comes with being “woke” and the exhaustion and numbness that can come with “staying woke.” My collection challenges the audience to ask themselves, “Why is it that some of us having the privilege to stay “asleep?” and “Is it okay for the people who have to “stay woke” to take a nap?”