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Black Denim by Marshall Fortson
Marshall Fortson exploded onto the urban fashion scene, opening Hip-Hop clothing retail store Groove Wear, and hitting $1 Million in sales in just 9 short months. A visionary and a pioneer, he has always positioned himself at the right place, at the right time.Launching the first Hip-Hop clothing retailer in the State of Tennessee, as a senior in college at TSU, made him the go-to trendsetter in the region for the urban clothing and entertainment industries.
The first to bring iconic clothing brands to the area, and the designers, including Karl Kani himself, the owners of FUBU, etc. The first black designer to design a sneaker for Mauri gator shoes and the first Hip-Hop clothing store with an ad in GQ magazine.Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Marshall aka Groove was energized by the emergence of Hip-Hop music, style and street culture. The teenage Groove saw opportunity in his father’s print shop and began designing, screen printing and selling Hip-Hop music and event inspired t-shirts. As Hip-Hop music took off, so did Groove, purchasing clearance items from urban retailers in Chicago and taking his show on the road to Historically Black Colleges & Universities in the south, making a name for himself and mint off selling apparel out of the trunk of his car. From Tuskegee to Lane to TSU, the demand grew to great for his trunk and in March of 1997, his Groove Wear store was born.
Today Marshall Fortson and Will Malone, a childhood friend, a true lover of fashion renaissance, and head designer is launching Black Denim by Marshall Fortson, a premium urban apparel company and national “Couture Magie” fashion show tour around the country in 2023. His passion for fashion, design and craftsmanship has positioned Black Denim at the right place, at the right time, once again.