The Creative Era
Whitney House, founder of ‘The Creative Era’, talks her collaboration with Cheetos, as well as the grand unveiling of her creations.
By: Bryn Palmer
From yacht parties with Cheetos and Flo Milli, to collaborations with A$AP Ferg, Whitney House has an impressive lineup.
In 2011, House founded The Creative Era as an outlet to showcase her creativity through the customization of clothing. Over a decade later, the 34-year-old has shown that there are no limits to her creativity. Seeking inspiration from both colorful objects and her hometown of Harlem, NY, she transforms virtually any object into her canvas: ranging from clothing and apparel to furniture. Instead of solely customizing premade clothing, she now handcrafts each item. Having a physical manifestation of what was originally a mere thought in her head is the most fulfilling part of creating, House said.
Each week, House devises a new concept and executes it. She captures every step of the creative process and broadcasts it to the 13,000 followers on her Instagram, aptly titled ‘The Creative Era’.
The artist’s most famous concept stems from a collaboration between her, Cheetos and Rock the Bells. Out of 15 other artists, she was selected to design and produce a shoe that was inspired by Cheetos dust…and she was only given three weeks to do it. With the color scheme of a bag of Cheeto puffs and the texture of the puffs themselves, the shoes were essentially Cheetos in the form of footwear. The iconic shoes even earned House a feature in Forbes. Though she said the project was the cause of a lot of stress for her, House also expressed her gratitude for the assignment.
“The design itself when it all came together was beautiful,” she said.
Nike presented her shoe on the second floor of a grand yacht, the floor was reserved for the showcasing of her and other artists’ works. A huge party was thrown featuring big stars like Mannie Fresh, who she got to dance with on-stage, and Flo Milli, who flaunted her shoes as she performed.
“You had to be there,” House said of the party.
Though she has had many great successes, she still faces struggles as a Black artist.In the brand’s early days, she had to support herself due to the lack of resources. Even today, House says she struggles to find other Black creatives to work with because many are scared of the system that was made against them. Fears of having their work stolen and not being taken seriously plague beginner artists. House offers them the advice of her number one motto: keep going. The reward of being able to see your work in the flesh is unparalleled, House said.
In the future, House plans for her brand to be more exclusive. She wants to see her creations on many celebrities, including Pharrell Williams whom she cites as her dream collaboration. At her current rate, The Creative Era will continue to experience exponential growth in the coming years.
