Photo by Kahdeem Prosper.
by Nadirah Simmons
When Shara McHayle hopped onto our Google Meet call, I knew we were going to have a great discussion. Our glasses matched, our manicures matched, and we began chatting about the weather, fashion, the green PNB Nation jacket and “Please No Bacon” shirt my dad had, and a bunch of other things that were not lined up on my list of questions. To be quite honest, it felt like I was catching up with a friend I hadn’t spoken to in a while. That’s not surprising though. While researching Ms. McHayle in preparation for the interview I came across quotes, photos, and interviews that spoke to her welcoming spirit and prioritization of community. And it’s been clear from the beginning of her career.
PNB Nation, the streetwear conceived of in 1987 by Roger "Brue" McHayle, James "Bluster" Alicea, Sung Choi, Isaac "West" Rubinstein, "Zulu" Williams, took the "Post No Bills" abbreviation-often seen on New York City buildings and construction sites forbidding the posting of advertisements or any type of signs-and flipped it into phrases like "Proud Nubian Brothers.” As one of the original streetwear brands, PNB Nation’s clothing featured bold imagery and politically conscious messaging. The clothing was a statement, literally. It was here that Shara McHayle planted her roots on the marketing team and rose in the ranks. It was the beginning of a journey.
I chatted with McHayle about her work at PNB Nation, how her Brooklyn upbringing influenced her love for Hip-Hop, fashion, and community, launching Hoop88Dreams, and more.
Talk to me a little bit about when you knew you wanted to work in the fashion industry.
I didn’t know until I was introduced to a t-shirt. A specific t-shirt. And the name of the t-shirt at the time was titled “Three Names,” and then it turned into “Hello My Name Is.” [On the shirt were the names of] three people of color killed by the New York City Police. It just struck a chord, and that was 1991. It was then that I knew I wanted to be involved in the brand PNB Nation and that I knew fashion would be the gateway to the conversation [and social commentary].
What I love in reading about your work as well as that of PNB Nation is that there is this prioritization of community and integrity. What were your early days there like?
My primarily responsibility was sales and marketing. And because the brand was so small and was founded by five graffiti artists, the design process, the merchandising process, the conversation around the direction of the collection, I was there. I was involved. I didn’t develop it, but I would have an opinion that they wanted. In terms of my responsibility, my job was to get that message out to the gatekeepers, editors, stylists, and trade magazines. And on the sales side, how are our people going to show up and access this brand and this message, and feel empowered?
How would you describe the relationship between Hip-Hop and fashion [in the 90s]?
The music 100% laid down the foundation. The music influenced the fashion. We were trying to dress those stories, we were trying to create-[actually], we weren’t even really trying! It’s just like, this is how we wear [this], this is how we do it. So we created with that.
And how would you describe it today?
There’s a lot of capitalism going on. A lot of money, it’s been proven. In the 90s we woke up white America, and they were like “Hold up, we losing some dollars here!”
[Laughs] Yes, losing some bread!
Yes! And that “hold up” had them jump into our business model, into our culture. They inserted themselves and started taking some equity in it…People who have no proximity to the culture and don’t tie it back, they’re telling the history through their eyes when they have no idea! They don’t look for the people because the ego is involved, and the money is so important…
April Walker says [this] all the time and it’s true.
I love April!
I love her too! [She says] they repackage our shit and sell it right back to us. And I’m like (smacks lips), this tastes the same. Not even asking, taking. And they have the resources. They have the budget. They have the power.
Whew. What advice would you give to someone who wants to create and build their own brand knowing there are people out here who might copy you, steal from you, and not credit you without a care in the world?
Don’t be fearful. The fear is going to stop everything. Then you can’t create because you’re so nervous! And having the idea in your head that someone is going to steal from you, it’s hard to start from that place…Pivot your thinking into the power of strength, place yourself in a position of power, execute in the creation, and strategize in the release. [And] stay in your lane. Stay authentic. Tell the story. Salute who you need to salute that has impacted you, who is also telling the story-maybe do a different platform. And find your community.
To that point on community, your father is Jamaican and your mother is Chinese, and you were raised in Brooklyn. How did your upbringing and multiethnic background shape the way you looked at the world and looked at fashion during this time?
I was a walking contradiction. I owe a lot to Hip-Hop culture because it grounded me. I felt like I belonged somewhere…It embraced me.
Shara McHayle during her PNB Nation days. Photo by Barron Clairborne.
I want to switch gears a little bit. Behind you I see the painting of the bamboo earrings and you’ve got some on. Talk to me about creating Hoop88Dreams.
At my core I’m an entrepreneur. My husband [Pete Rock] is a hip-hop music producer and I had gotten behind him and supported his career post-PNB. We had a family, and that was a service of love. And we can talk about women and love and relationships and sitting down on your career and how that may not be a good idea, that’s just the reality.
That happened and I was like I don’t like doing this. I love the culture and there was a whole part of me that was missing, and I wanted to reengage that woman again to create space. I had a person who would service me with gold hoop earrings and he found his partner and moved to Paris! When I started looking and couldn’t find a resource, I was like “this is it! I’m going to do this!” So I turned to my daughter and asked her if she wanted to do this with me…She was down, and [co-founded it with me] and I wore her out [laughs].
How did you come up with the name, where did the 88 come from?
It’s my favorite year! MC Lyte, Biz, Big Daddy Kane, it goes on! Album after album after album after album. That’s the year you also have Boogie Down Productions and Juice Crew, it was so exciting. I get goosebumps thinking about it because I was teenage mom and that time was a coming of age.
And when you talk about my ethnic mix, the “8” is a lucky number.
Photo by Nicole Acosta.
Wow. I love that.
Hoop88Dreams is very much about seeing a void in the market and being able to tell the story of my influence in that void. I want to service women of color. And if white women want to buy in, they buy in. But I’m taking the approach of POLO and Timberland: I’m not marketing to you. I’m not speaking to you. But if you want honor this and get a piece of this, no problem. This is the story. Honor the story.
What are some of your proudest moments, both in and out of your career thus far?
For me, because I’m a teenage mom, that puts a whole different layer onto that. But, it was that I was able to raise my kids. Working with my daughter [on Hoop88Dreams], my oldest, and having that bond. My children are everything to me.
And career wise, because I was so young I was always in this space of “I gotta prove them wrong!” So add that to the layer of being a women of color, coming from a particular socioeconomic background, to being a teenage mom and saying: “I can create, don’t count me out!”
Listen, when I worked with Lauryn for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, that was a big deal to be contacted…She saw our work. And that same jacket that your dad had was featured in The Source Magazine, along with other pieces. The Miseducation collegiate jacket. We [also] made some iconic pieces that she wore for SNL and dressed the whole band and she paid for it.
[Also] being the only woman at PNB among five men and working really hard to be seen as a contributor, coming in as an intern, coming out first year as marketing director, [in the] second year taking the brand from $150,000 to $2.1 million as the marketing and sales director, and then being offered partnership by the founders. [Also], we were able to secure a licensing deal with Perry Ellis. They offered me a partnership, equal equity. That was a milestone. And the people knew.
All of those milestones are so amazing. I feel like a lot of time the milestones people my age are expected to desire have a lot to die with your first million or capitalism. The way you’ve spoken about community and activism, and before we got into the interview, about rest, it’s really inspiring.
As women of color, there are so many things we just don’t know and don’t talk about candidly because we have to be so strong all the time. Even in this conversation if you got out of this that you need to rest or refresh so you can be in your best fit…taking care of yourself and grounding yourself [is important].