“I knew I had to go through with my vision and just make it come true and come to life and it definitely came to life because the bag is right there,” Travis Terry said.
It’s the photoshoot turned full circle moment for 23-year-old designer and Hartford native Terry.
“So when the video went on social media, it kind of went viral,” Terry said.
That video was a promotional shoot for Terry’s fashion brand IEMBE. It included a model, his signature handbag, the works, all shot during business hours at the Wadsworth Athenaeum.
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“Then I looked and I was like ';wow this is fantastic, this is a really beautiful design' and then I discovered the story,” Matthew Hargraves, interim chief curator of the Wadsworth Athenaeum said.
The story is about a North End man making it big just years out of college in the fashion world, with big names like Cardi B, Fabolous and Missy Elliot backing him up.
“They go online and well, they last for five minutes because once they’re online, they sell out completely,” Terry said.
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Matthew Hargraves said he knew Terry’s creativity needed to be on display in Connecticut.
“We can’t really put Travis in a case so we reached out to him and said, 'we can’t put you in the case, maybe we might be able to borrow one of your amazing bags,'” Hargraves said.
Now until July, Terry’s Tiffany blue handbag is history in his hometown museum, a reminder to all who see it that their dreams are within reach.
“Just know that anything is possible, that you can do anything that you put your mind to and it’s out there so just go out there and chase it and get it and grab it,” Terry said.
