Memphis fashion designer had fans saying ‘Yeah!’ at halftime
by: Alex Coleman
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you watched Sunday’s big game on News Channel 3, you know Memphis and the Mid-South were represented on the big stage.
Some were featured as dancers and members of Jackson State University’s marching band.
And one Memphis fashion designer had the fashion world saying “Yeah!”
Usher played halftime during Super Bowl 58 on pop music’s biggest stage, but the man who might have stolen the show behind the scenes is a Memphis fashion designer simply known as “Fresh.”
Fresh, aka Patrick Henry in case you don’t know his name, had his designs on full display during Sunday’s halftime show.
He calls it surreal.
“I feel like it’s going to take me a month to just understand what just happened,” he said.
What happened was, he designed outfits worn by many of the dancers and the suits worn by Jackson State University’s band, the Sonic Boom of the South, which performed with Usher.
“There were a number of the dancers, the band, the tail coats, the stilt walker. There was a lot that was done,” Fresh said.
In recent years, this Bolton High School graduate’s “Richfresh” designs have been in big demand.
“I’ve made clothes for Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Justin Beiber, John Legend. Kevin Hart and his family. Steph Curry, Reese Witherspoon,” he said.
His influence and inspiration is Memphis, Tennessee.
“I moved to Memphis when I was a teenager and had been to other places, but they weren’t as vibrant as Memphis. I really loved how the vibrance made me feel and I wanted to share that with the world,” he said.
Even though the world now knows Fresh he has faced and overcome obstacles such as homelessness.
“It has been a lot of struggles like periods of homelessness, periods of just feeling lost,” he said. “I am thankful I have a strong foundation, a strong spiritual foundation to just even, when it seemed really bleak, to like now, I’m here for a reason.”
His art and work have now been seen on the biggest stages because of a Memphis determination to never quit.
“Just keep at it. If you have a dream and you’re willing to work hard at it great things will happen.” he said.
Fresh wasn’t the only Memphis connection on stage Sunday, though.
Jackson State University performed during halftime and Memphian Darryl Hill, a member of New Direction Christian Church and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity also opened with Usher.
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