As he prepares for his upcoming Juneteenth runway show, Desmond Monette is stepping into a more refined and intentional creative era. Building on an experimental debut, his latest collection expands the vision of Cousue — blending craftsmanship, storytelling, and a deeper psychological approach to design. Centered on themes of self-discovery and human appreciation, Desmond’s work invites audiences to reflect, embrace their identity, and find meaning in every stage of their evolution.
Desmond, you have an exciting runway show coming up for Juneteenth. What does participating in this event mean to you personally and creatively?
It’s overly exciting for my team and I to present this collection. Personally, I wanna thank God for leading me to another opportunity to showcase the talents he’s given me. Also, the great minds he has surrounded me with. Creatively, this means everything! We’ve had a good duration of time to develop this idea for this collection and really focus on the craft and story.
Your upcoming collection builds on your first, how has your vision evolved from your debut collection to this new extension?
Our first collection was more experimentally focused. It was to test techniques the House wants to build on over the upcoming years. Things such as fabric manipulation, tailoring, etc. We also experimented with womenswear since we were given an opportunity to, even tho we’re menswear focused for the most part.
This collection opens the worldview of Cousue. For a while now, we’ve been trying to build our significant view without being another “brand” per se. We noticed our uniqueness comes from looking inward and reflected on our languid design a lot. Hopefully our psychology of design as well as the ethos of our POV toward fashion is fully experienced by the viewers. We feel as if we have an interesting story to tell and finally are ready to share that view with the world.
Juneteenth carries deep cultural significance. How does that influence the themes or storytelling within your designs?
Juneteenth is something I had to learn about when I moved to Texas. I was ignorant to what it was to be honest. Though I’ve learned a lot about it, I wouldn’t say this collection exactly focused on it as an idea. I’m more leaning towards excellence of the human race for this collection. There are so many walks of life around this world that I want to show my appreciation for. But I do greatly appreciate the ability to celebrate my people as a whole on this day.
As this is your second runway show, what have you learned from your first experience that you’re bringing into this one?
Time Management! It’s the make or breaker of everything. The ability to execute means nothing if you can’t do it in the time granted. Definitely paying more attention to it this time around.
What do you hope the audience feels or takes away when they see your collection on the runway?
I hope the collections bring self-reflection in people. I want them to be able to finally appreciate themselves as a person. The name of the collection “ Entrée de Journal” is the discovery of one’s self and the acceptance of that identity, truthfully. Acceptance with grace and love through the trials and tests of life. All of the versions that have cultured to form who we are as a people, I hope this encourages you to love and pursue joy, peace, and happiness every day.
Links:
- Instagram (personal): https://
www.instagram.com/ddoubleu____ ____/ - Instagram (brand): https://www.
instagram.com/cousueofficial/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.
com/@cousueofficial
