Meet Twyla Grider, the Alabama native designing the ceremony costumes for the 2022 World Games

If anyone knows how to pivot, it’s Twyla Grider. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fashion designer and founder of Stellar Creative Collective had a studio in New York. Once COVID hit, the Huntsville native moved the studio into her home in New Jersey.

“You can see New York from my window,” Grider tells me over the phone on a recent Thursday morning. “My studio is in Union City, New Jersey. It’s a cool little immigrant neighborhood and it has a lot of industrial space, which is very interesting to me. So I have a lot of flex space there.”

Flexibility was the main concept in 2020 as people around the world adapted to new methods of living and working amid the pandemic. Fast forward to 2022, and we’re still adapting. Easing travel restrictions and the return of large-scale events is ushering in a slightly more optimistic outlook for the year ahead. But if we’ve learned anything from the past two years, a lot of us are prepared to, well, pivot.

After spending more than a decade developing merchandising and design concepts for larger fashion brands such as Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake, Grider decided she wanted to turn her focus to several smaller projects with independent designers. That is, until she got the news that Stellar Creative Collective would be the company designing the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 World Games. How’s that for a pivot?

Now, Grider’s schedule is full of a new roster of phone calls, flights, and fittings. One of her tasks: designing a custom ensemble for Bootsy Collins, the band leader, out-of-this-world, bassist, and Parliament-Funkadelic veteran who will grace the World Games as the master of ceremonies.

When I call her that afternoon, she’s in Kentucky and headed to Collins’ home.

“That’s why I’m traveling now. Because I’m fitting him, ” Grider said.

She laughs when I let out a scream of excitement into the phone.

“He and his wife Patty are amazing. They’re such nice people,” Grider said. I’m heading to his home in Cincinnati and we’ll be doing our first fitting, which is a real honor. I’m excited to meet him. Of course, he’s an icon and it’s my privilege to be able to design something specifically for him.”

Grider graduated from Auburn University in 2000 with a degree in fashion merchandising and marketing. She has an MBA in marketing from Loma Linda University in California and studied fashion design at Philadelphia’s Drexel University. She’d done previous work with Rashada LeRoy, the CEO of LRY Media Group. When LeRoy was assembling a bid for the World Games’ event production contract, she asked Grider to work up a few sketches for a design concept. Within 48 hours, Grider brought LeRoy’s vision to life.

“We had a good relationship prior to that,” says Grider. “I know there were other people who were considered. But ultimately I was given the opportunity.”

In a press release about Grider’s selection, LeRoy and Dr. Henry Panion III, the artistic director for the 2022 World Games, sang her praises.

“Grider was the perfect choice because her designs are great and, with her ties to Alabama, we knew she had the ability (to) simultaneously capture the spirit both of the games and Birmingham,” said LeRoy.

“Ms. Grider will be responsible for hundreds of costumes,” said Panion. “I’m really looking forward to seeing her designs, because they will serve as visual extensions to not just my music, but the overall show production during the games.”

While Grider is a storied designer, she said tapping into the realm of costume design will open an entirely different side of her artistic muse.

“Costume and fashion design is its own little world,” said Grider, who fell in love with costuming while completing her master’s degree at Drexel. Part of her student work involved duties in the university’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection.

“They had beautiful pieces dating back to the late 1800s. And we had a wonderful curator there. Clare– she’s still there,” said Grider, her voice dreamy with affection.

“I got to see the inner workings of things. It was just… Being in museum spaces is like a whole ‘nother thing. But doing it for fashion! It’s a whole ‘nother thing,” she said. “It’s beautiful! And I think it really helped inform me on how to approach this particular project. Because I was able to see period pieces and things like that and draw inspiration from it. So I did a lot of consulting with some of my old professors on making sure I got it right. So all of that kind of informed this project, really, I feel like this is a good culmination of a lot of my different experiences for sure.”

In addition to her design and academic experience, Grider will be working with a team of people both from Alabama and all over the country to complete the massive production.

Grider said she’s proud to represent her hometown of Huntsville (”My dad was married (with) two kids. He decided to go to Oakwood university. I was born while my dad was at Oakwood!)

And with Huntsville as the space capital of the state and
custom regalia on the way for the space-age funkmaster Boosty Collins, Grider’s path to the World Games is an Alabama homecoming story that writes itself.

I spoke to Grider about design and her next steps on the road to the World Games in July. Here’s an edited version of our conversation below.

First off, congratulations! How did you feel when you got the news?

Twyla Grider: I was pretty excited. It was interesting because I had worked with the executive producer Rashada LeRoy [before]. We were working on a totally different project. And so when she decided to do the pitch, she asked me to do some sketches so she could bring the vision to life. And so I did the sketches for her. It was no problem, and I didn’t really think much of it. And so when she got the bid, I was excited for her, but I was like, “Oh, great! Then you go and be great! This is amazing!”

And she was like, “No, no, no. You’re coming with me. You’re doing the costumes!”

So it was a shock, because it wasn’t something that I had intended on doing or pursued. But that’s kind of been the story of my career. I’ve never really pursued much. I’ve just kind of walked in my purpose. So, I feel like this was just another step guiding me to the next place I need to be. So I was really excited. It’s a pretty big task, and it has grown in scope. But I’ve been able to meet the challenge and I’m really excited to present what we ultimately will be doing in July.

What are some other projects you have worked on?

I’ve had an interesting career. I started out in men’s suits and started styling. So, styling football players and their wives for awhile in the Washington D.C area. But in terms of other projects that I’ve worked on– we did a relaunch of a designer, Robert Rodriguez. He was kind of out of L.A. But, the design group that I was with, we did a relaunch of Robert Rodriguez. We launched Jessica Simpson — the group that I worked with launched Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake’s brands. I was lead designer on both of those.

My work has been in “O” magazine. My work has been in InStyle magazine on both of those projects. Lately I’ve been working with independent designers. So, I have a designer now she’s over in Europe — LINĒIJ™. She launched a handbag company over in Europe.

Yeah, just lots of little projects. I kind of wanted to focus on little projects. And as soon as I pivoted to smaller projects, then the World Games came. [Laughs]. So, there’s that.

You’re going to be busy!

Yeah, it’s been a ride! I usually work on one or two brands exclusively over a couple of years. And then I pivot. So, Seven7 Jeans, I’ve worked with their company as well. And I’ve just kind of pivoted. My career has been a career of pivoting, really. [Laughs]. It’s not a gig life, but kind of — in a way — it’s like whatever projects fall on my lap, I look at them and see if that makes sense. And if it makes sense, I go full speed ahead.

You’re going to be doing a lot of traveling. I know you can’t give out too many spoilers. But, what are your next steps? You’re designing now. There are going to be fittings and everything. So, how are you going to navigate that, since the World Games are in Alabama? Are you going to be flying back and forth?

I am flying back and forth to Birmingham. I just left Birmingham in February. I’ll be there again in April. So I’d go back probably every other month. They’re really quick meetings. Like, really quick. I have a team at UAB that I’m working with and they’re kind of my eyes and ears and boots on the ground. We’re working with several universities, which is really interesting because I’m now teaching a design class at Drexel in Philadelphia. So I’m entering into academia. So, I’m surrounded by academics in this project. There’s a lot of people that either work at UAB, UA, or Alabama State. Um, so a lot of the academics are involving a lot of the students.

So I have boots on the ground there at UAB that I meet with every other month. And we are pulling from different costume houses for some of the scenes there in Alabama. So Red Mountain Theater we’re pulling from. Samford University has a wonderful costume collection of period pieces. And I can’t really spoil it! But we’re pulling from them. And so I’m back and forth doing that with them and then working with production and lighting.

And it really is a team effort. A lot of times people don’t understand that when you’re a costume director, it’s not just about designing, but it’s also working with props and working with music and working with the lighting and production. Costume really does touch all of that because that’s the first thing anyone sees.

When you said a team at UAB, is it a team of designers who are working on sound and music?

So, UAB has a wonderful theater department! Um, I don’t know if anyone knows that, but they do. It’s headed by Kelly Allison and he’s kind of been my right hand man in Birmingham. He heads the department. It’s three people, he’s the head. And then he has two other people that are assisting him.

As I design
things and get them produced. I’m sending it to them. They’re checking everything in and making sure that everything is as it should be. But then in the month of June, we’re actually going to have a costume center where people will be doing all of the finishing touches on all of the costumes.

So the costumes will be made, but then they will be sent to UAB. In our costume department there will literally be people from the community who are skilled sewers putting the finishing touches on every single piece.

In June, that’s going to be the last minute of everything. It’s going to be quite nice. A lot of energy for sure. You know, dresses will be dyed and hand dyed and things will be built. Head pieces will be built and all of these things will be happening there at our costume shop at UAB.

So, you know I have to ask about some more spoilers. Anything else you can give me? For example, anything Sun Ra related?

Not that I know of so far! Right now, as far as my department goes, they have announced the involvement of Bootsy Collins. That’s the only semi spoiler I can give you. And so he’s going to be involved. They’re going to be other celebrities involved that I think they are pretty well known and iconic. They are tapping into Alabama natives of course. But they are also, because this is the World Games, expanding the scope of who is going to be involved. It’s going to be a mixture of Alabama natives, but also just really great American talent. Of course, we all know Bootsy Collins, he’s amazing.

Let me tell you. When I found out he was going to be the master of ceremonies, I said “Look…” Because I need to be there in some way shape or form.

I know! [Laughs]. My aunt was like “okay…yeah. I’m coming!”

Listen! Whatever I have to do to see Bootsy! I have a prediction. And I’m not going to hold you much longer, because I know you’re on the road. But here’s my prediction. George Clinton announced that he was coming out of retirement last year. So he’s on a tour. I’m just predicting that he’s going to be in Birmingham. I think they’re going to bring him out.

We’ll see! You know, the World Games organizers have kept this so close to the vest. I mean, literally everybody’s on this whole need-to-know basis so that nothing gets leaked because they just want to build it up and it’s going to be a great show for sure. I think they couldn’t keep the Bootsy news in the bag for terribly much longer. So they decided to go ahead and release it. So we’re really excited and there’ll be other surprises. And I can’t give all the juicy details yet, but it will definitely be a show!

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