A Firestone Community Learning Center senior is getting the kind of break most young designers only dream of.
Troy Weiss, an aspiring fashion designer from Akron, recently met Academy Award–winning costume designer Paul Tazewell during a special appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the Akron Public School district announced in a statement. The show was taped on Thursday, Nov. 21 and aired Nov. 22.
Weiss was reportedly surprised that he was meeting fellow Akron native Tazewell, the school district wrote.
“Troy was just thrilled that he was invited to be on the show. The show flew him and his mother to New York for the taping. The theme was ‘Wicked’, since it was the premiere showing of the movie, ‘Wicked For Good,’ a sequel to the movie ‘Wicked’,” the school district wrote.
Weiss, who told Clarkson he was always into fashion, found his creative freedom at Firestone CLC, in an environment that “opened opportunities for his creativity,” APS said.
The Firestone CLC senior told Clarkson about how Tazewell served as his inspiration, how he was very familiar with Tazewell’s work and was proud of the fact that Tazewell was also an Akron native.
“He is a staple of my life. He sees fashion through a lens that is similar to mine. He is very individual; he understands that fashion is a language and clothes say so much without saying a thing. He really sticks close to my heart,” Weiss said on the show. “I love ‘Wicked’ and I love the costumes so much. There is intentionality in even the smallest pieces from the textures to the colors, cuts and themes. (Tazewell) communicates his themes so well, whether it’s from the ‘Raisin in the Sun,’ ‘Hamilton’ or the ‘Color Purple,’ he always hits the nail on the head.”
Tazewell is the first African American man to win the Oscar for best costume design.
Clarkson asked Tazewell what he thought about Weiss’s designs.
“He’s amazing. I am blown away, just the way you present yourself and the way you communicate,” Tazewell told Troy. “You’re a lot further ahead than I was at your age. Being okay in your own skin, knowing how to take up space in this business.”
Tazewell also surprised Weiss with tickets to the Broadway musical “Death Becomes Her,” which he designed costumes for as well.
Firestone CLC hosted a watch party to view Weiss’s segment on Clarkson’s show. About 50 students attended, with students and staff dressing or accessorizing in pink and green in keeping with the “Wicked” theme, the school district wrote.
Weiss traveled to New York with his mother, Veronica Neal, who said that he was excited and nervous about the trip, APS wrote.
“Troy has always been a student leader and always been a talker. He really is the life of the party, a social butterfly. His interest was always singing but he really developed his passion for fashion designing in high school,” Neal said.
Weiss, who serves as the president of Black Students Union and president of the symphonic choir at Firestone, plans to attend Kent State University, where he will major in fashion design, APS wrote.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Firestone senior meets Oscar-winning designer on ‘Kelly Clarkson Show’
Reporting by Anthony Thompson, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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