Meet the Milwaukee Creative Whose Designs Speak to Unfinished Legacies and Butterfly Wings
Twenty-three-year-old designer and artist Brema Brema had his aha moment during an internship at the Milwaukee Art Museum when he was still in high school. One day, the interns were asked to describe themselves in one word, and the person next to Brema replied “unfinished.” It resonated with him deeply, and it made him think about how far he’d come, but also how far he’d yet to go.
Brema was born in war-torn Sudan and raised there until he was five, when his family fled to a Kenyan refugee camp. They moved to the States in 2010 and settled in Milwaukee, where Brema still lives. Throughout his young adulthood he studied hard, skateboarded a lot, and worked in public service, but he always felt compelled to be an artist. While still in high school, he began to experiment with photography and videography, as well as screen-printing in his basement. That’s where his streetwear label, emblazoned with bold fonts and bright colors, was born. As an homage to that spark of inspiration he experienced that day as a wide-eyed intern, he named the collection Unfinished Legacy.
After high school, Brema put his fashion dreams on pause and began working on a local media start-up with a group of friends, called MKE Misfits. It was another serendipitous moment that led him to refocus his efforts on Unfinished Legacy. Sitting in his basement, Brema was contemplating his next move and what to do with the screen-printing equipment that, at that point, was collecting dust. He saw a swarm of butterflies out the window and began using their delicate likenesses to screen-print plaid and highlighter-colored T-shirts, hoodies, and jeans with the Unfinished Legacy logo. “I looked up the symbolism behind the butterfly,” Brema explains. “They represent migration, which fit my upbringing perfectly. All the journeys my family made were about searching for better opportunities.”
Brema also remembered a quote he d read from actress Naya Rivera: “Butterflies can’t see their wings. They can’t see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can.” These were words that he connected with, having felt after moving to the U.S. from Kenya that he never quite belonged. “I never realized my true potential and value in the world,” Brema says. “It’s something I’ve struggled with as I continue to grow. Other people saw my talents and potential before I could.”
Recently, Brema created a series of Black Lives Matter T-shirts and handed them out while marching alongside protesters in Milwaukee. He’s now selling them and donating the sale proceeds to True Skool, a local educational youth organization focused on urban arts and social justice. As he says, “the butterfly also represents hope, and one day I hope we’ll live in a world where all Black lives matter.”
Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in Wisconsin, and having grown up in a community of mainly African Americans on the Northside, Brema points out that “there isn’t a lot of opportunity to do anything beyond a regular 9-to-5 job.” His aim is to try to set an example, or at least propose a sort of blueprint that he didn’t see growing up. “I’ve always made clothes for people of the same upbringing, people that lack opportunity, people that live in the hood,” Brema says. “I want to show people that you don’t have to leave Milwaukee to be successful. I want to reinvest in my community.” He adds, “Just because I’m on Milwaukee’s Northside and there are bullet holes in all of our windows doesn’t mean that I can’t sell as much as I would if I was in New York or L.A.”
Brema is working hard on new pieces for his upcoming drop, and hosting community screen-printing workshops and pop-up shops. As the designer to watch says of his work and local community, “Every day I’m learning and growing.” In other words, he’s spreading his wings.
Photo: Courtesy of Unfinished Legacy1/4
Photo: Courtesy of Unfinished Legacy2/4
