Provocative cotton-centered exhibition by Vegas protest artist questions high fashion’s role in violence, racism

In a city where identity is king, a thought-provoking panel discussion at a local art gallery last month challenged how history and commerce shape who we are. The group was surrounded by original art pieces made to spark change and pay homage to Black influencers in fashion, art and revolutionary organizing.

A painting depicted a person with black silhouette hands wearing a gray sweatsuit spotted with white cotton wreath silhouettes. The figure stood in a cotton field, his hood hiding his face as he leaned over to showcase his drip. In one hand, the humanoid held a bale of cotton, his crotch in the other. 

The painting was a ​​convergence of iconic symbols and Courtney ‘Yards’ Haywood’s “connected spirit.” 

“Our equity is in what we create,” said self-described protest artist Haywood at ThirtyThree Gallery during the Artist Talk: Runway Slaves panel. “If we’re intentional…we can undo what’s been done.”

The cotton wreath silhouettes nod to Supreme’s former creative director Tremaine Emory and his fashion line Denim Tears. Silhouette hands showcase the influence of prolific Black American artist Kara Walker, who uses the ghostly style to explore historical narratives.

The panel and a packed after-hours party in which Haywood, wearing a tuxedo, appeared in true Las Vegas fashion, concluded his month-long Runway Slaves art exhibition at the Historic Westside bound gallery. 

“That cotton wreath…symbolizes…how we go through oppression, but we come out on top,” Haywood said, quoting Emory. “I feel like that circle needs to break off and go into another realm.”

A painting on the main wall showcased two modern-day Black youths wearing cotton wreath Denim Tears sweatsuits. Their backs were to viewers while they stood in a cotton field. It looked like they were walking away, off into the distance—as if they had turned away from a screen and found something tangible.

The image had a cinematic border like a scene from Belly, except it was red instead of black and incorporated forest green stripes as a nod to the pan-African flag. The scene evoked a sense of freedom using the figure from before; this time, unhooded with a head full of locs alongside another youth with a crown of locs. It was titled Freedom To Dream.

An unusually large, slightly burnt, white Gucci T-shirt floated on the wall nearby, which could represent its inflated value. Across the room, oversized jeans made of canvas paper, spotted with cotton wreaths, hung on a large hanger next to a giant Crenshaw crew neck. Compared to the Gucci shirt, the overly large spectacles might showcase the inflated substance they add to streetwear, thoughtfully connecting heritage to high fashion.

“I think it's a message that’s needed,” said the owner of ThirtyThree Gallery, Chase McCurdy, who helped curate or arrange the paintings strategically within the space. “Yards is very good at connecting his practice to contemporary issues for Black folks.”

Haywood’s message: stop being “runway slaves.”

Runway Slaves

A single red and black Air Jordan 12 Retro hung attached to a gold-framed painting of a bare black foot on soil surrounded by cotton crops. Leaving little unchecked, Haywood boldly promoted the legendary Air Jordans as a tether of slavery—a shoe often singled out as a marker of overspending in Black communities.

“It’s almost like an initiative,” he said of the exhibition. “I’ve been struggling with knowing these things for so long, and I don’t want to be a runway slave.” He vowed to withhold luxury spending except for on Black-owned brands and called for people to join.

Haywood said runway slaves are Black Americans whose self-worth is knowingly or unknowingly rooted in their ability to possess luxury brands. He said the same brands have a history of anti-Blackness but have since shifted to include Black representation because of the popularity of hip hop. 

The change did not resolve historical racist practices of high-end brands, which Haywood illuminated with a bottle of Ciroc used as a vase for cotton bales atop a white pillar. 

According to Sean “Diddy” Combs, the luxury alcohol company Diageo, which owns Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila, was racist, and in 2023, he filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against them for racial discrimination. Emory also felt the effects of discrimination after working for the so-called streetwear brand Supreme, which he left last year, alleging systemic racism.

Haywood said showcasing the Runway Slaves exhibition at Thirty Three Gallery in Nucleus Plaza meant everything to him after growing up in the area and having limited access to art spaces. An intimate crowd listened quietly as the third-generation Las Vegan divulged his approach to the showcase.   

“I wanted to be deep and meaningful,” Haywood said, hoping Black youth in the neighborhood would grasp the message he was sending.

One of the show's main features was handmade, alluring cotton flowers, which poked at one of the exhibit's main themes. Haywood used them beautifully to draw people into a confrontation of racial capitalism and consumerism.

Poppin’ Tags

Public art has played an essential role in building the character of the Historic Westside as government-controlled revitalization spurs incremental development. Local artists have showcased murals and exhibitions on church buildings, at community centers, inside the West Las Vegas Arts Center on Lake Mead Boulevard and at ThirtyThree Gallery—a hub for Black art exploration. 

Haywood’s artistry shined in his hometown neighborhood, where the historically Black community is developmentally backward compared to the sprawling city from decades of redlining. Influenced by his exhibition, he adopted a new motto centered on resilience—only to buy Black and wear self-designed clothing.

“We were taking our hard-earned money… and giving it back to people who don’t give back to [our] community,” he said, calling the activity a 21st-century version of cotton picking. His stark comments followed a question about the motivation behind his painting Popping Tags. 

The painting features Black hands to showcase what he believes is equivalent to luxury spending, particularly for Black people. The hand on the right holds a tag with a barcode, while the hand on the left picks cotton from a vine.

The evening became engulfed in conversations about high fashion. This led to a freewheeling discussion among art lovers about topics such as fast fashion and ‘wage slavery’ in Nicaragua and “eerie” first-time experiences seeing cotton plants. 

“You feel that sense of your ancestors,” said Chandler Cooks as he talked to the remaining attendees about picking cotton in Louisiana to see what it was like. “It’s definitely thorny and sharp as hell.” 

Mask off

The discussion about the provocative exhibition did not conclude without a perspective on high fashion, consumerism and hip hop. Haywood pointed out that when the three fail to come together thoughtfully, it becomes a calamity in the everyday lives of Black youth. 

According to the Brittanica Encyclopedia, economists who support consumerism believe that possessing and using goods are necessary for individual happiness and well-being. 

Haywood thinks the opposite is true when the products are marketed with harmful Black stereotypes often involved in crime. This practice of appropriation was known as blaxploitation in mid-1970s Hollywood. 

“He’s holding a Pooh Shiesty mask,” Haywood said about his painting Mask Off. The image features a Black youth with one hand raised in the air while holding a ski mask in the other that reads “self-hate.” The youth in the image also has a protest poster with a quote by Malcolm X that reads:

“America's greatest crime against a black man was not slavery or lynching, but that he was taught to wear a mask of self-hate and self-doubt.” 

The art highlights Haywood’s opinion of ski masks crossing over into high fashion.

“For you to put on a ski mask and rob your brother and then use it as fashion [is wild],” he said.

Haywood stated that a ski mask represents the self-hate and self-doubt that high fashion is exploiting.

He said this situation is mainly problematic for those whose culture is being appropriated. 

This led him to question consumerism’s role in violence in Black communities.

“These kids are robbing the kids who have [high] fashion,” he said. “One kid is losing his life; another kid is going to prison forever.”