Terron Banner ’19 PhD: The art of self-expression

Fashion is an art form, and at the end of the day, art. In my opinion, it’s a social science because it’s about engagement, society, interaction and expression, right? It’s to be taken seriously in that regard.

That’s a great question—you never really have to describe your own style. I’d say it challenges traditions a little bit, at least for what you would think of for someone in an “academic space.” It’s artsy. It’s kind of contemporary, a lot of art tones with color pops. I think it’s laid-back, unpretentious. It comes from street fashion a little bit. Hip-hop is embedded in that. 

I think it’s uniquely Columbus as well. I’m born and raised here, near Parsons and South High, and even before I went to Ohio State, I was always a Buckeye. Columbus style is somewhere between Midwest and West Coast. You have to be prepared for all the seasons for whatever you’re doing. It’s useful to add utility as well as style.

I was an ’80s, ’90s baby, the golden age of hip-hop and R&B. So, you know, whatever was on MTV—that was pre-social media. I think Tupac was one. André Benjamin of Outkast. I liked how he pushed back against the expectations. His kind of fashion is so unique because he came from kind of the beginning of the hip-hop South, and it had a very Atlanta style that he saw and made his own thing. 

Who else? The visual artist Basquiat, in terms of hair and kind of not going to fit in, was very influential for me as well.

My family’s from Kentucky, and we moved to Columbus before I was 4. So I had these cowboy boots. They were brown. I wore them to everything. My sister would be like, “Take those things off!” They’re probably making a comeback now in popular culture. 

I’ve always had a love for shoes and sneaker culture. I would have like 20 pairs of shoes, every color, and I would keep them pristine. I’m into very colorful shoes. I think they add an element of personality, even if the outfit is more muted, monochromatic or earth tones. The shoes, I think, are kind of the highlight. 


Oh my gosh, multiple places for sure. I love going to boutique shoe stores and different towns. You may find different variations or collaborations, which are pretty cool. The pair I have on now, I got when I was in LA at a pop-up. The Nike T90 is a soccer shoe, and it’s owned by the most people in the world. Of course, soccer’s huge. But these are a collaboration between Nike and Kids of Immigrants [a streetwear fashion brand]. There’s a little bit of activism involved. I like shoes to have a story behind them. 

So the pop-up in LA, we had to go outside and stand in line. They had soccer games and festivities, but there were only so many that people could get. 

It’s funny: I’ve cut my hair twice in maybe the last 15 years. I had a full head of locks, and they were super-long. I chopped those when I graduated with my master’s [in business administration from Kentucky State University].

When I started school here [for a PhD in art administration], I just had a low cut, kind of short. Getting back into the arts, coming from business, I was like, I can lean into the hipster look. So I let my hair grow. 

What I have now started with free form. I have really curly hair, and I let the curls grow into lines. Then I started playing with color. Scarlet red, of course. You can probably still see some of the faded color. 

It’s about half the length of what it was, and I’m just letting it do its thing. But in the future, I’m going to cut it again. How short is kind of whatever I wake up feeling. 

We had a ball here [at Urban Arts Space], and my interns still crack on me. I channeled my inner Andre 3K, and I was like, “I’m going to push this a little bit.” I wore a cherry-red blazer and high-cropped dress shorts, like mid-quad. And I had some loafers with no socks. I started to wear Jordans, but they were like, “You can’t wear Jordans!” And, you know, they were like, “What are you doing with these shorts?!” I’m like, “Hey, it’s a ball in the art gallery. You can’t go too basic.” 

For some other times that I’ve gotten dressed up, I wore another blazer. It’s floral print, monochromatic blue. And with that, I wore the sky blue Jordans. You know, you kind of have to match color shades. 

For sure. I’ll have perhaps like the same version, but one pair is just for exercising and one pair is for the fashion side. There is some crossover sometimes, but I’ll still dedicate certain pairs for certain types of activities. 

I’m very superstitious when it comes to the Buckeyes and games. I have to wear a certain pair of shoes. I have to have a certain towel. 

I do. So they were a pair of Jordan 4’s, red and gray. And I took the 2014 championship towel, because that’s the year I started at Ohio State, so I had to wear that again. I get all the jerseys—the home jersey, the away jersey, the alternate jersey—so I wear the same version the team wears. 

You know, I gotta do my part.