After being given The Creative Youth (TCY) brand by a family friend, SF State student Shruthi Krishnaraj made it her mission to empower artists through the platform. Krishnaraj, a design major, has had an interest in art from the age of three. She has combined skills learned in her visual communications and design classes with her recently discovered passion for fashion. Before taking on TCY, she assisted in building the brand from words in a college essay to a clothing line and emerging brand. A year and a half later, Krishnaraj recognizes the value of keeping the brand and using her skills to help amplify artistic voices through TCY. She says blending “creativity with fashion and allowing artists to express themselves beyond traditional canvases” is the goal.
This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity.
NG: How different was the brand then than it is now?
Krishnaraj: It was more baseline ideas. The concept was that it would help artists, but there wasn’t much background to it. There wasn’t really a voice, and that’s what I’m trying to do now — include more artists. I’m the only one right now, but I also want to pay artists for their work. It would be more of a collective than just a streetwear brand, which I haven’t really seen around. It’s really special, especially because AI is taking over, and a lot of artists are using that instead of their original ideas. It’s important to remember that original art exists.
NG: Where did the inspiration come from to transform The Creative Youth from an essay to a brand?
Krishnaraj: I was really into social justice. I was in this group called Girl Up in high school, and I was one of the leaders. I did a lot of art for that club, and then one of my leadership teammates took my art to Washington, D.C., and it was featured in the [Girl Up] website. I was really shocked. But yeah, that was one thing that inspired me.
And then, during the Black Lives Matter movement, I was making art for that and posting it online. I want to use my artistic skills for good.
NG: Do you feel like being an artist yourself has helped you see struggles behind other artists starting out?
Krishnaraj: Yeah, it’s really hard to be known as an artist, especially because there’s so many talented people out there. Everybody’s posting on social media and then…. I don’t know, I think it’s hard to really give yourself a voice unless you’re super unique. Some people get looked over even though they are unique. So my brand would be somewhere that everyone can join. Like, very inclusive.
NG: What does the process of an artist showcasing their work through you look like?
Krishnaraj: They just have to go into my [Instagram] direct message and be like, ‘Hey, I want to do art,’ and then send me a couple pieces. I would work together with them to see how their art can fit in the [brand’s] aesthetic. Not that there’s a set one, but if there’s a streetwear brand, then it’s got to have a sort of vibe to it. But any art can fit the vibe, you know? So I would work very closely with them. I’m great at communicating with people, so I feel like they don’t have to worry about that. And yeah, there’s no rules, honestly.
NG: You’ve already released a few things.
Krishnaraj: So when I was working with my family friend, he released a design that was my art, but I didn’t really like the way it turned out, because it wasn’t the colors or how I imagined it. So I re-released samples, very recently, over the last six months, which is the same design, but the way that I envisioned it.
NG: That’s so cool. What are your goals for the future of TCY?
Krishnaraj: Honestly, I just want it to be a whole group of artists, which is my dream. I just want to talk to a bunch of artists and then see their art, and I want them to get their voices out there and feel seen by people too. I just want it to be a big enough brand where I can pay my artists really well, that’s my goal.
