Fashion Designer Alexander Julian Encourages HPU Students to See the World Differently

American design guru Alexander Julian, High Point University’s Fashion, Furniture, Textile Designer and Entrepreneur in Residence, shared his insights with students during his recent visit to campus. Dr. John Turpin, dean of the David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design and a professor of interior design, participated in a Q&A with Julian.

HIGH POINT, N.C., March 24, 2025 – American design guru Alexander Julian, High Point University’s Fashion, Furniture, Textile Designer and Entrepreneur in Residence, shared his insights with students during his recent visit to campus. It was his first time teaching design classes at HPU since joining the university’s Access to Innovators Program.

Julian participated in a Life Skills Seminar for students focused on thriving through an ever-changing industry with Dr. John Turpin, dean of the David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design and a professor of interior design. Julian also taught an introduction to fashion class for freshmen and two classes focused on the home furnishings industry.

“Design is about vision and trying to predict the future of what’s going to happen,” Julian said. “My wife’s favorite saying is that I will not rest until I redesign the manmade parts of the world, and I would like to prove her true.”

Julian designed the uniforms that the HPU men’s and women’s basketball teams have worn since the 2022-23 season. Self-taught, he said the first time he went to design school was when he went to teach a class. He was inducted into the Fashion Hall of Fame at age 33, making him the youngest member at the time. His menswear designs won numerous national and international honors before he started furniture design in the mid-1990s. He became the first American fashion designer to design his own signature fabrics, but he said he had to learn everything the hard way in the mill.

“You learn to look at the world as everything is an option,” Julian said. “Every single piece of furniture, everything manmade can be changed, can be better, can be improved in some way – either the shape, touch, colors, combination or juxtaposition. It’s all up to us to figure out how to improve it.”

His Life Skills Seminar was the fifth session that allowed students to work toward earning a tuition-free certification in coachability. HPU students who attend four designated sessions can earn a Life Skills certification and enhance their professional credentials.

Julian’s practice of keeping an open mind while looking at the world and considering what he can do to make even a plain white T-shirt outstanding resonated with Caroline Clifton, a sophomore fashion merchandising major. She found it interesting that he encouraged standing out, being confident and not being afraid to critique yourself. She was intrigued by Julian’s discussion of how much menswear and women’s fashion has changed over the decades since his upbringing in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was a well-known clothing retailer.

“It was cool to pick his brain, especially because it goes back several generations and connections looked different then,” said Clifton, who is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “His father played a huge role with that. It’s honestly similar at High Point University because I’ve been able to make so many connections that no one else my age is getting to make.”