It is rare for someone to feel a calling so deep in their soul that all of their other plans go out the window in pursuit of that goal. Even rarer is when it happens twice in one lifetime.
Pastor Craig Coates knows this journey well. While in high school in Annapolis, Maryland he discovered his love of fashion design on a 10th grade field trip to the Ebony Fashion Fair fashion show. He knew in that moment that fashion was what he was meant to do. This was an experience that would catapult him toward a career designing couture gowns.
After learning to sew from his grandmother, Pastor Coates hit the ground running. By 12th grade, he was making prom dresses for his classmates. He followed this calling and planned to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York after graduation.
However, God had other plans in mind for him. Pastor Coates felt the call toward ministry that sent him to school at the University of Maryland instead of FIT. He answered his call from God and became a Pastor, but didn’t completely turn away from his other true passion either. While fashion design was not his full time job, throughout his time as a Pastor, Coates turned his focus toward choir robes and clergy garments.
After 20 years of work in the church, a new opportunity came to Pastor Coates to create elevated clothing for the clergy. So, he created a line called Modern Priestwear, inspired by the women preachers he had come to know. And it took off.
Pastor Coates’ designs were featured on BET, worn by actress Nicole Ari Parker. His designs were being seen far and wide. He met Anthony Williams from Project Runway, who told him he should follow this passion through. So he did.
Pastor Coates opened up his first store in Annapolis Maryland called Craig Coates Couture and now he is debuting a Spring/Summer collection at New York Fashion Week! The collection will feature 10 unique pieces that combine Pastor Coates’ experience as clergy and his passion for fashion. He says he believes the church world has its own fashion that is not often recognized by mainstream culture. He wants to bridge that gap, showing the best of both worlds. His worlds.
The New York Fashion Week collection’s convergence of Pastor Coates’ two worlds seems serendipitous. Happenstance. Lucky. But it also demonstrates how passion can drive your purpose. Pastor Coates felt a calling he couldn’t ignore toward ministry, and he answered. His dedication to fashion stayed close by, waiting for its turn to call.
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