“From a young age, my parents made sure I was dressed well,” Camoni “Moni” Watkins said. “Just not putting on anything, which kind of carried with me when I got older and started styling myself.”
I fully respect this because I grew up the same way. Even for soccer games, my parents always made sure I was well dressed.
Watkins is a sophomore at Union on the men’s soccer team. He’s from Murfreesboro, Tenn. Watkins is one of my great friends at Union, and one person I respect when it comes to fashion. From the first time I met him, I noticed that he really cares about how he presents himself and how he looks to others. He expresses himself differently than most people on this campus. And for a fellow African American at a predominantly white institution, I am glad he dresses the way he does.
Marc Badibanga is a senior here at Union, also on the men’s soccer team. Badibanga is of Congolese descent but was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. As with Watkins, he’s someone I look up to a lot in both fashion and on the field. His sense of style is so unique from literally everyone else on campus, and it’s really inspiring to even the way I dress.
Badibanga was influenced by guys who lived in Montreal, like his older cousins. Models he sees on social media influence him heavily now. He also had some opinions on Union’s overall fashion.
“[It’s] way different from where I am from,” Badibanga said. “Some outfits I don’t like; I view it as weird. And where I am from, I don’t see white people like this all that often.”
I respect this a lot, but I only moved from Virginia to Tennessee. It’s just like how dressing in school uniforms there is 100% different from here. So, coming here from where he is from must be like a completely new world than what he is used to.
“I think it’s unique seeing what other people wear and not seeing the same attire every day,” Watkins said. “At some colleges, you see people wearing the same thing.”
Watkins, though, doesn’t have clothing that would make people look at him weirdly. Because of his background and other people, he can’t wear what he wants to wear all the time. But he still encourages people to try new styles.
“Just trying on different things in high school,” Watkins said. “They showed me what looked good and what didn’t. And by senior year, I kind of figured out my style. As I get older, I want to wear clothes that are more professional, just to look cleaner in the future. But not much, because I enjoy my style right now.”
Badibanga had a similar idea.
“Just be trying new stuff,” Badibanga said. “I think when I start doing that, I will truly find my own style.”
Both men also saw faith as a factor in finding their own styles.
“I don’t wear just anything,” Badibanga said. “I need to know the meaning. For example, there was a time when I saw a shirt I liked, and I looked up the word on the shirt, and it was demonic. And I feel like I need to stop sagging my pants, because at [a] school like this, you might get looked at differently. And a brand like Balenciaga, because of the way they produce clothes and the controversy around the brand, I won’t wear it.”
Talking to them both, I learned more about them. Even though I spend almost every day with these guys, I really started to understand them more than I used to. I feel you can express yourself immensely with fashion, and you can kind of delve into someone’s mind just by observing and seeing how they dress. Overall, they both have kind of influenced me to pay a little bit more mind into what I wear.
“Yes, [it] plays a big part into what I wear,” Watkins said, of his faith. “I want to be seen as a man of God, and I think the way I dress plays a big part into that. And I don’t want to be seen wearing anything that can be deemed as not Christ-like clothing.”
