The Best Street Style from 3 HBCU Homecomings

For a lot of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), the campus is a runway and the student body is the audience. HBCU culture is rooted in fashion and showing out, and both the students and alumni embrace this. Unlike other colleges, at an HBCU homecoming the football game is the last thing students and alumni are worried about. Instead, this is their fashion week where they are expected to show up and show out.

When I attended Hampton University, I remember preparing for homecoming in the same way that I prepare for fashion week now; pre-planning outfits with my friends, scrolling my favorite sites for hours looking for the statement piece that would turn heads on campus , and, of course, taking loads of photos. It was actually an extreme sport and not much has changed since then.

This past weekend Hampton University in Virginia and Spelman and Morehouse College (Spelhouse) in Atlanta celebrated their homecoming, and we sent photographers to capture the fashion on campus. From the yard to the tailgates to the step shows, there’s an event for each look. While Atlanta was a bit rainy, current students and alumni still showed up and out in their best homecoming looks. Homecoming attendees at Hampton took advantage of the sunny Virginia skies rocking fall trends from full leather looks to neon ensembles. Howard University kicked off homecoming season a few weeks ago with a groundbreaking fashion show in collaboration with Gucci. This is just a glimpse into the world of HBCU style.

Hampton University alumni, Kristian Spraggins tells Teen Vogue, “Homecoming is an impromptu fashion show.” While she says homecoming is a great time to “spend time with close friends and be around positive energy,” Spraggins admits “[homecoming] is also a time where everyone can show off their personal style and try new trends.” She’s right!

Sadly, as October winds down, so does homecoming season but Teen Vogue was on the scene to capture some campus looks from Hampton and Spelhouse this weekend. See some of our favorites here: