By Ruby Zlotkowski
Law student Adele Colson “Sparkles” is not only a speaker and activist, but a multitalented artist pursuing costume design and pole dancing. Known for her social media presence and community engagement, Colson founded social justice advocacy group Art 2 Action. I knocked on the bright pink door of Adele’s New Orleans apartment to ask about these pursuits. We sat down next to her two pet rats and discussed creativity, sustainable fashion, law, Malala, and of course, Laverne and Shirley.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
RZ: Thank you so much, Adele, for welcoming Rat des Champs into your home.
AC: Of course!
RZ: It is so lovely in here … How are you doing?
AC: I’m doing fabulous. We’ve been getting to play dress-up while we’ve been here. It’s the most fun ever. I love the new pieces coming in with the things I already have, and it’s been so fun.
RZ: So, you’re a visual artist, a dancer, you upcycle clothing … How do you differentiate these artistic mediums? Do they come from the same part of you, or do you feel like you’re putting on different hats and these avenues are expressing different parts of you? In other words, does it feel like dancer Adele is also painter Adele is also Fashionista Adele?
AC: Oh, that is such a cool question. I think it all stems from the same part of me. It’s expelling at all times. I feel like our human novelty is the ability to create. I took a metaphysics class at Loyola and there was a unit about human novelty. That’s the one thing that separates people from all other beings. So, if I’m not tapped into that novelty in all aspects of my life, I’m not being human. That’s also why I want to be creating. I don’t want to be using AI; I want things to be new. I want things to be different. So it’s all stemming from a want to create, no matter what facet it is. It’s just expelling. That’s why my house is an explosion of things and art supplies and clothing everywhere and a lot of it. I love that kind of maximalism in my life.
RZ: That’s wonderful. Speaking of Loyola, I first met you when you were an undergraduate student and you worked as a Costume Assistant for Loyola Costume Shop. The Loyola Costume Shop creates all of the costumes for the Theatre Department at Loyola and hosts sustainable fashion fundraisers. There’s also, of course, the iconic Instagram page @loynocostumeshop you created, which went from zero to a thousand followers in its first semester. Every day you’d spotlight students’ outfits on campus. I’d love to hear about your experience on the production end of the costume shop, the Instagram page, and your perspective on the impact.
AC: In Fall 2021 we needed a social media presence so we could have people come to our costume sales … After COVID, there were still only some people back on campus, but the people that were there wanted to express themselves. After months in confinement to being able to finally step out on campus again, people were stepping out! The outfits were so fun and unique … I just went up to someone and said, “Hey, can I take a photo of your outfit?” … And then I started doing it every single day [to more and more people] … It grew very organically … It’s a fashion archive, a moment in time, community, and people uplifting everyone’s truest expression. That’s what clothing does for me. Being able to showcase that was really cool because it wasn’t just random people, these are our people. This is our fashion. This is our voice.
RZ: The Loyola community is so artistic … The Instagram page was such a playful way to represent our community. I also feel that in the abstract, the Instagram page perpetuates an aspect of sustainability that is: being inspired by our day to day life and the people within our community. That’s valuable, as opposed to unattainable luxury items or overly curated fashion. It’s important to be inspired by Jane from psych class; It’s fashion as the present moment.
AC: Yeah and the Loyola costume shop is sustainable fashion … So when I was looking for people’s outfits, I was looking for unique pieces. Usually when I asked them where they were from, they were thrifted. Many were hand-me-downs; They were [passed down] from someone’s mom, someone’s friend … It was very [localized] in the impact because [we were highlighting] sustainable fashion … [Because of our social media reach] people were able to then go to the ‘Boo-Tique’ sales which started doing really well in our first year. We were able to raise enough money to buy new sewing machines for the department and a new mannequin [to expand the size reach]. It was really important that we could continue to do the work of sustainable fashion and because it became known community wide, people donated more items. Someone came in with all of this old military gear we were able to put to use for the department. [Using second hand clothing] allowed students complete creativity with the costumes too. So we would get these old pieces and rework them however we wanted, and then they were sold. We wanted [our fashion] to be sustainable and affordable.
RZ: You have quite the costume collection yourself. How long have you been collecting these pieces and where do they come from?
AC: I have been thrifting since I was a little kid … Both of my parents are actors … I remember going to costume shops and thrift stores in Los Angeles as a little kid and always picking out weird things. My mom would always let us dress ourselves. She never picked out our outfits. There’s all these really young photos of me in the strangest outfits, and it was because she let us have complete creative control. [She told me], ‘I was too busy to figure that out for you guys.’ … My parents were both working artists and educators and we didn’t have a lot of money … In Los Angeles, they have children’s thrift stores that were affordable. I would go in there and I remember finding these little tiny purple Doc Martins. I was obsessed with them and I wore them everywhere … When I studied abroad in Madrid, I thrifted a lot there. I brought an empty suitcase so that I could bring [back] clothes. Wherever I go, the souvenirs are always clothes … Some of these were my mom’s clothes … I don’t buy a lot of retail clothing; I buy things that are really special to me.
RZ: I love that perspective … So, you minored in theater at Loyola and both of your parents are actors. You mentioned to me that you feel a connection between law and acting. I suppose in both positions, you’re drawing upon a narrative and arguing for its truth, whether that be the emotional truth of a character or the perspective of a policy. Is that a parallel you relate to? In what ways do you find those similarities between law and acting?
AC: I love the parallel that you made. That’s a way that I haven’t even thought about it. For me, when I think about trial advocacy and being a lawyer, that’s like acting. When you’re talking about different hats, I feel like creatively it’s all coming from the same space, but academically it’s a little bit different. I’m able to be creative in law because part of it is creating arguments … ‘What role do I need to play depending on the side? What is the truth or what part of this truth is going to be the best argument in this case?’ And that’s the acting. You can’t judge a character, you can’t judge a person. You have to be able to represent that person faithfully, truly.
RZ: That is so interesting … So, you’re also a dancer. The culture surrounding pole dancing and law are different. Art is very emotive, whereas lawyers are sometimes stereotyped as being very by the book. What I love is that you’re demonstrating that you can be fashionable and brilliant, a dancer and an academic. What’s it like to do things in these different fields, and are there any social barriers from either side?
AC: A lot of [dancers] are visual artists and are very expressive people. The creative people won’t judge you based on what you do. There could be some barrier like, ‘Oh, you’re a lawyer, you’re not fully tapping into [creativity].’ But for me, I grew up a little insecure financially, and I wanted to be able to feel that security to be able to create. I want to be able to create for the rest of my life … The starving artist thing isn’t for everyone. I watched my parents do it and they’re okay, they’re doing all right now, but I saw that, I lived it, and that’s maybe not for me. And they are the most incredible people. They’re still in love. They still create. My parents are always acting. They’re in plays. They’re writers. They’re always making something. But I also want to feel secure, and I think that’s also okay. From the opposite end, the lawyer side, there is more judgment, especially as a woman. There’s judgment even [for] the things that I wear … I love to play with color. I love to play with texture. I always look very presentable for law school every single day. I wouldn’t wear the things I would wear in my daily life because I like things cropped, showy, and flashy. But I still pour myself into that because if I’m not expressing myself, then I’m not being true to myself. But there is more judgment from the law side. I know dancers who are also lawyers. Women are doing it and they are paving the way and I will continue to make sure that women feel like they can express themselves in any facet and still pursue whatever they want academically. You can be a doctor and a dancer, you can be a doctor and a painter … You are not just one thing. You are not just the things that you do … You can do it all.
RZ: Right! I love the videos of you going to law school in your fabulous outfits. Do you relate to Elle Woods? How do you feel about Legally Blonde?
AC: Yes! I love Elle Woods so much. I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer since I was a little kid, which maybe means I’m a little bit of an asshole [laughs], but it’s okay … I was just very opinionated. I loved the movie [Legally Blonde] growing up, and I was like, ‘That’s gonna be me.’ … I’m in my outfits every day, making my videos, but I’m still doing the damn thing. Maybe I have to put in more work to show up, and I think that’s something a lot of women face. We’re working harder to be taken seriously. That’s why if I’m going to be who I am, as eccentric as I am, I have to make sure I’m also doing better than men, potentially, or doing better than others to make sure that I can take space for myself.
RZ: I love that you don’t put yourself in a box … Some of these roles that you’ve taken on involve leadership. You told me a little bit about your creative, bold personality as a kid. Are you a natural leader and where do you get your confidence from?
AC: That’s something my mom has always asked me. I had buck teeth [and] stringy hair, wasn’t the cutest, and my mom would say, ‘You know, everyone goes through an ugly duckling phase and it’s okay’ and I[‘d] go, ‘Yeah, but not me though!’ … I have always had this unwavering sense of confidence … I think maybe that has to do with always being able to express myself, always being able to wear whatever I wanted.
RZ: That’s so cool … You founded a business called Art 2 Action to support various causes through hosting events, flea markets, and parties. I’d love to hear about that. What do y’all have coming up?
AC: We have a big show coming up on October third. It’s going to be from eleven to four in the morning. It’s called Midnight Masquerade. Masks required, clothing optional, and the proceeds are being donated to Planned Parenthood. The Planned Parenthood here I’ve worked with in the past. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is being shut down due to policy in Louisiana, but women can still access reproductive care from out of state through their telehealth, so that’s why we’re continuing to support Planned Parenthood even though our brick and mortar Planned Parenthood is ceasing to exist on September thirtieth. Every single show we donate to a different cause. It’s always different. We’ve done gun violence prevention, and I was just working with the ACLU. I now have these personal connections with local businesses and organizations and nonprofits, which is really incredible because there are people here on the ground doing the work, especially ACLU. They’re going to Angola prison. They’re fighting the fight. So if my knack for party planning can support these causes in some small way, we can help make change happen. It doesn’t have to just be through a donation, through calling a representative. We can create change in so many ways … I’m a party girl. I love to go out, have fun, [and] put on these extravagant parties that have a social impact. There’s a kind of feeling in the air when you attend like, ‘Oh, this means more than just a party.’ But it’s also just a really fun party … I think that an explosion of art to support a social cause is an interesting way to to make a difference.
RZ: Midnight Masquerade. I’m there. Through all of your pursuits, what are you the most excited about right here, right now?
AC: I haven’t busted out my sewing machine in a minute … So that might be on the horizon … I’m excited to make some new things.
RZ: Whether it be in policy making, fashion, visual art, or life, who are your icons?
AC: Malala. She’s incredible. She’s been an icon of mine since I was young because I’ve been a gun violence prevention activist since I was sixteen. I was lobbying in Congress for gun violence prevention, and then two days later the Parkland shooting [occurred]. That put me on a trajectory of gun violence prevention. I got put on national stages in front of thousands of people as a sixteen year old, speaking about gun violence prevention, and that was the same age Malala was when she delivered her UN speech after she was shot when she was fifteen years old. She delivered her UN speech on her sixteenth birthday. She believes in advocating for women’s rights, children’s education, and for a woman’s right to education. And she was never made to feel small because she was a woman [or] because she was Pakistani. She’s always been such an icon to me; She’s everything. Fashion icon wise, my godmother … Her name is Renee Faia, and has a band called The Mazarines. She’s a fashion designer, photographer, and makeup artist. She plays Cher in the movies about Sunny and Cher. She’s so fabulous. She’s also a painter, so she has always been a person for me that [demonstrates] you can do it all.
RZ: You’re a mama to two rats. Please tell me about them. What are their names? What are they like?
AC: Laverne and Shirley, based on the [70s] sitcom … They’re my girls … They’re just little beings and misunderstood creatures. I believe in seeing beauty in all things and I like that they’re these tiny creatures that people think are gross, but they’re actually cleaner than cats. They have little hands they clean themselves with and they’re just really sweet. I take them out every day, and then I do [my] law reading with them, so they have their own blanket and I also have a little rat purse and I take them to The Fly… They love vegetables … They’re really sweet and smart.
RZ: I love to hear it. I’m sure you’re an incredible mama.
AC: They call me the Rat Milf, all my friends do. And they made me t-shirts that say Rat Milf.
RZ: I need that on you right now for these pictures! Thank you so much for sitting down with me … You are excellent!
AC: Thank you! Yay!
To donate to Art 2 Action, go to https://givebutter.com/Q69fYa
All photography by Myranda Cook
