We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mecca Bythewood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mecca, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I feel as though my work may have been slightly misunderstood by certain individuals that don’t know me as a person and maybe have only heard of me. People have their own perceptions of why people do the things they do unless the audience is told exactly what the goal was in mind when creating something. I learned that if I wanted people to connect with me and my brand on a more personal level, I was going to have to show more of me. At first, I was nervous to be willing to be more vulnerable with my audience, but I learned that there is much power and strength in being vulnerable and authentically me. There are so many people these days starting clothing brands, so I want to keep striving to bring the one thing no one else can to the table, which is me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

One thing my dad used to always say to me was, “If you know what you’re doing you’ll always have a job, but if you know why you’re doing it you’ll always be the boss. Earlier in his journey here when he was graduating high school, he received a full ride to play football at Dartmouth University. He turned it down because his dream school was Howard University, and he received a full ride academically to attend there. He told me it wasn’t really a hard decision bc that is how much he loved Howard, which is also affectionately known as The Mecca. Years later, he meets my mom and they get pregnant. While they were looking for names, he met a little girl named Mecca and his love for his alma mater came flooding back to him. Everything my dad did had meaning, so when it came to naming his girls, it was mandatory. My dad never let me forget that Mecca meant “one who is holy, great, and highly sought after”. Any time I would forget who I was, my reminder would be that quote right there. This instilled in me that everything I do should be in meaning. My name has always been something everyone I met would react to. I frequently get asked “Are you Muslim?” and no i’m not, but being younger I didn’t understand why at first. As I learned about other religions in school, I quickly realized why people reacted to my name the way they did. Within the religion of Islam, one of the five pillars of the religion is to take a pilgrimage to Mecca. I am not super educated on the religion but the concept of everyone coming together to this one holy place at least once in their lifetime always intrigued me. I get asked a lot why did i name my brand The P1lgrimage? Well pilgrimage can be defined as “the course of life on earth” or more specifically “a journey to a sacred place”. I feel as though in today’s generation, we all are rushing to get somewhere. Most of us are moving so fast to get to our desires and destinations we don’t have time or energy to appreciate the beauty in what’s happening right now. I want my brand to inspire everyone just to pause and take it in because we will never be given this moment right here ever again. In our social-media driven society, it’s really easy to get discouraged because we’re constantly having someone else at a different part of their journey that we may desire being thrown in our faces 24/7. I want my brand to inspire everyone to be able to see people doing their thing and appreciate seeing it’s possible. Simultaneously being happy for them as well, all while being utterly focused on self. We all were put here for a purpose. And not one person was made completely alike which means what works for one person may not work for you. Our journeys are specifically made for each person just as our fingerprints are. The P1lgrimage is a brand that inspires individuals to be true to themselves, to be confident in who they are individually and appreciate their journeys here on earth through expression of themselves through fashion. I started this brand because of my passion for fashion since a little girl and wanting to inspire everyone to be comfortable in their own skin. I found my why I hope I can inspire you to find yours too. My very first customers, luckily, happened to be my friends. I also learned that on this journey you will need help, you will need community, you will need guidance so embrace the ones put in your journey to befriend you and cherish them just the same. I am so proud of the growth that me and my brand have experienced within this past year. The P1lgrimage is a streetwear brand that wants the customers to feel stylish, comfortable, and special in the clothes that they put on. Right now, available, we have T-shirts, hats, hoodies, beanies, and swimsuits. I like to cherish my brand around the people that will be wearing it, I love suggestion, I love constructive criticism because there is always room to grow. I am so grateful to be able to do this and have the confidence and strength to continue. I am so grateful to everyone who may read these words from my heart. Thank you.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The main mission I have in going through my creative journey is solely to inspire. I want to inspire people to find their purpose and be wholeheartedly committed to it. In our generation, it’s so much easier to do the things our elders may have not been able to. Our dreams were put in our minds and hearts for a reason. I want to inspire people to reach for the stars and keep reaching.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I feel as though society is cherishing the creatives more than they have been in the past and I am so grateful for that. I think to do this in the best way possible, we should be uplifting each other in the same industries. We were taught to see everyone as competition when if we worked together more, we could achieve so much more. There is so much strength in collaboration and I feel as though mentorship and building relationships with other creatives can creative a strong creative ecosystem.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thep1lgrimage.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: @thep1lgrimage
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@meccamari5828?si=7cNo7SVYGND6FM4T

Image Credits

Treyvon Eugene
@treysvisuals