Tishani “Nan” James is a proud Roxbury native and she wants everybody to know it. The television producer and fashion designer recently wrapped up a pop-up shop for her clothing brand Madrugada in Downtown Crossing where her latest collection No Grey Area celebrated her hometown.

“I grew up near the Walgreens on Warren Street. I went to Madison Park High School,” said James. “Roxbury really gave me the tools to believe my dreams are attainable.”

James has been running Madrugada since 2019 and the brand, which has been worn by Jaylen Brown and other celebrities, began almost as an accident. Seeking inspiration during a slow work period, James splurged on a few original hat designs with “Roxbury” and “Dorchester” on the front. They were an immediate hit.

“I ended up selling 40 hats in two days and with the money I got from that I made 200 hats and sold those in a week,” she said. “And I was like, oh, I wonder if there’s something here?”

From there the brand grew rapidly. One of James’ early designs, black-and-white sweatshirts and tees in a collegiate style with “Roxbury University” printed on them, flew off the shelves and continues to be one of her staples. She snagged a coveted partnership with Vanson Leathers making slick branded moto jackets; celebrities like Rhianna, Drake and Doechii have Madrugada designs in their closets.

“Madrugada” in Spanish translates to “before dawn,” indicating the moment before sunrise. James sees it as the challenging period that leads to great success.

As the brand grew, James built a storefront in the backyard of her mother’s home in Roxbury. For years it was the neighborhood hot spot, with stylish locals waiting for the drops and buying Celtics and Bobby Brown tees. When the family house sold in 2025, James began thinking about a more formal storefront. She jokingly posted an AI rendering of a shop on Instagram and captioned it “Can you see it?” The Downtown Boston Alliance commented “Yes, but in Downtown Crossing,” and the collaboration bloomed from there.

“They’ve been great to work with,” James said. “I’m a creative so as soon as it feels like work, I’m like, ‘Oh my god!’ They’ve been really helpful with the logistics of everything.”

In collaboration with the Downtown Boston Alliance and Gazit Horizons, James ran the Madrugada pop-up on Winter Street in Downtown Crossing for two weeks, gauging the appetite for her designs in a more central location. And the people showed up.

“A lot of people are happy about it,” she said. “You can just see the energy change when they find out that I’m local, they light up.”

Now that she’s had a test run, James will decide whether to open a more permanent storefront in the city or stick to online sales. In addition to keeping Bostonians stylish, James hopes to spread a larger message about the city.

“I’m an avid believer of trying to show people in the world that Black people live in Boston,” she said. “Seeing my little childhood home be on tour stages and in big spaces, it feels amazing.”

ON THE WEB

Check out Madrugada and shop online at madrugadaclothing.com