Style, sustainability and sports: Creighton alumnus makes Fashion Week debut

It’s not often you come across a fashion designer who also runs basketball skills training for professional and youth athletes and advises corporate partners on how to reduce and manage stormwater runoff.  

Meet Creighton alumnus Donovan Mann, BS’19 — a professional in stormwater management, basketball coach and trainer, and now New York Fashion Week designer. 

His clothing line — MannMade Athleisure — debuted at Fashion Week in early September. 

"We turned heads and created a lot of hype around the brand," Mann told The Omaha World-Herald afterward. "We had the entire venue buzzing."

And it wasn't just because of his clothing line. Mann also proposed to his girlfriend, Creighton alumna Monica Bradley, BS'22, on the runway after the show — as a surprise. She said yes.

The Dallas native — who, as a student, played on the practice squad for the Creighton women’s basketball team and assisted with summer workouts for the men’s team — has been on his own personal fast break since graduating from Creighton with a degree in sustainability, and a minor in energy technology, just six years ago. 

Starting an engineering career. Hosting basketball camps, sometimes with former Creighton hoopsters. Coaching. Conducting individual and team skills training. And, most recently, developing his own clothing line. It’s been a whirlwind. 

“This summer, I was going to work until about 4 or 5 p.m., and then I was in the gym from 4 to 9 p.m. or 5 to 9:30 p.m. every day, coaching and training,” Mann says. 

‘Popping Off’ 

His hard work, passion and dedication do not go unnoticed by the kids and young adults with whom he works, who share messages of thanks and congratulations. 

“Man, you’re popping off,” reads a text message from one. “Your brand and everything you do is evolving so much, and I can’t believe the things you’ve done, from camps to coaching to training the kids. It’s all truly amazing what you’re doing and how you do it!” 

Another: “The amount of work you put into everything is amazing. You are a very inspirational guy, and there are a lot of kids who look up to you. I can’t wait to see how far MannMade goes.” 

Mann beams. He loves being a mentor, building up the confidence of young people — both on and off the court. 

“Moreso than them saying, ‘You made me better,” they say, ‘You’ve inspired me,’” Mann says. “That’s what I feel my calling from God, my purpose from God, is: to inspire others.”  

Mann’s full-time job is in post-construction stormwater management at TD2, an engineering and surveying company in Omaha, where he has worked since graduating from Creighton and completing a post-graduate summer internship at defense and aerospace manufacturing giant Lockheed Martin back in his home state of Texas. TD2 management and colleagues, he says, have been very supportive of his fashion and basketball-training endeavors. 

“Whatever I do, I want to be happy doing it,” Mann says. “The engineering job, that stabilized me, gave me a career. Basketball training has fulfilled me, being able to give back. And the clothes, that’s the cherry on the top.” 

Creighton a Good Fit 

Mann came to Creighton in 2015 after graduating from Uplift Hampton Preparatory School in Dallas, where he also pursued a variety of interests. 

He excelled in the classroom, with a penchant for math and science. He ranked seventh academically in his graduating class. He was captain of the school’s robotics team. He was vice president of his senior class. And he made his mark on the basketball court, where he starred for four years.  

He earned offers to play collegiate basketball at the D2 level. But he also received academic scholarship offers, including at Creighton, where, after a couple of visits, it seemed like the right fit. 

“Creighton looked like what I wanted from a college,” Mann says. 

Mann speaks highly of his Creighton education. In addition to the academics, it’s where he would meet his girlfriend/now fiancée, Monica Bradley, whom he describes as one of his biggest supporters, and good friend Langston Gray, BSBA’19, a finance major involved with the antiracism clothing line from Erace the Hate, giving Mann insight into his future foray into fashion merchandising. 

“Those two, Monica and Langston, have been a catalyst for what I’ve been able to do,” Mann says. 

It was at TD2 that Mann’s basketball skills training business began rather informally, following watercooler conversations with colleagues. 

“People were asking me what I liked to do in my free time, just small talk around the office,” Mann says. “I said, ‘Honestly, I’ve been refereeing, but I think I’m going to start training kids. I really want to make these kids better, like people did for me when I was growing up.”  

A colleague took him up on the offer — asking Mann to train his middle school son. Mann worked with the youngster two nights a week at the YMCA. Improvement followed, and word spread. 

“From there, it just blossomed into what it is today,” he says. 

Building Life Skills in Youth 

Mann is the CEO and head trainer for MannMade Skills Training. He works with about a dozen youth basketball teams and some 100 individual players across the greater Omaha area, along with coaching AAU teams during the summer and setting up youth basketball camps.  

His goal is not only skill development, but life development. 

“I try to relate everything we do in the gym to real life,” Mann says. “When they’re struggling and getting frustrated, I tell them, ‘Look, there are plenty of times you’re going to be frustrated in life; you can’t give up. You need to think about what you need to do to get better.’ 

“I try to be patient with them and build their confidence.”     

In addition to his work as a trainer, Mann is also part owner, general manager and clothing sponsor of Nebraska 402 Elite, a professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association. 

Mann credits his parents for giving him his dual love for basketball and fashion. He learned the game of basketball and the importance of service from his dad, Anthony Mann. His mom, Dawn Davidson, whose ad agency contracted with Nike on catalogues and sales material, instilled in him an interest in fashion and entrepreneurship. 

“She would come home with Nike gear all the time, and we would get to go to private events. So, I’ve always been into fashion-forward, utility type of clothing,” Mann says. 

It Started with Socks 

Mann’s own entry into fashion began modestly. A high school friend helped him develop his MannMade logo, and he began putting it on clothing. As interest in his brand grew, he started seeking his own clothing manufacturer. 

“I contacted different manufacturers from all over the world — China, South Korea, Pakistan, everywhere,” Mann says. “And I found my first partnership with this guy out of China. He had a sock factory.” 

So, in 2023, MannMade’s Athleisure clothing brand was born — with socks that cost $30 a pair.  

While he chuckles at the price now, he sold enough to start buying in bulk and to spread to other items — shorts, T-shirts, hoodies, golf vests, hats and even coasters.  

Mann filled out an online application to be part of the 2025 New York Fashion Week. For the next four months, he heard nothing. Then, he got a call out of the blue: Would he be interested in taking the runway as an emerging artist? 

“This could be a huge break for me,” Mann says. 

He fund-raised for the entry fee, which included Creighton supporters, and traveled to New York on Sept. 8. His clothing line hit the runway on Sept. 10. He got six minutes. Not much time to make an impression, but Mann was ready. 

“I don’t feel pressure, honestly,” Mann says, before making the trip. “Preparation is the key to success. Being prepared for your blessings is the number one thing in life.” 

And now it’s back to work and back to the gym.