Yet another wonderful example of the success of Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Education!!

by

MAVA Colleagues,

Yet another wonderful example of the success of Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Education!! We are excited to share this success story concerning a graduate of Madison Park.

MAVA extends its congratulations and best wishes to Madrugada!!!

David

1 big thing: Beloved Roxbury brand’s South End era

By Steph Solis
Left: The Madrugada shed with 90s cartoon characters painted on the exterior. Right: a young woman wears a black-and-white "Madrugada" sweater, crouching on a city sidewalk.
Madrugada’s shed (left) and a woman in a Madrugada sweater (right). Photo: Courtesy of Nan James/Madrugada
Madrugada, a beloved Roxbury-born clothing brand, is back with a permanent brick-and-mortar.

Why it matters: What began as a homegrown side hustle sold out of a backyard shed will soon become the South End’s newest upscale boutique.

Catch up quick: Madrugada recently wrapped up a pop-up in Downtown Crossing — a test run for owner Nan James, a Roxbury native who works in the TV industry.

The latest: James plans to sign a lease for a storefront on Columbus Avenue in the South End, but declined to say where because of pending negotiations.

What they’re saying: James, a Madison Park Technical Vocational High School alumna, says she owes her success in TV and apparel to her alma mater.

  • "We were learning how to design clothes. We were learning how to screen-print stuff. I was learning how to shoot commercials," she tells Axios.
  • "Literally, everything I learned, I learned from Madison Park."

Flashback: James started out selling embroidered caps in 2016 before expanding to clothes and incorporating the business in 2019.

  • She named the brand Madrugada, which means "dawn" in Spanish, because she felt it described her life in Los Angeles at the time.
  • "I was in a space where jobs weren’t where I needed them to be," says James, who is now a bicoastal resident. "I felt like something positive was coming."

Flash forward two years, and James set up a shed in the backyard of her childhood home in Roxbury.

  • The shed quickly became a destination for local shoppers, but it came down in early 2025 after James’ family sold the house.
  • Since then, Madrugada has lived on in pop-ups.

Yes, and: The brand has also gotten attention from celebrities, from Jaylen Brown to rapper YG and DJ Mustard (he wore a Vanson x Madrugada motorcycle jacket while on tour with Kendrick Lamar).

Zoom in: The downtown pop-up gave Madrugada a prime location with easy MBTA access and new customers from Spain and Japan.

  • She’s still getting messages from fans saying they were looking for Madrugada downtown, even though the nine-day pop-up ended weeks ago.

What’s next: James plans to open the store this fall.

  • Madrugada has another collaboration in the works with the Vanson motorcycle apparel brand.