![]() ![]() There were a lot of hierarchies where you can't speak in this room, or at this time. Those days you really had to dig into that mindset to figure out how to become an assistant. Back then, the fashion industry felt much more elitist and exclusive and, in a way, less tangible. Now with social media, everyone can just call themselves a stylist and then end up actually becoming a stylist. I realized that if you just be yourself, no matter what that is, you can go so much further. I thought there was an expectation to speak a certain way and act a certain way. And then maybe a few weeks later they hired Shiona Turini, she was an editor at the time. When I started at W Mag as an intern, I was the only black girl in the office. How did those experiences growing in the industry as a young, Black stylist inform who you are and how you navigate the industry now? ![]() That for sure was like, Oh, okay, you can do this, moment. When I became aware that I was actually entering the industry and realizing its depth and how much you really could do, I truly didn't learn until I became an intern at W Magazine. I would kind of quiz myself and play around like that. I remember being in middle school, looking at fashion magazines, and wanting to name the brand and name the designers before I looked at the credit. ![]() I want that feeling all the time, to actually fully enjoy clothes. We tend to not wear our clothes because we want to save them for a special occasion and you never even get to enjoy them. If I find something I love, I just wear it all the time. That was the moment I realized clothes make you feel good. They had to practically hide the dress from me because I wanted to go to the playground in it and wear it all the time. When I was about four years old, my parents put me in an Easter dress that I never wanted to take off. I think it kind of came in different phases. At what age were you aware that fashion could be more than just putting on clothes, but something that could be a viable career? Without the lockdown, I probably have had the time to dig into what made that happen. I'm thankful for the time I was able to create cool content with Chloe and Halle on their tennis court designing and collaborating with Macy's, starting a foundation. Rewarding because I was able to do so many different things and work on so many different projects. A lot of my friends lost their parents or grandparents, lost a lot of people in their family, and trying to navigate through all of that. Story continues How was last year both challenging and rewarding for you?Ĭhallenging because a lot of people were affected in a negative way. Simply put, Akers is the face of the Booked and Busy movement right now, which brings us to the latest stop on her tour: Styling Zales’ Mother’s Day campaign. Then she designed for Macy’s Icons of Style campaign. She expanded the Instagram account into an e-commerce site that hosts pieces from Fe Noel, Brandon Blackwood NYC, Salone Monet, Skin Butter, Aliette, and more. Launched at the height of the pandemic, at a time where moments of Black joy were few and far between, Akers created the Black Owned Everything Instagram account to highlight emerging and established Black-owned brands in fashion, home goods, beauty, and more. Black Owned Everything was just the start. “But now, I've kind of fully pressed forward on working on different projects and evolving my brand into something that could stand on its own." Akers’ quarantine tells the tale of dynamic sister duo Chloe x Halle, who ushered in a mature era with futuristic latex and chains, as well as the celebration of and homage to the Black diaspora through costumes in Beyonce's Black Is King.Īkers has spent her decades-spanning career using fashion to tell the stories of others, but quarantine provided her enough space to tell her own story. "I think at the beginning it was nice to have time to try new things-starting an earth garden, cooking, doing a puzzle, and sitting on the couch and doing nothing,” she explains. ![]() Akers isn’t saying she’s abandoned COVID-19 protocols, rather she’s used the period of stillness to recharge. As she tells me over the phone, quarantine has been “over” for her for a while. Trace her steps from the beginning of the lockdown to now and you’ll embark upon a whirlwind journey rooted in storytelling-an integral part of her brand. If quarantine has been good to anyone, it’s Zerina Akers. ![]()
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