What drew you to styling?

For me it was the immediate feeling of being able to push the boundaries of social norms and conformity that have always been bigger than just ‘girls wear pink;
boys wear blue’ and doing so in a way that was completely self-expressive and boundless to any individual at any given time – with clothes and sneakers being used
as the medium. I always found so much power in wearing your entire mood outwardly with no explanation necessary.

In your opinion, what role does representation play in achieving equality?

It’s a major key! It acts as one of the fundamental foundations that are needed to actively try and attempt to action true equality. Because we as humans engage and relate
the best when we can see, hear and feel that someone shares even the minutest similarities to us before we invest anything. The moment representation isn’t present I
struggle to see how anything can have the longevity to beneficially improve.

How would you describe the state of the sneaker industry in regard to equality?

Firstly, when I think of what equality encompasses, I have to acknowledge the fact there are so many overarching subheadings that fall under the ever-growing meaning. But
from what I’ve seen the industry has continued to grow at an expeditious rate, drop after drop, in the last 12 months. And there’s also been some monumental moments where
visibility and representation from brands for example have been spot-on but that’s not to say that there’s been ‘enough’ good work done in this area of significance when things
still continue to play out on a disproportionately, unconscious bias playing field.

Additionally, I feel that the industry can very much be a sense of who you know vs what you know because more times than not those career-defining relationships built can
act as your golden, fast-track ticket. And, at times as a minority, this may act as an essential ally to have in your network who may be able to get you into those heavily gate-kept
rooms to add depths to these paramount, community-shaping conversations.

What would you like to see brands do to better champion women and especially Black women?

A great first step towards this is to hire us, plain and simple! This pertains to BIWOC in particular and doing so in a genuine, non-performative fashion, which isn’t just to meet
a quota but more importantly because we’re clearly the best candidate for the job. Once this is in full effect, brands don’t stop there! Allow us once in these roles to continue developing and progressing up the ranks so we, like our counterparts, can hold these higher-paid, leadership roles which hopefully, as a result, will help forge long-term change
within these brands’ lineage.

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