fashion sense. Quite intriguing and mind-boggling, his unconscious unique fashion sense, brought many stares of admiration at local events and even on a casual day the most frequently asked question to him was“ where did you buy this?” To the surprise of many, Akeem customized his clothes to look different because he hated the idea of anyone having or wearing exactly what he had in his wardrobe. Being different wasn’ t a choice for Akeem but he just was and this made him stand out. Akeem was quickly known for his unique style and he customized pieces for his friends and then eventually started designing costumes for Carnival and Pageants.
Akeem found a new love for designing men’ s clothing and his design aesthetic is very modern and futuristic, unconventional Avant Garde pieces. These pieces include leather jackets and suits embellished with metallic touches, such as screws, studs and spikes, nails, staples, safety pins, paperclips, glass, mirror, plastic, rubber and even latex. He describes his fashion line as being basically for guys who are outspoken and generally not afraid to express themselves through bold colors and textured fabric. He basically utilizes items and scraps people would throw away to create his pieces and loves the quote“ One man’ s trash is another man’ s treasure.” He was never wealthy growing up and just had to use what he had at near reach to create outstanding pieces.
He first showcased his designs at St. Maarten Fashion Week in October 2013 and then participated in the“ Focus on 2014” fashion show in December 2013. His work caught the attention of organizer of Anguilla Fashion Expo, Josveek Huliger, who invited him to participate in the Expo March 2014. At this Expo, Akeem had the opportunity to work with international supermodel Bobby Roache who appeared in Beyoncé’ s Irreplaceable music video. Roache personally encouraged Adams to continue pursuing his dreams.
In 2014 Akeem went on to further his studies in the United Kingdom where he now studies Biomedical Science at Coventry University. To many, this is a surprise because it would only make sense for him to study fashion, but he says he still creates in his spare time but he enjoys medicine and will hopefully incorporate this into design in the future. His dream is to one day have chain stores across the globe and have designer pieces specially made, just for red carpet events such as the MET Gala, worn by celebrities. He has currently connected with fashion bloggers from around the world including Monsieur Parie who will be promoting his brand at Men’ s Fashion Week in London, Paris, and Milan.
“ In the modelling industry, my very first inspiration was Naomi Campbell, not just for being the first black model to grace the covers of Vogue but also withstanding the racism in the fashion industry at the time. My other role models are Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, Grace Jones, Tyra Banks, Tyson Beckford, Shawn Ross, Chantelle Winne Harlow, and Dustin Bice,” he said.
Akeem has modeled for Donna Dove of Harlem New York, Ecliff Elie of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbadian but NYC-based Christina Goddard under her brand Conrad Sinclair, ASOS, and ANNELLE LONDON of designer Stacey-Ann Nelson, where he was featured on Vogue website.
To him fashion means expressing oneself through clothing because you are what you wear. What you wear should reflect your personality and how you fell and that is what Akeem’ s clothing brand is about-“ freely expressing oneself”
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