How One Woman Turned “ Fashion Anthropology ” Into A Career
By Rachel Mosely Guest Columnist
If you ask Mikaila Brown , a fashion expert with a Ph . D . in anthropology , what she does for a living , she ’ ll explain that she aims to do “ for fashion what Anthony Bourdain did for food .” But for Brown , who has an unusual combination of talents , the road from big dream to functional career wasn ’ t exactly straightforward .
Since childhood , she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer . At 5 ’ 11 ”, she was all too familiar with the struggle of finding stylish clothes that fit her properly , but she also knew she had the creativity and insight to help solve the problem . There was just one roadblock : her practical-minded Jamaican parents , and particularly her professor father , who wasn ’ t as confident in her chosen career path as she was . “ My father said , ‘ You can be a starving artist , but I need to know that if I die , you can take care of yourself ,’” she explains with a laugh . So they struck a deal : As long as she got a graduate degree , she could do whatever she wanted .
So Brown pursued a doctorate in anthropology at Columbia University . “ I love being Jamaican . I love my culture so much that anthropology was the natural place for me to go in graduate school ,” she says . After earning her Ph . D ., she spent two years working a nine-to-five at a nonprofit , but she still felt the pull of her original design dreams . So she moved back home to Florida and started a fashion line .
But the going was tough . Even after relocating to New York City to be in the center of the industry , “ it was really hard to make ends meet ,” she says . “ I was selling to friends and family , and I have a lot of friends and family , but not enough to sustain me for the rest of my life !” she says .
“ I was selling to friends and family , and I have a lot of friends and family , but not enough to sustain me for the rest of my life !” she says .
Fasihon Anthropology Mikaila Brown Rachel Mosely Culture , Diversity Santa Ana , California November 2018
“ I had to stop after four years because I wasn ’ t making any money .” In 2017 , she found herself in a position familiar to many creatives : desperately in need of a side hustle .
Luckily , that was when inspiration struck . Brown saw an opportunity to combine her love for fashion , her expertise in anthropology , and her passion for her neighborhood , Harlem .
She launched a blog , The Common Thread Project , as a platform for a specialty shopping tour of Harlem . The tours , which she called “ Sidewalk Safaris ,” combined personalized styling with insight into the sartorial history of the neighborhood and face time with local shop owners and designers . “ No one was going pay me to do what Anthony Bourdain did . I don ’ t have the platform of being on television , but I could individually offer [ my tour ] until I got enough traction .”
Though Brown knew that she was on the right track , the venture took some time to find its footing . She remembers it as being daunting initially . “ I was giving one tour here , one tour there . It wasn ’ t really happening for me .”
Her Sidewalk Safaris were still getting off the ground in the summer of 2017 when she heard that Airbnb was launching an Experiences platform — an extension of its core vacation rental service focused on guided tours and excursions led by local hosts . She applied , got the gig , and started landing customers for her tour via Airbnb . Suddenly , her quirky combination of talents clicked into place as an in-demand service .
“ One of the things I love about Airbnb is that no matter what your interests are , you can monetize them ,” says Brown . “ People specialize in things that are so specific and dope and random , and they can make money from them .” Airbnb Experiences also introduced her to a new audience .