YouthPhoria UK© The Premier Role Model Edition November 2013 | Page 27

NinetyOneNinety
Let You Be The Fashion – Don’t Let Fashion Be You

‘Rough Copy’ is a group made up of 3 incredible guys who are equally talented but all have an individual sense
of style. The boys naturally love to stand out and take much pride in their overall appearance. But have you ever
wondered where they get their creative and “Sher-Mazing” look from?
Meet NinetyOneNinety, the design team who have inspired Rough Copy’s ‘Street Luxe’ style.
NinetyOneNinety is a fusion between stylist Naomi May and designer Arayner Ashia, who have come together
with their different fashion backgrounds and outlooks to detonate an explosion of creativity that is unstoppable.
Naomi’s door to fashion opened not by studying or gaining a degree –

“People would question how did I get into fashion without a qualification (?), failing to understand that my
creativity and ability was more than enough.
Starting from scratch and buying countless amounts of magazines, cutting out images, building mood-boards,
gaining inspiration from catwalks on how to build outfits, walking into shops discovering my likes and dislikes
was always far from the norm in comparison to my peers who went down the traditional academic route.
Before I knew it, my style was changing. I was evolving from following the trends and the ‘must have’ pieces
of the season, into someone who realised THE must have was ME! When you put ‘YOU’ into your outfit you
become the FASHION.”
Conversely, Naomi’s business partner Arayner graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2012. A unisex
and menswear designer, she represents a new London, deriving from the unexpected conceptual aesthetic of
street culture in the capital.

“Building an alliance with a stylist like Naomi May has enabled me to tailor my imagination into reality. My
independent designs are hyper-cultured and statement heavy which theoretically reflects Rough Copy’s look
and attitude within the industry and Naomi’s style aesthetics and perceptions of treating clothing like Art forms
the basis of NinetyOneNinety as an independent styling movement”
Working alongside eachother for a while now, Naomi and Arayner had the opportunity to style Rough Copy
during their time on the show X-Factor in 2013.

“It’s been such a pleasure to work with the boys Kaz, Stering and Joey but not easy because they are all so
unique” said Naomi “Kaz loves to stay true to his roots always having a play off from his African culture, whilst
staying masculine but being individual with a slick finish.
Sterling loves to throw you off by being out of the box keeping originality key. A lot of his influence is from the
90’s, so he loves pieces with a 90’s inspiration with a little softer edge of cuteness.
Joey is pretty open but is mindful of his build, so needs garments to be complimentary whilst not being afraid to
take a risk; an absolute bonafied lover of vintage and London fashion.”
Arayner explained that “During the X-Factor live shows, we feel that the boys have been slotted into the
‘Street Luxe’ trend. This phenomenon is all over visual social media (Tumblr, Instagram etc.) it combines the
normalities of youthful street life with a growing age of desire and imitation for fashion Luxury. The street kids
have a growing desire for fashion luxury, so this is imitated through filtered editorial like visuals and the rich
kids have a growing desire for street wear, which is then communicated in the same way. So the current trend
that is commonly associated with Rough Copy’s style is ‘Street Luxe’.”
With such a huge platform to jump from, where exactly are NinetyNineNinety heading? “We plan to invade this
trend with Rough Co py and create a New Age of Authenticity.”
So watch out. You heard about the industry takeover here first!

Look out for NinetyNineNinety’s fashion column in the next edition of YouthPhoriaUK©
Check out their styles on
www.pinterest.com/lybtfashion/rough-copy-style-inspiration
and their Tumblr blog, ninetynineninetyus
L-R: Naomi May & Arayner Aish

Images, from top left:
Kaz featured in Arayner Aisha ready to wear with Sterling and Joey rocking OTHERS (Photo: X-Factor) / Keeping it simple, Sterling in Arayner Aisha tie-dye drop crotch
dungarees (Photo: Huffington Post) / Kaz featured in Arayner Aisha street luxe waistcoat (Photo: Contact Music) / Show of plays on black, styled by Naomi May
(Photo: Contact Music) / Show of plays on black, styled by Naomi May (Photo: Contact Music) / Show of plays on black, styled by Naomi May (Photo: Evening Standard)