What do you see for the future at LSG?

So much. We just launched wholesale, which is exciting. I love working with other shops and brands, and it's opened up this whole new relationship with brands or stores that I've admired. It's great to kind of break down the wall of competition like, of course, we should work together! We both are into the same things, but we have different customers. And getting LSG, our in-house brand, to brick-and-mortar is really exciting and the first step is to do that is through wholesale. Also, doing more in-person events and just growing our team.

You're going freelance soon, am I correct?

Yes! I am moving to Los Angeles in 2019. I've loved working with Charlotte; it’s been amazing. I’ve learned, even more than what I could’ve imagined. Just working with someone who's a full-time photographer and running her own business, let alone the creative side.

What excites you about doing lifestyle?

I've always been a huge fan of brands like Nike; I just love their attitude. I think it was great how they chose controversial subjects to advertise their products and brand.

I spent my childhood summers in a small town that only recently got cell phone service. It was amazing running around exploring the nature of the remote North. I feel like lifestyle is more who I am as a person and it will help me connect with it more. With high fashion I feel like I was trying to force things a little bit.

How did you come to that realization?

When I worked at Kit and Ace, they were more lifestyle than Aritzia was, so I immediately felt more at home there. If you’re in line with the brand's identity, you'll probably produce a better campaign for them versus one for a brand that doesn't make as much sense for you.

Why are you interested in making that shift?

I've decided that my personal style and who I am, feels more in line with lifestyle concepts than high fashion concepts.

So, back to going freelance. What excites you, what scares you, and what are you anticipating?

I'm excited to start shooting for myself again, because I’ve been putting that on the back burner for the last two years.

I'm excited to go out there and show off my new skills, what my style is, and get a portfolio going. I am scared, terrified and truthfully unsure of what’s going to happen because going freelance holds many financial risks. It's going to be the first time I haven't had a steady paycheck coming in.

And where do you want to go?

Looking back retouching is one of the most valuable skills I’ve learnt. It is often quite boring and daunting work, but it helps a lot when paying the bills. Next year of my life is going to be focused on just making sure that I can stay afloat financially while building my business. I'm going to be taking on more e-commerce and retouching jobs, while also shooting personal work for my own portfolio.

After that initial year, I want to be shooting for brands that combine my career goals and my personal goals. I would love to work with brands like Everlane that care about the ethics, transparency, and the cost of their products. I want to work with brands that I align with creatively and consciously.

I also think that video is important and it's only growing in this industry.

What’s next for Ifeoma?

I plan to remove myself from the fashion system. I still want Ifeoma to be a brand and operate on a system somewhat parallel to the fashion schedule, but I want it to be something bigger than design. Committing yourself to the fashion system as a whole is not a way to ignite any real change. For example, Miuccia Prada, a woman I really look up to, studied political science. She's made huge waves in fashion because she's not coming from a didactic point of, "I'm making clothes and clothing is all I do." She has a well-rounded set of interests motivating her to create an extension of the world she is apart of. Even with Virgil Abloh, he studied architecture and engineering so he understands the idea of building something from the ground up - blueprint to structure.

Where would you like to go?

Well, I had always planned to go to graduate school. Before even committing to undergrad, studying fashion theory in post-grad was the goal. A few months ago I was accepted to Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion Critical Studies program. It’s a big undertaking and a bit overwhelming. I’m just a girl from South LA, but it's very, very exciting. I love London.

Is there an impact that you would like to have on the industry?

I would like the industry to realize that there's another way of looking at life. My background is quite unique. A lot of the people that do what I do are not where I’m from or look like me. So it’s really good to see that there are now even more hairstylists from similar backgrounds, who are moving things around in fashion. It feels great.

And what’s next for you?

I want to do a film, a book, and a small product line. I would also like to open up a studio salon in New York City, at some point.

Is there an impact that you would like to have on the industry?

Man Repeller, or me?

You.

I guess it goes hand-in-hand, but I personally want to contribute to what I cling on to as part of Man Repeller's greater mission, which is to make people, or more specifically people who identify as women, feel like they’re less alone, like they’re not the only ones thinking about X, like they’re a part of something. I really believe in that.

And where are you headed?

I want to keep raising awareness for anything that I can. As far as immediate goals, I want to carry on doing me, keep taking it one step further each time, meeting the right people, receiving the right information, educating myself more. It’s essential we know that we are who's in control of our knowledge, as well as our whole life.

What does the future hold for you?

I don't have an, "in five years I'm going to be doing this," as I don't really like to look ahead like that, but I've been writing down things that I want for next year. I want to definitely expand more into film, it's where I started and I want to go back. I think 2018 will be a lot of film projects for me, hopefully in collaboration with musicians and other influential artists.

I want to keep utilizing the fashion commission as a way to do what I do, and wherever that fits in is where I'll be working. I want to keep things growing and getting better in incremental ways, the work and the ideas are there, and I just want to find new ways to express it. That's all art is, right? I've figured out what I want to talk about, which is innocence, and truth in the lives of black people, and now it’s just finding different ways that that gets out.

Is there an impact that you would like to have on the industry?

Yeah. It's such a hard thing to describe. I think being a young African-American woman, both my parents were born in Haiti and are of Caribbean descent. There are not that many women of color in the industry so I would love to show other young black girls that it's possible. When I was in high school, I didn't really see anyone in my position that looked like me or had the same hair as me. So, that’s really what gave me the drive to become that person for myself and in return one day become an inspiration to others.

I love that. Are there any specific ideas that you have for how we could see more change?

It's such a big conversation because it touches on the topics of race, equality, and class. Not to mention, girls that grew up in poor neighborhoods and didn’t have the same resources as I did. They don't have that same drive because they see it as impossible. It's an issue of our country as a whole. But I do think investing in workshops with these girls could start the change that we want to see.

And where do you want to go next?

I think there are so many different paths to be taken but right now I'm taking in as much as I can and truly having an incredible time in what I’m currently doing. I’ve seen myself grow so much and I am excited to see what’s next down the road.

I do know my end goal in a sense - I want to be a bomb ass boss chick. I want to do something for the industry, and put my own take on it.

I love that.

I think people put too much stress on where they’re going next. It's funny, because if you take where you are now, and you asked yourself five years ago where you would be, I bet you could never have guessed that all of these things would have equated to where you are now.

I would have laughed. I would have been like, "No, that's not happening. It’s too dreamy."

Where I'm at in my head space emotionally and professionally, I'm so happy, and I just want to continue that. Who knows what's next. I’m excited and have a good feeling about it, but today I'm focussed on enjoying every second of where I’m at now.

Where do you want to go?

From here? I'm not quite sure yet. But I know that everything that I'm learning so far is going to help me with whatever I want to do next. And every time I learn something new, my final goal shifts a little bit, so I'm not putting too much pressure on myself for having a set ultimate goal.

I feel pretty happy with where I'm at right now, and I think that it's only going to get better and as long as I'm challenging myself.

And I’m sure you’ve surprised yourself with what you’re capable of.

Totally. I think you have to be thrown into somewhat of an unfamiliar environment to see how you survive in it. So I realized, "Oh I actually can do this.” When the pressure is on, you can surprise yourself.

Is there an impact that you would like to have on the industry? And do you have an idea of where you’d like to be in the future?

I never think about that; I think that the biggest impact is to achieve my personal goals and to always be truthful to myself without compromising. I already feel super lucky, and I hope to keep doing what I’m doing. I’d also love to work on more collaborations, maybe with a fashion house but who knows..

Do you have any ideas of where you’d like to go?

Right now, all I want to do is Dazed because I'm developing and learning so much. But if at one point I stop learning and developing, and having new experiences then I’ll say, "That's it" and think what’s next. But I've been with Dazed for 3 years now, and every day I learn something new.

Also, I’ve started freelancing more because my job at Dazed brings me to new things. Amazing people will get in touch and they’ll share their ideas and their time and say, "I've got this coming up." So then that'll fuse into other consulting jobs that I do where a brand will ask me, "Who's cool?" So I’ll say, "This person, this person, this person." Which is super rewarding for me because most of the time, they’re going to get paid for whatever they’re doing. It's rewarding for me to connect people. A lot of people say, "Oh I know about this person because you wrote about them." or "You introduced us." I like doing that; I like giving people a platform and helping them. So, consulting's good for me.

I also want to curate some more stuff. But I'm not looking that crazy-far ahead. I just started my journey, 4 years ago - ish. It's silly to look too far ahead. I just want to keep learning, picking up different skills, curate a show, keep doing more things and really going for it.

And where would you like to go?

I'm really interested in the commercial side. I want to do more of that.

Why?

I think brands are getting clever, and engaging artists in really interesting ways. It can be such a simple and fab transaction because you've got this brand, these are their coats, this is what they believe in, this is what they do. If an artist can connect with that, it's such a perfect thing. They get to use these gorgeous clothes that they really relate to, and it feels very in line with their aesthetics and their sensibility.

I don't think one is more interesting than the other but I've done less of the commercial stuff, so I'm intrigued by that. I'm intrigued by the idea of pushing brands into engaging artists in really interesting and different ways. Something really successful we have done for Miu Miu was with the artist Polly Brown and her work for the brand had nothing to do with clothes at all. We got her 100 boxes from Miu Miu; they have those gorgeous pink boxes. We were like, "Go do what you want with these boxes." She took them to the countryside to her friend's house. She stuffed them all into a bath, piled them on to a massive trampoline. Littered the over a field etc. Polly loved it, Miu Miu loved it.

Is there an impact that you would like to have on the fashion industry?

I would like to be able to give projects to photographers that they always wanted to do. That's the impact that I would love to have, that a photographer might talk about something that I’ve commissioned and say, "I loved doing that."

And where do you want to go?

It constantly changes. I think I know what I want and then I don't. But as of this very minute in time, I like writing features, and I want to go deeper into that. I want to do less of the little things, and more of the bigger things. Being able to spend time on things that you're excited about, is the greatest gift. I think when you're in your 20's it’s about creating a balance of big and little things. I'm okay with that for right now, but in the future, I would like to just do that one big thing.

Is there an impact that you’d like to make?

I don't really want to have an impact. I just want to do my job. I want to keep loving what I'm doing. I want to be a good boss. It’s not that I especially want people to remember me, but I would like my assistants to remember me, like, "Well, that was cool working with that girl, and she taught me so many things, and now I know how to do this, and I know how to do that." I mean, wanting to have an impact on the fashion industry is pretty selfish.

How so?

I mean, I was never that kind of girl who wanted to be famous. I just wanted to do what I loved, follow my passion. I think I'm an example of how you can be a very shy person, absolutely not self-confident and deal with it and achieve what you set out to do.

But yeah having an impact... I don't want to be that girl who's like, "I want to be famous for this, I want to be famous for that." No. I just want to be remembered as the girl who was especially good at her job, and who helped out a lot.

And where do you want to go?

In the near future, I would like to be writing full time. That's my goal, and I'm trying to make that happen by writing more blog posts and longer features now. But also it's important not to be married to this idea of what your perfect job looks like or what your ideal career looks like. Saying yes to things that don't exactly fit the description of what you want is really important. For instance, I went into PR not wanting to do PR, but I learned a lot and that's helped build a foundation for everything that I did in fashion after.

Where do you want the Sadie Williams brand to go?

I want to continue being able to make original work while working innovatively with textiles. I want my brand to reach and be enjoyed by more people, and to do this through gaining more stockists globally, working on more collaborations and finding the time to create the things I love working on visually, such as animations, lookbooks, and set designs.

I want to learn more skills by partnering up with companies that specialize in certain fabrics or techniques such as denim and knitwear and to keep this ball rolling.

Is there an impact that you’d like to make?

I can make people beautiful on outside, but I’d also like to help them feel beautiful on the inside.

And where do you want to go?

Yeah, you know what? I really, really love my job. My mom once said to me when I was having a downer moment, “Ash, but what else will you do if you walked away from this?” and I said, “There's nothing else I would want to do,” I don’t want to do anything else. I think maybe that’s what gives me the drive to just keep pushing forward; it’s that there's actually no backup plan. This is it.

What would make me really happy is to just continue what I’m doing now. Being able to survive off it both creatively and personally and feel fulfilled by that work. I really respect the people that can do that; I think that’s incredible. If I managed to do that with my work while on the way then fuck, that’s awesome! I want to keep doing what I’m doing and move forward and be able to buy a glass of wine at the end of the day, cause you sure as shit will sometimes need it.

Then is there any specific impact that you would like to have on this industry going forward?

No. I just want to do my job and be good at it and have fun and work really hard. I never really think about my impact. I don't even have a five-year plan. I just go with the flow. You know, work my ass off and try to do the best job that I can and be a nice colleague. I'm not really a planner in that way, so I don't really know.

That’s so refreshing to hear; I love that.

Yeah, but some people are, and I'm always really jealous because then they're like, "Yeah, I'm going to do this in September, and then in December I'm going to do this," and I'm just like "I'm just working." I always get to nice places, and I've had a lot of beautiful opportunities along the way.

I’m such a planner I drive myself crazy! I’m jealous.

Don't get me wrong. I am a control freak. I've always been a huge nerd and did my homework on time, so just everything I can control myself, I'll control. Like working hard, that's something I can only do myself. Staying on top of my game and stuff like that, but all the other factors around it like where you're going to be, where you're going to go, which job you're going to get, that's something that just has to happen, and you can't really plan it.

How do you keep growing/moving forward?

My Visa for the UK expires soon. So I'm actually moving to Berlin in October. Which is a good thing because right now I’m on the path to being a stylist, and this move to Berlin will force me to branch out and focus more on what I really want to do, which is art direction.

My best friend Vincent, whom I met at Mario Testino, is from there and he lives there now. We're hoping to start an art direction partnership together. In the beginning, I might do more assisting until I land on my feet but on the side, we're going to try and make it happen as art directors. That's how I'm moving and growing by basically being kicked out of one country to go to another!

So what do you want to do with art direction?

So I met Vincent when I was at Mario Testino. We would spend so much time together, and we got along really well. We realized that we both wanted to be art directors and work on campaigns, work on editorials for magazines and stuff.

Also, we both have a similar aesthetic, and we're inspired by the same things. We're both really into, outside of fashion, architecture, and the arts. Hopefully one day we’ll have our own studio in Berlin.

Is art direction something you would like to be doing long-term?

Yeah. That's my ultimate goal.

I want to figure out a way to create things that are totally new and unexpected, which is a huge challenge because so much has already been done before. I want to somehow create the feeling that I get from looking at great 90s fashion photography and campaigns, but without copying it. Bringing it into the future somehow, I'm not sure how yet, though. We'll figure it out though.

For your career, is there a way in which you’d like it to evolve?

I have lots of projects I want to do. It’s just about finding the time and money to do them. I’d like to start making clothes again. I think I could brand a product well now through all sorts of media, something I’ve learned from styling. I’d like to do some more film stuff; I like doing bits of costume. It’s so unpredictable; it’s all about challenging yourself and going back to what you enjoy.