Illustration: Samantha Hahn
For this special Fashion Week edition of “How I Do It,” we asked successful women how to manage their careers and lives during this hectic time of year.
You’ve probably seen the work of Emmy-winning stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers on Lemonade and Black Is King. How does one become a lifelong collaborator with Beyoncé? “She took ten years to become an overnight success,” says Akers.
In 2013, Akers had just graduated from college with a degree in fashion merchandising. One night, she invited a friend over for lasagna and her friend asked to bring a friend. “I remember thinking, I need this food to last me a couple of days,” says Akers, who was on a budget. “Then I heard my aunt’s voice echoing in my head telling me never to be stingy with food.”
That friend of a friend was Kwasi Fordjour, who became the creative director of Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s entertainment and management company. Fordjour offered Akers a job as a closet helper. It took him a year of interviewing to get the job managing Bey’s personal wardrobe and packing her clothes. “That was my real master’s course,” says Akers. “I learned everything I know about performance workflow and functionality, as well as how to design music videos, how to dress a curvy woman, how to listen to what her client wants, how to capture when it feels good. All those valuable things are how, today, I can have very good relationships with my clients.” For the next ten years, he worked closely with Beyoncé.
Akers lives in Los Angeles and was recently in town for New York Fashion Week to support designers like Fe Noel, Sergio Hudson and Jason Rembert, and to attend shows with her artist client Latto. She is also working with Express as a celebrity stylist. “For me, it was always about the pants,” says Akers. “So even when I work with my curvier clients, jeans are the hardest thing, but when you can get that perfect fit, I get excited.” She is also the owner and curator of Black Owned Everything, a store featuring black designers. Here, she shares how she pulls it off during Fashion Week.
On her Fashion Week agenda:
It’s crazy. There’s a Google spreadsheet that’s color coded with who I’m dressing, giving away suites, presentations. Most likely there will be a show in the morning, then I’ll be back to freshen up, maybe change, and then go to the shows in the evening. And it depends, if there’s a party, maybe I’ll go, but I try to limit the time I’m away because then you have to do it all over again the next day. So it can be exhausting. I always say there are industry hours and then there are New York City hours. I usually try to avoid long nights, but maybe I’ll go once or twice if the vibes are right.
On what makes a Fashion Week a success:
The most important thing for me is to establish and build relationships, supporting the people who support you throughout the year. Also being able to work with some of my friends, like Fe Noel and Jason Rembert.
In your morning routine:
I’m usually awake at 7:30 a.m. I try to have a big breakfast and then do my makeup. I like to leave the mornings relatively open for meetings or friends or people I haven’t seen in a long time.
On her packing tips and tricks:
I try everything on before I leave home in Los Angeles. I take photos, selfies in the mirror. I try on everything—sunglasses, bags, shoes—and pack the outfits. Shoes are very important. Sometimes it’s faster to take the train or walk, you know, traffic and all. So I plan my outfit with shoes that are comfortable. I have a certain way of bending. I don’t like to fold clothes on top of each other. I’ll dub as Marie Kondo so you can see it all without digging into it. I almost got here in a suitcase. I bring a couple of cozy looks that are still great in case I want to sneak away. I will also unpack if I am somewhere for more than three days. That way you can separate clean clothes from dirty clothes, and it’s also easier to unpack.
On the parts of her routine she gives up during Fashion Week:
Gardening. I bought some new plants and didn’t get a chance to put them in the ground. When I get back there, I’d love to plant peppers that I want to grow.
When unrolling:
I make a CBD bath bomb. It really relaxes my back. And I watch television. Right now, I’m watching The L Word reboot. It’s funny that they were able to restart that show and they all look the same. It’s nice to turn it off like that, laugh.
Do you ever skip Fashion Week shows you said you’d attend, and if so, what do you do instead?
I sleep. Or sometimes, like this week, I’ll probably have to skip a few that I’ve agreed to attend because Latto will come and help her get dressed or sit with her. Then I also agreed to design Jason Rembert’s Aliette show, so I may have to do some more work.
What is your favorite food at Fashion Week?
If we were in Paris, I’d say steak and fries.
Source: news.google.com