Meet Ini Ikpe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ini Ikpe.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ini. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always loved fashion. I was the guy that would wear a suit to class in college, or give fashion advice to friends. The guy that would tie ties and would tell you where to go for specific fashion trends and or items. After graduating college, a friend of mine told me that fashion was my passion and that I should make it a career. She then bought my book from Ralph Lauren, American History of Men’s Fashion. I read it from cover to cover. After college, I worked in Finance for five years and of course, you have to wear suits and ties on a daily basis. While working in Finance, I attended one of my frat brothers happy hours and met a young lady at the bar that worked for the Philadelphia eagles. Through conversation, she stated that a few players were on they’re way down, and it just so happened to be another frat brother Jordan Matthews, a 2nd round pick from Vanderbilt in the 2014 draft.

Jordan walks in the bar and the young lady introduces us. At the time, I was a huge Madden gamer and say “let’s play a game sometime, and I won’t lose” he says sure. A few days later, we play a game of Madden, Eagles v. Eagles, the game was intense, and at the last play of the game, Jordan throws a Hail Mary pass to himself to win the game. I was sick. Lol after the game he says your pretty good, then says, the day we met your style was on point, I’d like to improve my style, can you help me? I say of course, I can. Let me know when’s a good time and I’ll stop by your place and take a look at what you have in your closet. A few days later, I’m at Jordans condo cleaning out his closet, and another player, Marcus Smith, a 1st round pick from Louisville in the 2014 draft walks in and sees me arranging what Jordan should keep, throw away or donate, and asks “are you a stylist” Immediately I thought to myself I’ve never considered myself a stylist but I say Yes I am. He says cool. Two weeks later I get a random phone call from Marcus and he says, “Hey I have a charity event in Maryland can you help me get dressed?” I say of course I can. And that started my journey to becoming an Athlete Stylist.

Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, because I didn’t come to the traditional background of a stylist. At the time I had never assisted anyone, I didn’t know how to gain access to a showroom, I didn’t know what a pull letter was, I didn’t know anything. But there were stylist that I followed on Social media, so I decided to reach out to them, some responded, so didn’t. I attended NYFW Men’s every year for three years, and that gave me some access to brands and stylist locally. I Built some relationships but knew that I needed more. December 2017, I signed up for two fashion courses, one in Dallas TX, Styling with J. Bolin and another in Los Angeles, CA. School of Style. I completed both classes, and with that foundation decided that LA is where I needed to be. I moved to LA June 30th, 2018, and started assisting a prominent stylist in black Hollywood, then I interned for a major stylist in the Hip Hop world, then interned for another stylist in Hollywood. Those experiences alone gave me tools that allowed me to go out on my own and be successful.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a menswear stylist, I work primarily with professional athletes, and everyday men that are interested in improving there personal style. My proudest moment would have to be when I created an original idea around athletes and fashion, A few months ago I was able to shot the pilot, It won’t be released until the end of the NFL season because we’re in production to shoot a few more episodes, then we will roll it all out week by week.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I see the fashion industry increasing significantly, with emerging designers and stylists all converging to make a name for themselves. I think It will be a lot of hard work to put forth, but a lot of fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: iniikpe.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: inisikpe
• Facebook: inisikpe
• Twitter: inisikpe

Image Credit:
Images by Dakota Michael and Christopher Stephens

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