My Style: Fashion designer Zayden Skipper

The 32-year-old is working on building a global fashion brand here in Atlanta

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Zayden Skipper
Skipper is wearing his own brand, Zayden, with shoes by Maison Margiela.

Photograph by Ben Rollins

Chicago native Zayden Skipper made his way south to become a fourth-generation graduate of Alcorn State University, an HBCU in Mississippi. He journeyed to SCAD Atlanta to earn his master’s in fashion design. Now on the world stage as a Project Runway contestant, he’s set on building a global fashion brand here in Atlanta.

Neighborhood: Buckhead

Generational genius:
I grew up watching my grandmother, mom, and aunts make clothes for myself and my sister. I have always been deeply inspired by my South Side Chicago upbringing with many strong Black women.

On being a minority, in the South, in fashion: Studying in the South, I gained an education on what it means to be a Black man in America. As a designer, I am often put in a box, as if the only thing I can do is streetwear. I am versatile, however. Fashion, for me, is an escape, a way to be a chameleon and a voice for the ones that aren’t spoken for.

Style statement: A cohesive look must be balanced, make sense, and flow aesthetically.

Hometown A-list: Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tanya Sam, Lori Harvey, Tierra Whack

New Year, new . . . Zayden Skipper brand! I am ready to elevate and run with heavy hitters like Jerry Lorenzo and Virgil Abloh.

Zayden SkipperFashion should feel . . . Embracive

Muses: Rihanna, Beyoncé, Michelle Obama, the Cool Kids

Most surprising revelation during trying times: How resilient I am, and God works in mysterious ways

What does it mean to wear Zayden Skipper? You are confident, empowered, bold, interesting, and unique. You are the star in a room full of darkness.

Dream collab: Christian Dior

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