MEET IJEOMA ANOZIE

the conceptual designer who dabble in styling, music, and being extra since she came out the womb.

This Houston native relocated to the Big Apple for school in order to express herself with her brand, NappyGrl, and a career in styling.

Upon her arrival in New York City, Ijeoma Anozie says she threw out her entire wardrobe for a fresh start. ​ "I don't see myself anywhere except for New York," Anozie explains. "I made a good decision coming here. I don't regret it at all."

Anozie never imagined she would live in New York or even attend college, especially when comparing herself to her siblings who earned straight A's throughout high school.

"I didn’t really get accepted to colleges like at all ‘cause I wasn’t good in school. My brother actually goes [to St. John’s University]. I applied and I immediately got accepted, which is crazy. I was like, ‘What the fuck? College?’ It’s just cool how everything played out.”

​According to Anozie, she's changed her major numerous times before she settled on legal studies. Ijeoma Anozie's Nigerian heritage is why she was apprehensive about pursuing a degree in the arts.

​"People would tell me, 'You can dress. You should be a stylist.' And I was like, 'Who's gonna be a stylist? I'm Nigerian. I can't do that. I will get disowned.' I'm already crazy enough. My parents put up with me, " Anozie explained.

Anozie says her mother is a doctor and her father is a lawyer and politician. According to Anozie, her mother already knew Ijeoma was more interested in art and design than the medical or corporate sectors like her siblings. Anozie's mother just wanted Ijeoma to admit it.

"I've always been a problem kid. I didn't make good grades. It's weird when I think about it now but I've always been into clothes. I didn't know how serious I took it." ​

Anozie states that despite her indecisiveness, both her parents are very supportive. Her mother helps her with pricing NappyGrl pieces and both her parents assisted in paying for her copyright and trademark. ​ Not everyone in Ijeoma's extended family is as supportive as her parents. According to Anozie, family functions get pretty awkward since she is the wild child, outcast of the bunch. But that negativity only makes Anozie want to work harder.

"If my own parents can accept my crazy creative," Ijeoma laughs, "then no one’s gonna tell me shit."

Ijeoma Anozie's brand "NappyGrl" is fairly new but you have probably seen one of her designs on some of your favorite Instagram personalities and music artists.

"The good part is getting to talk to all these Instagram girls and a lot of them have hearts. They’re more than a pretty face. They are actually really cool and they’ll like support me," Ijeoma says. ​ Anozie began sketching and designing pieces since she was in high school in high school. It was then that she purchased her first sewing machine and she even remembers the very first piece she sketched.

"I made these watermelon, high-waisted pants," Anozie describes. "The top was like green with black spots for the seeds. The bottom was like pink and distressed at the end. They were cool." ​ Ijeoma rarely sketches now and describes herself as a "conceptual designer." She gains inspiration from her dreams, old movies, music videos and, of course, her naysayers.

One of her more popular designs, her custom denim bra, was actually inspired by Cam'ron's 2002 music video, "Hey Ma".

“My inspiration or the way I do shit is not from people hurting me. It’s because situations in life hurt. That’s why I do what the fuck I do. I’ll go through something and, I mean, I could cry everyday but no. I’m gonna create something that’s fucking wild and I’m gonna post that shit so people can feel me. I’m still going through crazy shit but my expression, my revenge, is gonna be artistic.”

Anozie recalls this experience and says, "This girl, she had like two-piece denim on like a denim thong! And I was like, 'What the fuck? That's lit!' I took a picture and, at the time, I was going to have manufacturers make it but I didn't have the money."

Anozie literally took matters into her own hands. According to Anozie, she sat down for three days constructing a denim bra out of an old pair of Levi's jeans. ​ "I didn't know what I was doing at first," Anozie admits. "But eventually it all came together."

Each piece created by Anozie is handmade and one of a kind.

"It gets really hard. I have orders and I won't get them done until months later," ​Anozie explains.​

Despite this, Anozie says her customers do not complain and patiently wait for one of her eclectic pieces to be delivered to their doors.

Most of the inspiration for Anozie's NappyGrl designs come from 80s, 90s and early 2000s fashion trends. Anozie says whatever makes her feel nostalgic, whether it's old punk rock and hip-hop music videos or movies such as "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Clueless", she'll sit down and create her own version of what she sees.

Even now, Ijeoma still wears a uniform skirt from her all-girls Catholic high school for some classic 90s schoolgirl vibes.

Growing up, Anozie knew how it felt to be the weird, black girl who did not really fit in. Her advice to girls like her in grade school is this: "Be yourself. This is the most important thing. I'm the type to just mind my business and just appreciate stuff. Just be yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being that weird, smelly kid that talks too much or beats up boys. That was me.”

Today, Ijeoma is all about empowering women, specifically women of color, in the fashion industry.

"I'm very pro-women," says Anozie, "I feel like in fashion we don't get enough credit. Half the shit we even wear, it came from the hood. Fashion Nova is Rainbows. The ghetto ass stores with the stripper heels and the fake gold hoops? We did that; black women. All those color lipsticks and eyeliners? That’s what sex workers wore. That’s what strippers wear. We created fashion. People don’t give credit where it’s due."

Because of this, Anozie says she gets discouraged seeing top fashion designers in the industry appropriating or discrediting the contributions of the black community. Anozie proudly uses words such as "hoodrat" or "ghetto" when describing her personal style to celebrate what black women have given to the fashion world for years.

Anozie refers to herself as a strong, black woman but, according to her, she aspires to be as affluent and successful as her male counterparts in the future.

“I want to be a rich man. I plan on making more money than my husband not even on some snobby shit. Like I wanna be that bitch! That’s it.”

Ijeoma Anozie focuses mostly on styling but is coming up with new ideas for pieces every day. She hopes to go on tour and style different musicians in the future. ​ All Photos Courtesy of @NappyStylist on Instagram