Meet Malaika | NYC Fashion Stylist

MEET MALAIKA MEARS

Everyone in fashion says that fashion is in their blood. And that may be so. But fashion is not only in Malaika Mears’s blood, but part of her life tradition: like Thanksgiving dinner for some. Raised by a mother who made sure to visit a mall on every family vacation – yes, even when visiting the Grand Canyon - Malaika had no other choice but to embrace fashion as a lifestyle.

Her road to fashion was a twisty one, however. Her mother, a staunch West Indian Latina pragmatist believed that as a career, one must choose something stable. So Malaika, who as a child cut recipes from the children’s section of the Sunday newspaper entered healthcare and secured a profession as a Dietitian.

During her career, Malaika had been frequently asked why she hadn’t pursued fashion as a career. The answer was always vague, but the fashion continued to beat in her heart. Subsequently Malaika enrolled in a Fashion Styling course at the Fashion Institute of Technology where she styled and coordinated her first photo shoot. That didn’t take off, but she continued to yearn for a life in fashion.

Finally an opportunity arose. After learning there were no more tickets for Queens Fashion Week, Malaika sought out the organizer, whom she’d met at the annual Greater Allen A.M.E. Womens’ Conference, to volunteer.

From there Malaika was the project coordinator for Queens Fashion Week for two years straight, co-organized the SYNC Fashion Show for a Sickle Cell Awareness Fundraiser, and assisted designer K. Borgella in an Audi showcase for New York Fashion Week. In addition, she began to take on clients for image styling. Her career really took a turn when she attended an AKA Fashion Show and noticed a designer who’d done things a little differently than the others.

Never shy, Malaika ran up to the designer and asked him how she could get in contact with him to learn. The designer, who took an immediate liking to her, happened to be the owner of a Harlem boutique and a fashion stylist to the stars. Under his mentorship, she has seen the fashion world open up before her.

Malaika relates fashion to the full experience of an artful life. Colors, textures and smells fuel her passion. The colors ignite her imagination and the smell of new clothes is something like aromatherapy. The textures of the fabric create layer and dimension that stimulate the eyes and the skin on which it rests. Fashion, for her is not so much something to wear, but something to experience. She often says that if she hadn’t gone into fashion, she would have died with regrets.

Malaika’s enjoys travel to places near and far – preferably anywhere there is fashion, food, or beautiful beaches; food - fine dining to local fare, so long as it is delicious and meets health code standard; and music from Mobb Deep to Eric Roberson to Sarah Vaughn. She’s like the girl next door – with more