Asia Irving has been passionate about the world of fashion for as long as she can remember. This was a space that fueled her creative drive. It was an industry that fulfilled her love for visual storytelling. The journey wasn’t always this clear though. Asia started her career in the business world. After majoring in Accounting and earning a business degree from Temple University, she embarked on a series of internships that would lead her to confirm her true desire to pursue a career in fashion. Shortly after, she did just that. Asia earned a degree in Fashion Merchandising at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, where she strengthened her knowledge in fashion and fostered her network in this arena. She hasn’t looked back since! From designing her own sneaker with Nike, the Kyrie 6 'Asia Irving', to becoming a full-time fashion stylist and creative, Asia has continued to raise the bar and fearlessly pursue her dreams in the industry. The best part of it all is...she is just getting started!
You mentioned that you majored in Accounting in college. How was that transition of going from the business world to fashion?
It was a huge transition. I knew in school—I graduated from Temple University—that I did not want to do accounting after diving deeper into the program. I just realized it wasn’t for me. I actually interned at Nike and decided, “Okay, let me try this area in a different setting to see how it would feel.” I loved working at Nike, but I still realized that I hated accounting. I knew that that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go. So while I was there, I made sure that I visited every department that I could and talked to as many interns in different departments (as possible)—just to see what their day-to-day was like, what were some of the things that they liked, and some of the things they didn't like about their professions. I just used that time to really find out, “Okay, what is it that I can do to use my business background and still head into the fashion (world)?”
As you entered the fashion world, what were some of the challenges that you faced early on? How did you overcome them?
Contacts and being more comfortable with it. In order for me to be more comfortable with it, I obviously had to study my craft a little bit more and just have more confidence in my natural abilities. I have always loved fashion—it was always my way to express myself—, but styling someone is completely different from dressing myself. So I had to figure out how to navigate through that and make the connections that I needed to, which was really hard. You know, I am a Black woman coming into some of these high-fashion places where they don’t know me, they don’t know my name, and I have little to no experience. It was kind of hard navigating through that part, but I would meet with different people (along the way). When I would see different people that I would connect with, they were more than happy to help me as well. Honestly, just getting out there, talking (to people), and networking as much as I could really helped me out.
You recently designed and launched your own sneaker, the Kyrie 6 'Asia Irving' basketball shoe, with Nike. Could you share with us what that process was like?