We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Naima Starr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Naima , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I believe my work ethic comes from being around Black Women who have been driven, and work hard for themselves which has left a large imprint on my level of work ethic and drive. Growing up, I lived primarily with my mother and while she had me relatively young she did not let that stop her from reaching her goals. I remember being with my grandmother (who is also very driven) a lot as a child while my mother worked two jobs and was in school for her masters degree(s). I always wondered why my mom was never a chaperone on school trips, or couldn’t take me to my appointments and why it was always my grandmother, but as I have grown I realized it was not because my mother didn’t care or wasn’t making time for her child, but it was because she had to provide for me. Being a Black Woman in America you have to work two sometimes three times as hard to be where you want in life. I understand that now. As an emerging Black Woman entrepreneur and artist; I understand that I have to work hard for my goals and never let up, because once I do it only takes me away from my path.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As a 18 year old Artist & Entrepreneur I have been able to produce three businesses starting at the age of 16. Starting in the spring of 2021 I began newestlooks as an online fashion inspiration page to share my love for fashion and to share other peoples unique and individual fashion sense through my page. I have no personal aesthetic when it comes to my own fashion sense and I wanted to portray and reflect my love for all genres of fashion through newestlooks. January 2nd of 2022 I officially launched newestlooks as a clothing brand to reflect my own personal taste in fashion and to provide unique fashion items for my customers. With any business there comes room to grow, when I initially began my brand I was reselling items from manufactures overseas, while business was good I knew I wanted more, and I just didn’t know where to start until someone made a comment about how I got my inventory from Shein (untrue of course) but this only gave me the fire I needed to grow and rebrand my business by really making it my own. For my one year anniversary of newestlooks in 2023 I relaunched as a designer; hand crafting and personally designing each piece of clothing myself and connecting each of my collections to social issues in society; “Asymmetric Flow” was dedicated to the symmetry of the world or lack thereof by having parts that fail to correspond challenging the balance of good and bad, love and hate, peace and war. While my latest collection “BODY AUTONOMY” brings awareness to the lack of Body Autonomy and over-sexualization of Black Women’s bodies by paying homage to any and all Black Women who have taken back their autonomy and wear their skin with pride. As I continue to grow as an artist and designer I hope to continue to use my love for fashion as a platform to express myself as an activist and Black Entrepreneur.
In February 2023 I hosted my first brunch under my organization “Black Women Create” I wanted Black Women creators and entrepreneurs my age to have a space where we could come together, Being an entrepreneur can sometimes be lonely, feeling like no one understands your vision or ideas, being stuck on where to start, where to go, and I wanted to help eliminate this feeling by creating a space where Black Women creatives and Entrepreneurs could come together to bounce ideas off of each other, provide feedback, reflect, and grow. Hosting this brunch was a very fun and insightful experience for me, being able to see other like minded Black Women who are in the same phase of life, just trying to figure it all out made me feel a lot more certain about my place in life knowing there are others who are here with me.
In March of 2023 I launched StarrNoirr; An online fashion/entrepreneur magazine and blog to create a platform where I could dive into my Passion 4 Fashion and give my audience a new experience by highlighting Black fashion forward individuals, how fashion has been used as a means of resistance and protest and to bring exposure to the constant influence of Black People through platforms like; TikTok, Instagram, and everyday life. Upon launching I interviewed 5 fashion brands, virtual stylists as well as clothing brands. Wrote two articles; “What does it mean to be successful” and my fashion predictions for 2023. I created this platform for myself so that I could share my random thoughts, fashion obsessions, research, and really my overall experience and ongoing journey as an artist, activist, and entrepreneur.
I am blessed to have the vision and passion for all of my artist endeavors, as I continue to grow as an individual my brand(s) will reflect that. I find great pleasure in having these brands because they reflect who I am and who I am going to be.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three personal qualities I have, that have been most impactful on my journey so far has been determination, passion, and curiosity. My determination to see myself and my brands grow continues everyday and my passion keeps my determination ignited. Many times people will set out and pursue business endeavors because they have seen how much money it makes the next person, but without passion for that endeavor it may start to feel like a chore. My passion for my brands is what keeps me wanting more, what keeps me curious and what keeps me determined to succeed.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
All About Love by bell hooks. I have read this book cover to cover two times and will begin my third time soon, the way bell hooks is able to connect every aspect of life to not just the feeling of love but the action of love. Having and showing love is an action, we choose to love, and we choose the way we love. Upon reading that book it has created a new outlook on how I love myself, my dreams, and the people around me; without love we would be nothing; as much as society has created a narrative that being cold and “nonchalant” is what will get you far when you have no regard for others. In actuality when you show love and compassion that feeling to whom you’re exuding that energy onto will be unforgettable. You can go more places by showing love than by hate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.newestlookss.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itssnaima/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXOz1NSt716_lHw7EvAz-9Q
Image Credits
Photographers: Shashonna Rogers Cohen Croslin Nia Bryant editor: Naima Starr
