We recently connected with Kalee Clark K.iconique and have shared our conversation below.
Kalee Clark , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I can honestly say I get my resilience from failure. My Childhood hero is John Cena and his slogan is “Never Give Up”. I’ve been hearing him say that since I’ve been a little kid and even if WWE is scripted the message is still there. You get your resilience by taking the L and getting back up. Not to be a young Rupaul but from experience, failure makes a stronger person. It’s the process of seeing what/why/when and how I can fix it. And let’s be honest everyone loves a great comeback story.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Greetings I am (Ifykyk) but in all seriousness I’m Kalee Clark aka K.Iconique an entrepreneur/model. From the “Big 901” Memphis, Tennessee. A freshman Fashion Merchandising student at Tennessee State University. Owner of Iconique Collections, and I’m proud to say I am now celebrating the 2 year anniversary of my launch and it feels great. Iconique Collections is a unisex clothing brand with a message of “Why Be Basic When You Can Be Iconique”. I like to believe being Iconique is a lifestyle and way of life. Always stay ahead of the pack and show the star that you are. I started Iconique Collections back in 2022 with a vision of becoming a clothing brand but things take time and patience. I started out with things that were popular to sell and things I loved such as Lashes, Sunglasses, Crystal Necklaces, and Evil Eye Accessories. I guess I can say that was the appetizer of what I wanted people to eat up. Then I finally took the time out to make a plan and designs. Things started to come together piece by piece and finally I was able to launch clothing in February of 2023 with my first collection “Become A Star”. I started to do pop up shops around Memphis to get exposure and experience. I would sit and study what customers enjoyed and what they disliked to make sure I know what my target audience is. Now it’s fall 2024 and I’ve now released 5 collections, I make all my clothing products, sell many accessories,Walked LAFW/NYFW for themodelexperience, and have a brand new audience in Nashville. But now there is a new battle that I will face. Will the students of TSU enjoy The Iconique Experience? Will Nashville understand my message? Will the “Twisted” Collection remain the highest selling for Iconique Collections? With many questions there is only one way to find the answer. “Da Kid” is going to have to Werk, Serve, and Slay to find a solution. I’m ready to embark on this Bold Journey of the next chapter of Iconique Collections.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Life – Once I started my clothing brand I started to see a change in how I was perceived and addressed. People started to respect and admire me. Being in the CEO spot you have to be active, open, and inviting but these are things I would say used to be hard for me. Having a brand it pushes me to stand out and actually show my personality and show people that I’m not the stuck up pretty boy and that I’m actually genuine and hard working
Organization – Running a clothing brand is not easy especially as a student. You have to balance everything out just right so you can have time for mental health, friends, school work, business, and whatever else is going on. Having the brand really teaches you what’s important. “Am I going to the party tonight and do my homework and orders tomorrow?” or “Am I going to stay in and make all my orders tonight and get my homework done tomorrow?” The second option is the obvious answer that’ll lead to less stress and make things easier and more organized
Passion- Those around me will most definitely say when it comes to Iconique Collections I’m extra on another level. This is a business world and it’s very competitive and I’m the youngest of 3 boys who’ve all played sports our entire lives. I’ve been competing my whole entire live and to be honest i love it. Because who doesn’t want to be the best at what they do. It may seem cocky or overly confident but it takes work to get here and I’ve put in work. I love what I do and take it very seriously because I could never be basic.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
I would like to say my biggest area of growth in general is just maturity. I tend to be in my own world in my mind to keep me mentally grounded but that doesn’t stop me from dealing with the real world. I know my mother would most definitely say I had an attitude problem key word HAD. Now of course that temper is still there but I’ve worked and worked on self control and can let things go, not rage out, and can remain strong under pressure. I have the angel numbers 999 tattooed on my left side to represent patience. Something I’ve never had but looking at it daily every morning is my reminder to just breathe and go with the flow. No need to stress just remain calm. With my clothing brand @iconiquecollections I make every collection based off of concepts but behind every concept is a positive message. With the “Twisted” Collection I chose a darker theme with spiders but of course when you think of spiders not many great thoughts pop up. But in the spiritual world spiders are a sign of good luck and personal growth. And it goes on and on with all my other collections. Applying all these things have helped me mature in many ways, especially in a business mindset and dealing with life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Iconiquecollections.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: @k.iconique @iconiquecollections
- Twitter: k_iconique
- Youtube: K.Iconique
Image Credits
J.Mone Photography
Luxury Eye Media
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