NYFW: Did That Really Happen??
Hey Kaphillians (that's my new name for the KAPHILL fam), how are y'all doing? Over here at KAPHILL, we are doing fine, soaking in everything that's happened in the last few weeks and still with the pedal to the floor! Okay, so first let me just say, GOD is so good! If you asked me this time last year if I thought I would get the opportunity to showcase my collection at NYFW, I probably would have laughed.
This time last year, I was just laid off AGAIN from yet another corporate fashion job, while still working on KAPHILL. I wasn't discouraged, but it definitely was a gut punch. It derailed my plan, and I was left wondering how it would all work out. After a long stint of overthinking, I decided to take yet another big leap. I decided to put all of my resources behind KAPHILL. I made the decision not to go back to the corporate world and work on KAPHILL full-time. Don't get me wrong; I did try to double back a few times and get me a little job, but you see how that turned out, lol.
But let's get back to NYFW. So in June, Theee Lindsay Peoples reached out to me, TO ME! At first, I thought it was spam or a joke, but after calling my sister, I was like, listen, it's GO time. So at this point, I had a collection designed, but I hadn't actually started developing it. The moment I actually processed the email and realized it was all happening, I flew to LA to source fabrics with my Fashion Godmother, Just Raymona. We hit the ground running, 3 days of back-to-back fabric mill appointments until an hour before we got on a return flight back home. And we developed the SS24 collection in 4 weeks!
The Black in Fashion Council showroom was literally amazing! I was very impressed with myself and how confident I was in my product and speaking to my brand. There were no nerves, fear, or doubts, just confidence. I truly feel like I am in alignment with my purpose and I am fully in the flow. Every experience has led me here, working at Macy's, designing for Marie + Annette and Rent the Runway. Ok, so back to the showroom. OMG, I met SOOOOOO many people. I had about 500 postcards, and they are all GONE! Ain't that crazy. I received an overwhelmingly positive response to the collection, and that truly meant the most to me.
I met most of the fashion girls I follow and admire on IG, and they were ALL so nice and down to earth. If you want to talk about taking up space, child, they are in Webster's dictionary. It was extremely encouraging seeing women unapologetically stand in their power and take up space while loving my designs. That was the confirmation I needed. I smiled, I laughed, I key-keyed, I made new friends, and reconnected with old friends. I was featured in Vogue, on Harper’s Bazaar Instagram, featured in a viral post for upnextdesigner, and Essence magazine for the third time!
I am just so grateful for every opportunity. Some that I have worked for and some that have fallen into my lap by the grace of God. Nothing is easy, and there are a lot of sacrifices I make and my family makes for me to live out my childhood dreams. But, like NYFW, Did that really happen???
Xoxo, Krystal A. Phillips