IAM817- Fashionista Creates Fashion Designs That Express The Peoples’ Voices

Nikki started her fashion career shortly after graduating from the general fine arts undergrad program. She debuted her senior collection in DC Fashion Week then went on to New York, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks in 2017. She began her residency with the DC Fashion Foundation in the same year in which she had a studio inside the Macy’s at the metro center. There she was able to cultivate and grow her fashion company. She then went on to later participate in Feeric Fashion Week in Sibiu, Romania, and London Fashion Week. She now has dedicated her business solely to creating masks during the pandemic. She plans on re-launching her brand in Feb 2021 to include women’s clothing, accessories, and masks.

• CEO Hack: The calendar app and I also use Instagram as a business card
• CEO Nugget: Don't be so friendly, be careful
• CEO Defined: Being flexible, patient, and a great leader

Website: http://Nikkihendricks.shop

Instagram: @hendricksdesigns

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE

Full Interview:

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, but we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here.

00:02 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:30 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Nikki Hendrix of Nikki Hendrix Shop. Nikki, it's awesome to have you on the show.

00:39 – Nikki Hendricks

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here or be on the show.

00:44 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. Excited to have you on the show and be here as well too. And before we hopped in, I wanted to read a little bit more about Nikki so you can hear about all these awesome things that she's doing. Nikki started her fashion career shortly after graduating from the General Fine Arts undergrad program. She debuted her senior collection in DC Fashion Week and went on to New York, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks in 2017. She began her residency with the DC Fashion Foundation in the same year in which she had a studio inside the

01:12 – Gresham Harkless

Macy's at Metro Center. There she was able to cultivate and grow her fashion company. She then went on to later participate in Ferric Fashion Week in CBU, Romania, and London Fashion Week. She now has dedicated her business solely to creating masks during the pandemic. She plans on relaunching her brand in February 2021 to include women's clothing, accessories, and masks. Nikki, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

01:38 – Nikki Hendricks

Yes, let's get it.

01:40 – Gresham Harkless

Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I want to hear a little bit more about how you guys started. Can you take us through what I call your CEO story and we'll let you get started with your business?

01:49 – Nikki Hendricks

Yes, so back in I believe 2015 I actually created my first collection La Marlene de la Choum. I was in college my junior year I believe in my house actually my house at home caught on fire. So I just was doing a lot to try and scramble together that first collection, but it really went far I got a lot of attention the school really promoted me. Well Micah I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. They helped promote that collection. And I got in DC Fashion Week first. So my senior year, I created the collection half and half. It was just supposed to explore, I want to say, different identities within America. So that includes different races, genders, sexes, religions, things like that.

I interviewed 20 different models with 20 completely different backgrounds who all went to my school. Oh, sorry. That all went to my school. And I told, I asked them what image best represented them. So I took that image and I put it into the design for the fabric that I made for that collection. So every piece would have a part of the model in it. So it gave a whole new meaning to just something to wear. It's something you keep and something that's going to transcend different generations and things like that, like can be passed down because it has a story attached to it. So that was just kind of like my start. And surprisingly senior year, things just blew up. Like It was just crazy. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next and that, sorry, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next.

And I got an email from OFS Oxford Fashion Studio. They're based in London and then they were like can you do New York Fashion Week? Can you do Paris Fashion Week? So I was like of course, I would love to. I got started with those fashion weeks I did in New York. And then while I was in New York, I got discovered again to do Milan fashion week. So I bought a plane ticket and was off to Milan before Paris Fashion Week. So I did New York, Milan, then Paris, then came home. So that was like a huge whirlwind for like my first year and I didn't really know how to cultivate it into a business because it started as me being a creative. So then I started trying to backpedal and all right let me get this kind of more business geared and focused.

So I met Christine Brooks Cropper. She founded the DC Chamber of fashion under I believe Mayor Anthony Williams. So she's a great person, a great person to be connected with. She's my mentor, lover. Shout out to Christine. Yeah so I was there, I had my studio in the Macy's and I was just trying to take classes and get more business-oriented. Again, I'm a creative. I went to an art school. I don't have a business background, but I learned so much in the 2 years that I was in that residency. And while I was in that residency, I got into British Vogue. I got featured in British Vogue. GQ, British or UK GQ. What else was it? Yeah, so it was a couple magazines and publications that I'm really excited I got into that are all just blanking in my mind right now. But it was still like a really crazy kind of catapult. And now it's just trying to figure out how to make this successful and thriving business.

05:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I absolutely love that. I think so many times that people have, you know, their gift, their passion, their calling, you know, so to speak. And a lot of times you never know exactly how it's going to work out, but you take those steps, you just kind of pursue it. And then next thing you know, all these doors, magazines, and different fashion weeks start to open up for you. So it's definitely a kind of a great reminder. And I wanted to hear a little bit more about like how you serve your clients. Can you take us through what your business does? And also like, what kind of goes into, I guess, the process of how you decide what is going to actually come to fruition and become a part of your lines?

06:31 – Nikki Hendricks

Okay. Well, so at first, I started off doing more of tailoring and 1 on 1 kind of designs. But as I, you know, learn more about the fashion industry and how a lot of fashion designers operated, I started making samples for collections and then just selling my collections. And I would do certain projects with people on the side, you know, I'm still creative, I still wanted to create and not just be a business brand, but also something interactive and still fun. So like having events and fashion shows and pop-ups. So I am really in tune with people talking to people constantly and getting my inspiration from people. That was more, I want to say more of the way I operate my brand. As far as creating collection now, the process that I go through is creating sketches. So I just keep sketching, keep feeling inspired.

I probably keep about 50 sketches between like 4 or 5 sketchbooks. And I have an app on my phone, a Tom Plitt, Pret 8, look, I'm not a French person, but It's a really great app for any fashion designers out there. It's really great for on-the-go. I have it on my iPad. I just get up and do whatever. So I compile about 50. Then I have a consultant that I go through and we pick some of the strongest ones. After that, it goes to the manufacturer to get the samples made and then once I have my samples made in the sizes then you have the runway show that's when you show it off you know fashion week or doing publications or commercials. I got just shot a commercial in New York recently for a mini collection that I'm launching later on in 2021. But yeah, so It's just kind of like that whole thing. And then after you've promoted it, you can really sell it and work on the next collection. So it's a cycle.

08:38 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, no, I absolutely love that. I loved how you came up with the idea and I love the kind of interactivity that you kind of referenced as well too, where you had the different models and you really drill down and hear their stories, and those stories kind of sound like laid the foundation for that specific collection. So I love that entire process and I think that so many times when you see you know fashion we sometimes don't see and feel all those stories So I really love that you expand upon that and that kind of taps into your creativity.

09:06 – Nikki Hendricks

Yeah, thank you. No, I really, you know, fashion is for people like it's for people to express themselves and feel included. And, you know, being a black woman, I'm already not at a lot of tables, you know so I just try to make like, you know try to Make people feel like they're in the clothes like they're part of the clothes and that makes it easier to sell You know like because people it's for them You're gonna buy something that has your name on it or, you know, like versus something that's just a regular little t-shirt. You'll keep the 1 that has your name on it because it's sentimental to you.

09:42 – Gresham Harkless

So yeah, absolutely. That's why I love that story piece. I feel like we all can kind of connect to each other through stories. And as you said, when you feel like you're a part of the piece because you can resonate with somebody's story, then all of a sudden you feel like it is like having your name, you know, on it, because you have that type of connection and association with it.

09:59 – Nikki Hendricks

Right, So that's just how I remember it pretty much.

10:03 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that. And so let me ask you this. I want I was going to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is the thing that kind of sets you or your brand apart and makes you unique. Do you feel it's that ability to be able to, I don't know if the right word is synthesized or hear somebody's story here, what they're looking for, just what they're earning, be able to kind of manifest that into 2 pieces of your collection.

10:25 – Nikki Hendricks

Yeah, I mean, what sets me apart from a lot of fashion brands is that I try to include the voices of the people that would actually be wearing the clothes, you know, as opposed to, yeah, you could make something look cute and beautiful all day, but you know, if it can carry a story, then it has a lot more power with it. So, and that can make a statement, you know, in that collection, I called it half and half, it was a blend. The next question I did was half and half. I really wanted to make it important that I sat down and interviewed, I have tapes and everything about talking to the models. I asked them about what their family life was like on a Sunday and realizing that we all are just pretty similar. We all do kind of the same thing.

We have a collective American culture. And, you know, just it was the time that Trump was elected. And I believe that things were really just divisive and it just felt like you were the other a lot. So just trying to get people that commune together and to see that their differences don't mean anything. And it was hilarious at the fashion show seeing all the models that were also different, different places, and didn't even talk to each other across majors and everything. Everyone was friends, like, brought everyone together in a weird way. So, you know, just being able to do that, I feel like I set myself apart.

And then my last collection, half and Half, really quickly, was inspired by my brother who moved to Japan and he married a Japanese woman he had this fun his name is Jin. So it would have and then the way that they're raising him is to have a double consciousness. You know, that's from W.E.B. Du Bois talking about, right? So being African-American and American. So we're trying to embrace the culture of Japanese and African-American, what that looks like. So that was the collection of those 2 urban styles mixed together. So again, like I just try to, you know, put the stories of people that felt like they didn't really belong here. They didn't really belong here, but you know, just still kind of the fun and the chaos, I guess.

12:34 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I appreciate that. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book or habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

12:46 – Nikki Hendricks

Definitely a calendar app. Prett Tom Plitt, the 1 I plugged earlier. Instagram honestly is a business card. It's a great business card. I now see that people can have these things where you can tap phones and you get all the info you get there. I'll contact them on Instagram and you can see everybody's portfolio, what they've done, what they've been working on, who they've been working with, who they've been following. So you can get a lot of information from that. It's a great, great networking tool for the fashion industry.

13:17 – Gresham Harkless

I wanted to ask you that for what I call a CEO nugget. And this could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something if you hopped into a time machine, you would tell your younger business self.

13:27 – Nikki Hendricks

Don't be so friendly. I was definitely the first to smile and you know work with anybody but I have been burned a lot. I've been burned a lot just because of how nice I am and how willing I am to work with.

13:45 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Nikki, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:56 – Nikki Hendricks

A CEO means being flexible, patient, and a great leader in saying that you have compassion and that you're not a tyrant.

14:08 – Gresham Harkless

I love that definition and perspective and I appreciate your time even more so what I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

14:25 – Nikki Hendricks

Okay, so I just want to plug that I'm making masks. Again, my masks are Black Lives Matter and Black LGBTQ+ Lives Matter. They're on my website. 5 dollars from each mask I donate to the Love Land Foundation and the Capital Bank. The Capital, I'm not mixing my words right now. So I mean, I can send you those links. But yeah, the proceeds go to those organizations that help better black people, whether they are servicing their well-being, their mental health, or you know, just trying to get through day-to-day things. So I have those masks that I'm making, so feel free to buy them and help out with a cause and also support a black business. And just stay tuned for my next collection. Once you follow Hendrix Designs on Instagram, you'll be able to stay tuned and upbeat on everything going on that's Hendrix Designs. So yeah, that's about it. Follow me on the gram.

15:35 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. I definitely appreciate you Nikki, we will have the gram your Instagram handle, and we'll have the links to your website and those organizations, Those organizations are also on your website.

15:47 – Nikki Hendricks

Yeah, so once you click on the mask, it'll tell you everything.

15:50 – Gresham Harkless

Okay, perfect. So we'll have links to that. Yeah, no worries. We'll have links to that information in the show notes as well too so that you can go to support. And I think that I appreciate you obviously for again, giving the opportunity to kind of tell not just your story, but so many stories of people that you've talked to as well. And I think a lot of times we forget that we can use our dollars in order to empower others to empower those stories to make sure that that narrative is being had. So I definitely appreciate it. Thank you for taking a stand and providing us all the opportunity to do that as well. And I hope you have a great rest of the day.

16:22 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]