An Icon Inspired by his Grandmother

Casey Icon’s interest in fashion and clothing started with his grandmother. “It started for me unknowingly as I was growing up.” Casey was raised in Alabama by his grandmother. “There’s a very heavy religious energy that weighs on everyone. So I was raised in and under the church,” he eloquently explained. However, despite the difficulties of growing up in a not so tolerant community, he was able to explore and express himself because of his grandmother. He describes his grandmother as someone who never wore the same thing twice. Seeing how his grandmother carried herself, Casey took an interest in fashion and clothing. “She’s the reason that I took this avenue of creativity when it comes to wardrobe and styling.”

He picked up the tools and skills of styling while in high school. The area he grew up in was a little rough. Crime rates were rising and people were stealing other’s shoes and clothing. In response, the school had a strict mandate on uniforms. Casey said,“All the city school children had to wear uniforms… So I had to use my creativity differently.”

When he moved forward to Clark Atlanta University to study fashion design, Casey said he “started meeting different energies and different creative minds.” However, his big break didn’t come until he moved to New York to intern and work with different editors. He landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman, which he describes to be “one of the most prestigious retail spaces.” But that opportunity allowed him to connect and network with so many people who had platforms. He eventually found himself in LA working with Motown Records as a creative director.

“Persevering and trusting the process is what’s most important.” Casey took every opportunity that came his way, even if the job was underpaid. He took these opportunities as a chance to not only build skills but also to network. He said, “I overlooked the financial compensation because I know the connections and people that I was able to meet and work with in that space were all worth way more.” 

The moment he realized that his hard work came into fruition is when he got to style Tony Braxton for a red carpet event. “Tony was someone who I grew up admiring. Never in a million years did I think that I would be in the same room, let alone see her in a navy blue dress that existed in my mind,” he said.

“It’s important when going into this that you know you’re going to encounter different energies, different upbringings, different backgrounds, and different points of view.” Casey explains that being a stylist is so much more than putting together a wardrobe. In order to be successful within this fashion and artist development, you have to learn how to deal with people. He spends a lot of time working with people and explaining why certain looks will or won’t work. “I take a tablespoon of my creativity and thoughts, then I take a tablespoon of theirs and we figure it out.” And even when he’s not working out creative differences between himself and talent, he still has to work with people who are already under a lot of stress and pressure. “Getting people dressed is not an easy thing.”

Since he constantly is working with different energies and egos, I asked if he ever had a moment where he felt like quitting. Icon laughed, “I had one last week.” He explained that those moments never end but he always tries to remember why he loves doing his job.

One of my last questions for Casey was if there were any words he lived by. He brought up his grandmother once again, which goes to show how much of a powerful influence she played in his life. “‘No loss but restoration.’ My grandma told me that the day I left for college. And I’ve been tweeting it every single day since.”