Life & Work with Koya Nyangi of Broomfield

Today we’d like to introduce you to Koya Nyangi.

Hi Koya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Kenyan native born and raised. My involvement in the fashion industry started in Kenya, further transitioning from the different places in the world I have lived. I have always been fascinated by how people compose an outfit, embracing the different pieces, and owning their individuality. I never thought I would end up in the fashion industry. I noticed my love of fashion when I was young, but I didn’t think too much of it. I grew up experimenting with styles. I was lucky because growing up as a little girl in Kenya, we didn’t have big store names to shop and there were no magazine publications that acted as your point of reference when it came to what people were wearing. We wore what we wanted, nobody dictated, and nobody told you this is “so last season.” There was freedom to dress up, to indulge your creativity and sense of style. I grew up thrifting in Nairobi — something I absolutely love — and I could spot a gem a million miles away in the large open-air markets. I just knew that everyone had an eye for style, putting looks together like a work of art but turns out I had a knack for it. All I really wanted was to be a journalist.

To tell stories in war torn countries, hence enrolling in university to study journalism. Not until my third year in university that I fully embraced my God given ability in fashion, specifically fashion styling. At that point I still didn’t know what to do, as I hadn’t known any fashion stylists, so I figured I could DIY my way into a career of fashion styling and was lucky enough to find clients. Still thinking this could never be a full-time career, I opted to travel. As I traveled through London, living in India and Dubai, I could not shake off the feeling that I wanted to turn fashion into a real job! When I moved to Denver in 2018, I decided to start my blog ‘Let Me Show You Different’. I was new in the city and wanted to explore, so I created my fashion project “100 Days of Denver Fashion”. This was such a momentous project for me as I documented fashion from 100 different boutiques that are in and around Denver. It is through this project that I was able to learn about the city and understand the Denver fashion scene. It ignited my fashion journey, working as an editorial stylist on fashion campaigns with magazines and fashion brands and giving me the opportunity to speak on fashion panels. My writing and editorial styling work has been featured in multiple fashion publications, such as Denver Style, 303 Magazine, Cherry Creek Fashion, and International publications Culturs and Sheen magazines.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Everyone faces them, but ultimately, how you react is what makes you grow and succeed. I have had to evolve in each stage of my journey, each requiring a different level of challenge. I started with a blog on my own and started forging relationships through my styling opportunities. I had to put myself out there so many times, which was probably one of my hardest things. I silenced my self-doubt and learned how to ‘just go for it’. As a creative personality, I have fought for my voice and ideas, but I have embraced every challenge and every obstacle with open arms.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work as a Stylist, Fashion PR and International Sales Representative for African brands and designers. As an advocate of African fashion, I put a spotlight on brands from Africa. My mission is to bring African brands to a global consumer as I work as an intermediary between African brands and US retailers to facilitate positive and rewarding wholesale business relationships. As a Kenyan native, my unique perspective allows me to frame the conversation around African fashion through a uniquely global lens, showing the world that African designs are fresh, trendy, colorful and should be measured within the same standards of other international designers.

As a continent of 54 countries each with a unique point of view, different culture, heritage, craftsmanship, and textile, I feel the need to showcase what African fashion brings to the world. I want to educate on the many looks and styles the continent has to offer, showing that diversity can be better represented in the global fashion industry. I also want us as consumers to diversify our closets, recognize and champion the many black designers that we may not be aware of, by buying and supporting their work. In doing so it allows us to know that we can have access to multiple references of fashion. We have to go outside ourselves to make diversity in fashion possible.

Contact Info:

• Email: koya@letmeshowyoudifferent.com
• Website: www.letmeshowyoudifferent.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letmeshowyoudifferent/
• Facebook: @letmeshowyoudifferent

Image Credits
Esther lee leach, Amanda Piela, Bill Mattis Meghan Morin