So, what happens when you have the desire to look like a million bucks, but you just don’t know how to put a look together? What happens when you don’t know YOUR look or the image you want to portray? Perhaps you seek an image consultant, like Sam Desalu, whose job is to make you look good, while creating your image and even better, your brand.
At the start of the year, Sam jumped right into the execution of two of his visions, with one being an image consulting company. Sam kicked off the new year with Forefront Image Consulting, which helps everyday people who would like to change their image for the better in both their professional and personal lives.
Though fairly new to the fashion scene, Sam, who was reared in the south suburbs of Chicago, has worked with the likes of some very familiar names. He has had the pleasure of working with Tyrese, Ginuwine, Day 26, and he even had the opportunity to style Terrance J from BET’s 106 and Park. While working with A-listers may be most wardrobe stylists’ dream, Sam’s focus is a bit different.
“Working with celebrities is cool,” he admits. “But I’d rather help everyday people cultivate and maintain their image as well.”
Most people who want to pursue a career in fashion, move to New York where the fashion scene is more existent, but Sam moved specifically for a change of scenery. While there, he became inspired by the fashion industry, managing to transform a “hobby” into a career. After spending some time in the “fashion capital,” where he worked with a number of celebrities and styled for many photo shoots, Sam brought his talents back to Chicago, with the hope of contributing to a city whose fashion scene is trying to expand.
“Now, I’m trying to take everything I learned in New York and bring it out here in Chicago and try to create a ‘real’ fashion scene,” he adds.
Admitting that Chicago’s fashion scene is lacking in comparison to cities like New York and Los Angeles, Sam thinks the disconnect is in Chicago’s fashion scene's lack of effort to come together to create a successful fashion event.
“New Yorkers take more pride in what they are doing,” he says. “What I’m trying to do is bring that same thing to Chicago and help my city get some notoriety in the fashion game.”
While contributing to Chicago’s fashion scene is one of Sam’s goals, he also finds it challenging to just get notoriety for himself because he’s up-and-coming in an industry where it’s highly competitive.
“Right now, I’m far from where I want to be,” he admits. “I’m still striving to get there, but even if you feel like you’re where you want to be, you’re never where your potential can actually be.”
Outside of fashion, Sam’s other focus is giving back. In addition to Forefront, Sam, who was born in Nigeria, officially started Africa 56, a nonprofit that has fundraisers and donations that give to charities in Africa.
- Website: www.samdesalu.com
- Twitter: @Samdesalu
