As a celebrity stylist and fashion editor, Baltimore-native Zoey Washington’s work has graced the pages of Vogue, Elle, Essence and other top fashion magazines. Wednesday, she’ll share some of her DIY craft tricks and trends on Tamron Hall, a syndicated daytime television talk show.
“We talk about how I got involved in DIY fashion; what I didn’t see in the market and how nothing really spoke to teens and tweens on their basic level,” said Washington, 38, who lives in Federal Hill.
Washington, a graduate of Garrison Forest School, Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University, believes that DIY fashion is the wave of the future — particularly with the younger generation.
“There is no faster fashion than reimagining fashion that you already own,” she explained. Her company SEWSQUAD, which launched in 2019, sells various sewing patterns along with DIY fashion and craft projects. “It’s budget friendly and easier.”
For example, her “Fabric Fake Out,” patterns and designs — like cow print and tie dye — that are applied to garments with an iron, are a great way to incorporate the latest fashion trends without having to sew garments, according to Washington.
For Washington, being on the national stage is nothing new — she has dressed the likes of actresses Kerry Washington and Keke Palmer. She says she is grateful for the opportunity to show young Black creatives that there is a future for them in the fashion industry.
“I know that when I was a teen — that’s when I developed my love for fashion — there weren’t many Black faces in fashion. I felt isolated,” she said. “Black people showing off our creativity and Black joy are underrepresented. I think that the Black contribution to universal style is often uncredited. I think it is important for a Black woman to not only own her look and feel confident — particularly in an industry typically associated with older white women or millennial white women — but also to have the freedom to experiment with her individuality.”
Washington’s segment on Tamron Hall is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. on WBAL-TV.