We recently connected with Michel’le Lewis and have shared our conversation below.

Michel’le, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I decided to take a risk and quit my day job about nine years ago to pursue the fashion industry full time! I had just had my son Hunter and was working dead end jobs. I would go into work soooo miserable and unhappy! Not because the job was bad, but because it wasn’t what my heart desired. I knew deep down that I needed to take a leap of faith and follow Gods lead!

I did just that after going back and forth with myself for months! I ended up landing a large amount of clients, started designing and customizing for big named clients, magazine features, and so much more!

I still to this day wouldn’t change a thing about my journey! Especially the downfalls, because it made me sooo much stronger and just that more determined to succeed fully!

Michel’le, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Wardrobe Stylist whom specializes in custom clothing work, and also photography! As soon as I graduated high school, I instantly enrolled into the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago where I majored in Fashion Merchandising. I studied there for a few years and took my knowledge out into the real world. I began working for top named brands such as Levi’s, Steve Madden, Aldo, Nordstroms, and Akira.

From there I decided to take a leap of faith and started doing independent work on my own. I launched “Styles x Mich” and never looked back. My styles and pieces are very one of a kind. They’re fun, artsy, with a hint of sex appeal! I truly think that is what makes me stand out from the other Stylists in Chicago.

The recognition and love I have received over the years have been heart-felt and definitely a big deal for me! From my name being brought up in rooms that I’m not in that has drastically helped my career, having big named clients such as Kyra Epps; Yvette Nicole Brown; Rashida Olayiwola, Marsha Ambrosius, etc. reach out to get work done, working on sets with big named producers, and to top it off: having consistent clients in my city! There’s no better feeling.

Plus I’m a little ball of fun, so it’s always a blast working with me! I ensure all clients are comfortable and able to be them true selves!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am currently taking a break from work to focus on my children. I have a total of three whom ages are 9, 3, and 6 months. It was a tough decision to make for the time being because I absolutely love what I do, but I noticed me trying to take on toooo much and juggle home life was becoming very hard on me.

While on this short break, I am thinking of so many amazing ways to relaunch my brand and can’t wait showcase it to the world.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A major lesson I had to unlearn was that nobody is obligated to support you! I used to find myself so angry that people wouldn’t come to my shows, post my work, or show any type of support in the beginning of my career.

After awhile I realized it doesn’t matter who doesn’t and to focus on the ones who do! Because those are the ones who deserve my attention.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_michlewi

Image Credits
@mastermindfotoo @kanesworld