We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alahji Robinson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alahji below.

Alahji , appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I’m a firm believer of divine timing. Although having experience as a print model since I was a child, I started in the modeling and fashion industry full time in my mid to late 20s. I started runway at the age of 28. I was working part time in a hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant with no knowledge of runway etiquette. This was almost 3 years after I lost my father, whom I nursed before his passing. I have mixed feelings about if I had started sooner. One side believes that I would’ve been more polished and extremely successful by now, the other side believes that I wouldn’t have the life experience that I have which helps me navigate in the industry. I think I started this career right on time, I don’t question the GOD or the universe. I believe everything is already written.

Alahji , 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?

My name is Alahji Robinson, I am known in the industry as Alahji DáQuan. I hail from New York City. I am an Award Winning fashion model, entrepreneur and recording artist and philanthropist. I am President of Lehigh Valley Fashion Week as well as Founder and CEO of NEPA Fashion Week. I debuted in the modeling industry in 1998 as a child print model until about 2002. My parents put me on hiatus so I can be a child. I began professionally as a runway model in 2021. I got into the industry when I was approached to participate in a local fashion show. And the rest is history. I am owner of NEPA Fashion Week which is a branch off of New York Fashion Week. A bi-annual event that showcases fashions from local Pennsylvania designers as well as designers from my hometown of NYC, as well as Los Angeles and the DMV area. At NEPA Fashion Week we provide a safe space for models to showcase their talents on the runway. We accept models of all shapes and sizes, models from different backgrounds and walks of life. My mission is to boost their confidence and help them gain modeling experience. We help models that struggle their walks, poses, turns and runway etiquette. By the way, NEPA Fashion Week is coming April 2025. Make sure everyone look out for that. I also write and record music, I grew up in church singing and I just recently branched off into rapping. I’m currently working on my debut album with some incredible artists. My first single will be out in October. I’m so excited about that.

What sets NEPA/Lehigh Valley Fashion apart from other Fashion Weeks is that we strive to break societal norms. Although we encourage models to look their very best, we aren’t too strict or shallow on appearance. I myself am considered a plus model. I am not big but I am also not small. During castings, I am usually too big for certain designers or too small to participate in certain plus events. I’ve been fortunate to get casted by many recruiters nationally. However, I’m not the standard model that is often picked out of the bunch so I could relate to each and every client we cast. We accept tall, petite, standard and plus-sized models.

What makes me proud about this movement is that we are breaking barriers in the industry one model at a time.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and a creative I would say is seeing your hard work, pay off in the end. Last year, I won an InnaStar Trailblazer Award for “Breakthrough Artist.” I am also a nominee again this year as I am nominated for “Best Male Model.” I’m hoping to make history as the first plus model to win the modeling award. It was a surreal moment to win as being recognized in itself is a blessing. It’s also rewarding to see models that I’ve worked with branch off and do extraordinary things. That is what makes it all worth it. To hear them say that they got bookings with major modeling companies or commercials makes me feel like I did a job well done by grooming them and encouraging them to be the best models that they could possibly be. But, Personally, my biggest reward is when I went to NYFW and a designer didn’t create clothing for plus sized models that was until he met me and I graced the runway in his outfits although I wear a Large this top designer now makes clothing from XS to 4XL. This to me was groundbreaking because now models of size has the opportunity to grace the runway without being shunned.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Having a social media audience is hit or miss. It’s an up and down rollercoaster ride. I’ve had over 10k followers across various platforms. I built my audience off of being present and showing consistency. You must stay on top of your game, post, share, like and comment. Engage with other creatives. Respond to fans, friends and peers. Post attractive and trendy content and use the right hashtags.

My advice to those just starting out is to please work with other creatives there is power in collaborations. When you collaborate with other creatives it introduces your brand to a whole new audience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: AlahjiDaquan

Image Credits

Alahji DaQuan

Cyrie Agency

The Model Experience

InnaStar

Model Icon New York Fashion Week