Zerina Akers facts for kids

Zerina Akers is an American fashion stylist and costume designer. She is famous for being Beyoncé's personal stylist. Zerina also designed the amazing costumes for the 2020 musical film Black Is King, which won an Emmy Award. She also started an online store called "Black Owned Everything". Her work with Beyoncé has made her very well-known. You might have seen her celebrated in magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

Early Life

Zerina Akers was born in Landover, Maryland. She first became interested in fashion when she designed clothes. This was for fashion shows at her high school.

Career Journey

Zerina Akers studied for two years at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. She started her career in fashion as an intern. This was at W Magazine in 2006. There, she worked with famous people like Alex White.

She then moved to New York City. Zerina finished her studies at LIM College. While at LIM College, she studied abroad at the University of Westminster. She also interned with Stella McCartney. Zerina even worked freelance for W Magazine and Women's Wear Daily.

After college, she helped other stylists. She worked on TV commercials and fashion photo shoots. In 2011, she started working at Brooks Brothers. There, she helped style and organize photo shoots for their catalogs.

Styling Beyoncé

Zerina realized she could work in entertainment. This happened after she helped on a photo shoot with Beyoncé. In 2014, she began styling Beyoncé's Instagram photos.

In 2016, she styled Beyoncé's "Formation" music video. Beyoncé wore a cool wide-brimmed black hat in it. Zerina continued to work with Beyoncé on many projects. This included the "Apeshit" music video in 2018. She also styled the On The Run II Tour. And she worked on the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 concert.

Besides Beyoncé, Zerina has styled other stars. She has worked with director Ava DuVernay. She also styled actress Yara Shahidi. And she worked with the music group Chloe x Halle.

Black Is King and Beyond

In 2020, Zerina Akers became very famous. This was for her work as costume designer on Black Is King. This film was a musical and visual album by Beyoncé. The costumes in the film were special. They celebrated the culture, traditions, and history of Black people. This included people from Africa and the African community around the world.

Zerina styled Beyoncé in more than 75 costumes for the film. She worked with big global brands. She also worked with new Black designers. For her amazing work, Zerina won an award. She won Best Styling in a Video at the 2020 UK Music Video Awards. She also won Stylist of the Year at the 2020 Essence Best In Black Fashion Awards. Zerina was also named one of "Hollywood's Most Powerful Stylists" in 2021. This was by The Hollywood Reporter. She was also on Insider's "Luminaries" list. This list celebrates women who are doing amazing things.

Black Owned Everything

After the George Floyd protests in 2020, Zerina started something new. She launched an Instagram account called "Black Owned Everything". This account was created to show off new Black-owned businesses. These businesses were in fashion, beauty, food, and home goods. Zerina wanted to inspire other Black-owned businesses. She is seen as an inspiration and a great achiever.

The Instagram account became very popular. So, in February 2021, Zerina turned it into an e-commerce website. The "Black Owned Everything" marketplace features Black-owned brands and designers. Its launch also included a pop-up store in Los Angeles.

Zerina also started the Akers and Akers Foundation. This is a non-profit organization. It helps new designers get started. It also teaches people about managing money in their communities. Zerina also worked with actor Lena Waithe. They took part in Adobe's "Create Change" series. This series talked about using creativity to make a difference. In 2021, Zerina styled campaigns for Macy's and Zales.

Awards and Nominations