Meet Akilah Whitaker of Haus of Yaas
A profound visionary from Dallas, Texas, Akilah Yaasmeen Whitaker fell in love with fashion, production, and fashion editorials at an early age. During 2014, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from The University of North Texas. Akilah Yaas also earned a certification in fashion styling from the School of Style in Los Angeles, California. Since then, she launched her fashion consulting network and blog, Are You Willing (AYW); Akilah Yaas has covered media and press during New York Fashion Week and many other shows here in Dallas. Akilah Yaas has over 5 years of experience in personal, fashion, and runway styling. She has worked with respectable fashion houses such as SAKS Off Fifth, BCBG Maxazria, and Louis Vuitton. In 2019, she formed Haus of Yaas, LLC. which specializes in creative direction, wardrobe styling, and runway production. She is highly skilled at interpreting your style and revealing you to yourself. Akilah Yaas main focus are executives in positions whose style impacts their business and career advancements.
Her philosophy is “Style is like your second skin, everyone has one…It only takes 3 seconds to impress someone and ultimately your wardrobe is that first impression”.
Not at all! I honestly consider myself a self-taught stylist, the underdog almost. I’ve been exposed to so much maybe to much to soon. With that being said, I got thrown into too many projects I knew I wasn’t qualified for, let alone ready for, which was overwhelming. In those situations, I’m always agile and one thing I do know about this business is you have to make it work and FAST; and sometimes making a way out of no way. I’m currently enrolled in LA’s School of Style’s Fashion Stylist Program, and the biggest struggle right now is just taking a step back; Relearning old techniques because I was doing them incorrectly in the past or knowing key industry terminology so I won’t be lost in pre-production meetings or fittings.
I believe I am my biggest competition. I measure success by my last project. I always ask myself questions like “What can I do to top myself the next time” What did I learn? What do I want to do differently or better? Another big success factor is when my clients refer me or share their testimonials. When you can help a client’s transformation and they thank you and want to come back… biggest success ever.
