Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
My name is Malik McIntyre. I make art. Not art you see hanging on walls, but art you can wear. I fell in love with designing at the age of 17 when I joined an art club at my high school and I’ve been creating since.
Before that I wrote songs, books, and sketched in the back of my notebooks during school. I always knew I was meant to be a creative.
I think people should know that I create for myself. Fashion for me is self-expression and the pieces that I design are a result of my creative freedom. I don’t believe in following trends or creating what you think would be popular. Art should be boundless!
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I think my creativity is what sets apart for a lot of my peers. For my NYFW debut I designed an entire collection using custom prints made out of planets. I’ve always had a way of thinking that was out of the box and my collections will always be a reflection of that.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
Okay so I received my first invitation for NYFW earlier this year around February. Being in the military, preparing my debut was extremely stressful and anxiety inducing. I only had a few months to draft the collection, produce and style all of the looks, select models, etc.
Needless to say, I was very stressed out and worried about how it was all going to come together. I flew my intern to NY to assist me with the runway show and we did everything on our own, just me and her. I had anxiety up until the last model returned and I got to close the show.
Seeing the audience’s reaction to my collection was the confirmation that I needed that I was born for this. I felt all of the stress and anxiety leave my body as soon as I stepped onto the runway.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
Balancing the military and my designing career. The navy is always going to come first because it’s a very high demanding job. If I do things wrong while working for the military, people could die so it takes a lot of focus.
Pretty much all of my free time is dedicated to my brand, and time management is the key to making it all work. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of parties, social events, and other things that young adults my age enjoy to succeed in my field.