18 January 2025 3 minute read
In fifth grade, Naima Eggleston (Class of 2027) realized the power of her voice — and her wardrobe. She had been reprimanded for wearing a tank top, a seemingly harmless outfit and couldn’t shake the unfairness of the situation since her white classmates were allowed the same without question. But she, a Black girl, was called out. With a fierce sense of justice, Eggleston rallied her friends to challenge the unfair dress code, and the discrimination she faced. Together, they marched to class, defying the principal’s orders and the school’s restrictions, which in her eyes unfairly targeted Black girls. That moment was a turning point for Eggleston, sparking her lifelong journey of questioning norms that sought to put her race, gender or identity in a box. From this rebellious spirit, Eggleston continues to refine her craft as an artist and an activist, existing as a testament to the transformative power of artistic expression and self discovery.
Eggleston's artistic journey began before she could even comprehend it herself. “Before I even had a sense of who I was, my mom said I was always dancing,” she recalls. Starting at the age of three, she joined Raynfall Dance Studio, a Black-centered dance company that challenged the norm of western professional dance through an African Diasporic lens and her participation continued through her teenage years. In middle school, her individuality extended to her unique sense of fashion where she faced ridicule for her bold-patterned outfits. But from her mother, she found support and encouragement to embrace her authenticity and celebrate her boldness.
At just 15 years old she launched her clothing brand, Newestlooks, which began as a simple desire to create and express herself and has evolved into a holistic brand that reflects her diverse, artistic expressions. Undergoing a transformation, she envisions Newestlooks to move from a singular focus on fashion to a platform that embraces a broader range of artistic expressions, reflective of her experiences and growth over the years. Designers such as Zelda Wynn Valdes, Telfar Clemens, and Tolu Coker, each with their own unique style, play a large role in the way Naima recognizes the power of fashion as not only a force for change and a vehicle for political and personal expression.
Eggleston's passion for fashion really began to take shape in her freshman year of high school, fueled by watching fashion shows during the quarantine. For her, it was far more than just clothing, but a multifaceted visual art form, blending elements of architecture, movement and visual storytelling. “When I think of clothing, I see it as art, not just something people must wear,” she explains. This view pushed her to explore how fashion in Black culture is used to tell stories and express deeper meanings. In 2023, she launched a fashion blog called StarrNoirr, dedicated to exploring how Black people across the world have used fashion as resistance. “In Black culture, fashion isn’t just about what we wear—it’s political,” she asserts. Though the blog is undergoing rebranding, its core message remains and continues to stand strong as a cornerstone of her mission to spotlight Black culture.
Eggleston's journey in fashion has also been shaped by invaluable, hands-on experience. This past summer, she interned with a Baltimore-based designer, SolAriCollection, specializing in prom dresses, who taught her the fundamentals of clothing design, including pattern making, sewing and beading/applique techniques. These experiences inspired her to experiment more with her own style, even dying her hair orange and pink, as an expression of her individuality.
As vice president of Afrekete, Spelman‘s first and only queer organization, Eggleston has become a strong advocate for queer students within the Atlanta University Center. Her identity as a lesbian plays a key role in her efforts to create a safe space for her peers, as she believes the synergy of her queerness and Blackness greatly influences how she shows up in the world, especially in professional settings. She recently presented during a panel, discussing queer representation in professional spaces, emphasizing that it’s possible to be both expressive and professional. “You shouldn’t have to choose between being professional and being true to yourself,” she says. Whether advocating about queer experiences or embracing nontraditional fashion choices, Eggleston encourages others to break free from conventional expectations and embrace their individuality, as she did in middle school.
Central to her artistry is a commitment to womanism, a philosophy that she believes is more than just a label — it’s a lifestyle. “Black women are at the forefront of everything I do,” she says. For Eggleston, they not only just shape the way the world perceives her, but how she expresses herself creatively. Embracing the beauty of growth, she looks forward to how her artistry will continue to evolve. Allow her story to be an invitation to us to embrace our creativity as a means to uplift, transform, and challenge the world around us.