10 Times Nigerian American Model and Stylist Wisdom Kaye Outdid Himself
The 23-year-old has styled a number of iconic looks all drawn from the most unpredictable inspirations.
Wisdom Kaye knows fashion. The 23-year-old Nigerian American stylist and model has made a name for himself on social media for his boundary-pushing and eclectic approach to style. For the most part, Kaye’s allure is not solely in the fact that he can pair and combine outfits intelligently, it is also in his ability to offer a different perspective on otherwise underappreciated fashion items.
Whether it be skinny jeans or Timberlands, Kaye’s style goes beyond the demands of modern fashion or what is presumed to be in vogue or not. There is also the cinematic quality of his videos — mostly drawing inspiration from his comment section, often averaging thousands of comments along with millions of views and likes — that sees Kaye experiment and reinterpret a diverse range of ideas and themes. From reinterpreting famous animation characters to, as with his recent post, visually representing countries, Kaye does the good work of bringing these ideas and themes to life.
In honor of Kaye’s ingenuity and sharp personal style, here are 10 of his most notable looks.
Styling African countries in the “High Fashion Olympics”
As it often happens with Kaye, it started with a comment. “Style the whole world,” the comment read; to which Kaye responded by creating 3o looks, up from the 25 he initially planned to do. With countries like China, Palestine, the United Kingdom and four African countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco) included, Kaye created one of his most ambitious works yet.
For his Nigerian look, he took inspiration from the country’s green, white, green flag as well as the flowy Agbada typically worn by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. His Morocco outfit also featured wide legged pants, flowy, plain shirt worn under a flowy scarf and heeled boots. His Egypt look features leathers, a scarf and artisanal-heeled boots, while his Kenya look was a slightly pared down (for Kaye at least) jacket and pants complemented with a leather semi-clutch bag.
Making skinny jeans cool again
In response to a video where some people disapproved of skinny jeans, Kaye styled himself in a range of skinny jeans and offered a different perspective to a denim style that has so far been seen as a cardinal sin in fashion. The skinny jeans he rocks in this video, incorporating them into both semi-casual and high fashion styles, are sometimes washed, sometimes leather, but all completely cool.
Styling the characters in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
In his classic fashion of creating looks in response to ideas or concepts, Kaye styled the characters on the beloved animation show Avatar: The Last Airbender. The selection of looks, drawing inspiration from the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, features deconstructed suits, flayed pants, scarfs and really cool jewelry.
A stylish journey through time
Although he is very much in the present, Kaye isn’t averse to traveling back in time and retracing evolution. In this video, with over 15 million likes, where he makes an outfit for every year since the beginning of time, he starts this exciting fashion exploration in the paleolithic ages, defined by furs and scarfs, to the year 3000, defined in Kaye’s styling, by heavy leather and coordinated clothing items.
Styling Timberlands
For people unsure if certain fashion items, although socially unpopular, can still be fashionable, Kaye answers that with the right styling choices. In this video which he made in response to a video where Timberlands were put down for never looking good with any outfits, Kaye styles the heavy boots with wide-legged cargo pants, baggy jeans and boot-cut jeans — the unifying trick being to conceal the top of the boot so only its bottom half is visible.
Dressing up and down
In response to a comment asking him to style a $110,000, $11,000, $1,000 and $110 outfits, Kaye provides a guide to making the best of any fashion item no matter the cost. With very Western cowboy and hyper streetwear looks, Kaye manages to make it all work.
Revamping ‘Phineas and Ferb’
A key part of Kaye’s work is in his brilliant yet accessible reinterpretations. While styling characters of the cartoon series Phineas and Ferb with a high fashion twist, Kaye introduces replicable fashion elements including shorts, sweaters, pants, scarfs etc, all with a tasteful, elegant finish.
Styling those MSCHF boots
Naturally charged with the task of styling the famous but controversial (for its practicality and adaptability) red MSCHF boots, Kaye opted for understated streetwear looks consisting of puffer jackets, knee length shorts and oversized pants.
Rocking a literal trash bag
Yes, Kaye can wear and look good in anything, including a trash bag. In this video, Kaye tactfully incorporates a trash bag into a series of looks ranging from streetwear to fashion week ready.
Restyling tank tops
Wife beaters and tank tops can sometimes get a bad rep for being too lazy style-wise, but in this video Kaye upstyles them. By bringing in supporting statement pieces like embroidered jean trousers, deconstructed pants and artisanal pants, Kaye allows the tank tops to take on a life of their own.
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