In Convo with King Minzly

Philadelphia is home to the new leaders of creatives. Living in this city, I witness so much greatness in the art & culture movement from art, music, fashion, etc. It’s so many great people doing great things which makes me very happy to be living in Philadelphia during the renaissance of the arts in this city. Even with so much talent and potential in this great city of mine, sometimes I’m even shocked at the greatness that I see jump from Philadelphia onto the pop culture scene. It’s amazing to go from liking and admiring someone on Instagram to seeing them in magazines doing their thing. Those are the people who need to be highlighted, which is the exact reason I reached out to this rising star for an interview.

Introducing King Minzly, a 22-year-old stylist, model, and creative director from Philadelphia, PA who has appeared on MTV’s “FWD”, and has been featured in publications such as The Fader, Superhero Mag & so much more! I discovered her on Tumblr, being a fan of her style, and watched her explode onto the fashion scene. After her amazing ‘King Minzly Experience’ fashion show (that I regretfully missed) I just knew I had to get an interview with her. Even though it wasn’t the one one-on-one I would hope to have (fingers crossed) I still enjoyed all the gems that were dropped in this interview.

Read the interview below and let me know what you think!

Keyonna Butler (KB): You have such a successful modeling career already and you are just getting started. Tell me about your journey into modeling and what made you want to become a model.

King Minzly (KM): As passionate as I am about my career I feel it was God given — well, I know it was. I’m not super religious or anything but one thing I can say is this was destined to be. Nothing really made me want to “become” a model; it was more so natural talent I soon started to embrace when I became comfortable with my androgynous ways.

KB: What has been your favorite photo shoot or moment in your modeling career so far?

KM: Working with VFiles I would have to say. The whole crew is super down-to-earth and mad creative. I love how original the brand is and how so in-tune they are with the culture.

KB: You’re also a designer and creative director, which is really cool. How do you manage to balance it all with your modeling career?

KM: Juggling everything isn’t hard at all. It now has started to become more of a “you get one you get them all”-type thing. Meaning recently when I have been shooting with photographers it’s not just me modeling but I am the one coming up with the concepts of the shoot as well as designing the pieces I’ll be wearing in the photo.

KB: Let’s talk about your clothing brand and the King Minzly Experience. What led you down that journey of starting this brand and planning the event?

KM: Designing was priority number one for me before modeling happened. I would sew up garments all the time for myself, I never wanted to sell anything until I found my aesthetic. The King Minzly Experience however happened when I decided to move to Texas to be around a collective I am a part of, Anahata Milytia. Instead of a going away party I wanted to put together a more massive and memorable event. The exhibit was a showcase of my many talents from designing, styling, and modeling. There were 12 actual models in the show and performances by Theodore Grams, Anyee Wright, Hoax Pain. It was LIT!

KB: Will there be a Part 2 to the King Minzly Experience? If so, will there be a new location?
KM: People ask me this question all the time (that’s tight) but if I were to have another exhibit it would be in Austin this summer (hint hint).

KB: Lastly, what are some upcoming projects you are going be involved in? What are you looking forward to in 2016?

KM: I am currently awaiting the pilot episode of a new MTV show I am featured in, modeling for Qilo NYC.

You can now follow King Minzly on social media @kingminzly and check out her brand KME World via their website https://www.kmeworld.com/

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