In between Fashion & Food: Interview with Fashion Stylist Apuje Kalu

It is my goal that every reader of TotalLifeProsperityBlog.com experience wholeness in every area of life. Recently, I had a chance to interview rising fashion stylist Apuje Kalu, who was willing to share his story about his journey towards Total Life Prosperity. Without sounding cliche’, Apuje was extremely easy to talk to and down-to-earth. I’ve been following his work with photographer Elton Anderson for some time now and I know he’s going places. When we talked I joked that I was jumping on his bandwagon early before he blows up. I wish him nothing but continued success! *Special thanks to my dear friend Kelle who e-introduced us when I moved to the DC area.

About Apuje

Apuje (A-Pooh-Jay) is a freelance fashion stylist from Washington, DC. As a self proclaimed lover of PORK bacon and connoisseur of Red Velvet cake”, he took a giant step of faith leaving his IT Consulting job in corporate america to pursue his passion which is a career in Fashion.

sidebar: If you’re wondering why PORK bacon, read his Open Letter to Pork Bacon

So why did you leave corporate America?

After 6 years in corporate America I knew I was leaving due to lay offs. I had the option to stay with my IT  Consulting firm but I opted to accept the severance package.  In hopes of mixing my interest in fashion with my Engineering degree, I envisioned a career in luxury goods brand management or marketing. Instead of looking for a job I planned to attend graduate school and get my MBA. In the meantime I made myself available to work on photo shoots with Elton and other photographers. Grad school eventually got postponed and one day I mustered enough guts to say I’m going to really pursue freelance styling and I did it.

Who has been your biggest supporter since leaving corporate America?

My mother has been my supporter since day one. Besides her, making myself available to work with Elton has been rewarding. He has been extremely encouraging and supportive considering we share a similar background…both of us left well paying corporate jobs to pursue our passion. In addition to my mother and Elton, I know I couldn’t do it without the support of my fellow FAMU alums. FAMU has a strong supportive network of people who support the work on their own.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to follow in your footsteps?

The hardest thing to do is to start.  If you have a dream start to visualize it and put forth a real effort to live your dream. Even with 40-50 shoots under my belt, it still wasn’t a reality until I start saying, “I am a stylist.” Once I visualized it and verbalized it I realized this is what I am. I am living out my dream of being a fashion stylist. I’d also tell people to have a skill set to fall back on. For me its my Engineering background.

What would be your “dream” job ?

Style correspondent on E! or Creative Director for a luxury fashion house like Chanel

What inspires you?

Everyday things and people. I am a people watcher…The airport and South Beach are great places to observe the style of everyday people.There are times I see a person and make up an entire story in my head about them based on how they look. For photo shoots I try to evoke emotion and tell a compelling story by using patterns, texture, and color. I follow a few Fashion blog sites and I pay attention to fashion spreads in GQ , Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen magazines.

Any upcoming projects you’re looking forward to? 

Nothing in particular because projects come up all the time. I have a go-with-the flow kind of attitude so I keep my schedule open to fly to New York, Miami, or LA frequently… but I always have engagement shoots and test shoots with modeling agencies.

What does Total Life Prosperity mean to you?

 My definition of Total Life Prosperity is very similar to the vision of your blog. I attribute my prosperity this year to my faith in God. Instead of worrying and trying to force things, I’m allowing him to move. I have to be honest, some test shoots don’t pay alot of money and times have been hard but my relationship with God has kept me grounded.  when you have a relationship with him he provides totally and everything falls into place; like a domino effect.

Check out more of his work at apujekalu.com and follow his blog

Here are some past shoots that I absolutely LOVED! Whenever the beau decides to put a ring on it I’m hiring Elton & Apuje! iDig their work!

Photo credit: Elton Anderson

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