Over the past 15 years, Ayoka Lucas has filled many roles: stylist, editor, writer, creative director. She’s written a weekly column for the Charleston City Paper, blogged for Essence Magazine, served as a fashion correspondent for local TV stations, and hosted the weekly radio show Fashion Friday. Most notably, Lucas pioneered Charleston magazine’s Charleston Fashion Week, an annual event that has attracted the attention of the national fashion community.
So what do you do when you’ve done it all? You break out on your own, of course.
“I’ve been in this business with Charleston magazine for about 10 years,” Lucas says. “At any 10-year point at anybody’s life, you start to really have a need for growth and want to evolve and want to do these things and push the boundaries. That was my thought: ‘What can I do next?’”
On Aug. 1, Lucas debuted her website at an event at Seeking Indigo. The website showcases a gallery of Lucas’ work, from Charleston magazine spreads to a Lincoln Financial Group campaign she helped design. The website also features video reels of her work, interviews, and her fashion blog.
Lucas offers a la carte styling services from the website, including fashion editorial production and styling, brand consultation, fashion event consultation, fashion commentary, and style consultation.
Lucas’ clients include Charleston magazine, MTV News, ESPN, and Charleston Fashion Week. While Lucas is no longer working directly for Charleston magazine, she still plans to keep the publication as a major client.
“The most important thing was not losing that relationship but changing it and growing that relationship,” says Lucas. “Now this gives me a chance to work with everyone, from someone wanting to upgrade their closet to [major corporations].”
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