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Elite. Diamonds. Fashion: Ugo Mozie Interview

Monday, April 12, 2010 by Team Greedmont | 8 Comments; | Category: Art, Fashion, Studio13, Style

Elite .Diamonds. Fashion. Success.  If these words don’t somehow fit into your realm of reality, stop reading this. Bold, I know, but if you don’t know anything about being successful, have no clue about fashion, can’t work under pressure, which by the way makes diamonds, then there is no way that you know a thing or two about designer/stylist/fashion photographer/ socialite: Ugo Mozie.

“I am a leader; I don’t walk in the shadow of others. Thanks to God, my dreams, goals and ambitions are already close to accomplishment. It’s me who I look up to…It’s me who I compare myself to, It’s me who I am influenced by”. I can’t help but be a little overwhelmed as Ugo Mozie, one of the men behind AstonMozie,  tells me a little about himself. We are thousands of miles away connected by this device that some know as a phone, but I feels as though I am standing next to this man of mystic and success as the weight and strength of his words echo through the receiver and into my absorbing mind.

Try lying and telling yourself that he is not a fashion savant. After being in New York for only seven months Ugo and business partner Quinn Aston debuted a fashion show for their brand AstonMozie in the 2009 New York Fashion Week. If that doesn’t impress you, slap this into the equation, the show took them three weeks to produce thanks to the help of their close friends Coco&Breezy and their publicist. The show, which was inspired by the paintball fights which Ugo’s  younger brothers often took  part in, brought a revolutionized and avant garde feel to menswear, “we wanted to revolutionize war equipment”, Ugo affirmed when asked about the theme of the fashion show.. Shoulders were emphasized and Ugo and Quinn didn’t employ the usual shoulder pad shing-ding, in honor of Lady Gaga, instead they fueled a new movement: wings. “Honestly, it came from experimenting different styles”, Ugo told me, “the wings were inspired by wings…like you could soar, fly, go”.

The lifestyle that Ugo Mozie lives is pretty busy. When he is not in New York ,which is where he now currently lives, he is either in Los Angeles or in Africa. “At this point, I don’t even get jet lag anymore. I definitely fly out at least twice a month”, Ugo admits, “Sleep is usually not even an option for me when I’m trying to balance out work, school and everything else”.  As mentioned previously, Ugo is not only a designer, but he is also a stylist and if no one else is there to fill the role, fashion photographer. I found myself noticing, while looking through the compilations of his work that at times all of the credits go to Ugo Mozie. How does he separate these different but cohesive roles?, I couldn’t help but ask. “These roles are separated according to the job I have at the moment. Designing always comes first, then styling and photography”, Ugo told me when his lifestyle and the different roles that he play fashion wise were brought up.

Although he inspires many, it takes a lot to land on Ugo’s list. When it comes to art, Basquiat and Keith Harring are some of his inspirations and Ugo went on to add that these two men were “both so free spirited and [were] true artist”. Fashion wise, Ugo had to thank the late Alexander McQueen for never failing to inspire. “McQueen’s collections have been amazing year after year. Each collection definitely represented him. I could read the emotions he was trying to convey in each show. This motivated me to not be scared. I take risks in my clothing and let each piece represent something in I and Quinn’s lives”. Art. Check. Fashion. Check. But what about life-wise?. Ugo gave this one to his father whom he says has always supported him, even though he had initially wanted Ugo to take over his shipping company after graduating from college. “My father is my biggest role model, I look up to him”.

When it comes to designing AstonMozie, has plans on taking over Tokyo and London sometime in the very near future. Styling, some of Ugo’s celebrity clients have movies and albums dropping so his spring will not only be full of the birds and the bees, but also movie premieres and listening parties to style for. “Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and Houston won’t get enough of me”, he tells me laughing. When asked what the motive behind all of this was, Ugo told me that it definitely wasn’t the money.

“Money is a perk, but motive is the passion. Money can only take you so far, without talent or passion, you are nothing.”

-Rose Bellefleur