By Mike Styles
When I was asked to take on this editorial assignment with Gaby Akomi, I didn’t hesitate. Gaby isn’t just a rising designer to me, he’s someone I’ve watched build a universe piece by piece.
We first linked in early 2023 when he invited me to his NBA All-Star Weekend “One Dream” pop-up in Salt Lake City. I pulled up to show love as he always did on my music. I ended up buying three or four pieces that day, partly out of support and partly because it was Akomi. It was fly. And the stories meant something.
That moment turned into a long-running relationship. Since then, he’s gifted me pieces, styled me for NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 in my hometown of Indianapolis, and we’ve collaborated on shows and pop-ups ever since. So when the team said, “Let’s do a cover story with Gaby,” I already knew the assignment. I’ve seen the evolution up close. I’ve watched the brand turn from a side hustle to a full-blown global movement.
And that’s the story I'm here to tell.
Gaby’s story begins long before the runways of fashion week. Born in Côte d’Ivoire, raised in the U.S., and inspired by his mother’s sewing workshop, he grew up watching garments become stories one stitch at a time.
“Akomi means ‘to arrive’ in Lingala,” he tells me. “But arriving is just the starting point. Every step is a new beginning.”
His immigrant experience isn’t a detail; it’s the foundation. It shaped his belief that every arrival is an invitation to keep moving.
Long before the hype, before ComplexCon, before back-to-back New York Fashion Week pop-ups, Gaby was hand-making custom pieces for NBA players, musicians, and creatives. That was his nine-to-five. Akomi was the after-hours passion project.
Now, 13 years later, Akomi is a full-time job and knocking on the door of becoming a household name.
Everything changed with the Liputa Boot. It has premium leather, a rugged sole, five lace options, and a silhouette that blends heritage with modern edge. The boots caught momentum, then fire. I asked him how it felt to see his work on the feet of Davido, Chris Brown, Cade Cunningham, and Kawhi Leonard?
“It’s flattering,” he says. “But what I really see is the work before the hype. It's a nod to my younger self and the people who believed in me long before the hype."
Before I even knew Gaby was driving a U-Haul through New York for Fashion Week, loading and unloading his pieces himself, the story had already clicked.
He wasn’t just doing local pop-ups anymore. He was on the move.
“No entourage. No shortcuts,” he says. “If it has to get done, I’ll do it. I’d never driven a U-Haul before, but if you’ve got the drive, you can accomplish anything.”
That moment is why I pushed for the moving-truck concept for this shoot. Gaby is literally and symbolically in motion between cities, between worlds, between arrivals.
“What makes Akomi unique is my background, it’s my truth,” he tells me. “No one can copy my story.”
This is Gaby’s signature: he doesn’t design from trends. He designs from lineage, a rich heritage, Congolese identity, and lived experience.
Every piece is a chapter. Every garment is a passport. Every wearer becomes part of the narrative.
“Akomi to the World” started as a simple caption. Now it’s a global rollout in real time.
“The world is catching on,” he says. “We’ve known. Now they get to see what Akomi is about.”
His brand is built in the U.S., but its heartbeat is international. Congolese roots, American drive, global ambition.
“We’re going global,” he says. “But more than that, I hope it inspires people to start their own journey. It doesn’t have to be fashion. Just live your truth.”
If there’s one word that defines his legacy, it’s truth.
“That’s what I want people to say, that I lived my truth. That I did what I was meant to do. And hopefully that pushes somebody else to do the same.”
At tmrw our mantra is Creating today, Shaping tmrw. So I asked him what “tomorrow” means to him.
“Tomorrow is another day to get better,” he says. “To push further, to motivate the people around you. Today prepares you for that.”
Gaby Akomi isn’t just designing clothes. He’s designing momentum. Possibility. A roadmap for movement.
He’s still arriving. And the world is finally watching.