Timeekah “Murph” Murphy is a celebrity designer who has dressed the likes of Beyoncé and Cardi B since making her mark on fashion. Her line, Alani Taylor, features unisex silhouettes that are known for an emphasis on layering and reworked proportions. She told us more during an exclusive interview.
Who is your favorite client that you have designed for?
Cardi B. A lot of clients that I have worked with, I am not always a huge fan of them, and I just see them as my client. But when I work with people whose work I love, it means more to me. When I got to design for her and meet her, I realized that she is exactly who she is. She is so transparent, and it was a really dope experience.
Tell us briefly about your designs and your typical client.
I design unisex clothing. There [are] a lot of mixes of textures, patterns, and prints. I like to put fabrics together that do not necessarily belong together because there are fashion rules that I love to break. You cannot put a box around what fashion is. My typical client is anyone who loves fashion, who loves to stand out, and who loves to be seen, but not overly seen all at the same time. Someone who can wear the clothes and have the clothes speak for who they are as a person. I design my clothes around the way that I feel, and so when I design for clients, I want them to feel the same thing. When you walk out in Alani Taylor, you do not have to say anything. Your clothes tell a story about what type of person you are.
What do you think distinguishes you from other designers?
My aesthetic. No one will ever design like me because the designs are [mine]. This pretty much applies to any creative. We are all going to be different. There will never be another designer who designs the way I design because it is all in my head. What I would say is unique about me as a designer is that I do not use patterns. I design from what is in my head and I have a brain injury where I cannot maintain information like the average person where they learn something, and … remember it. I design based on life in general. I probably will be one of the first Black designers to open up my own showroom and be successful doing it.
What project do you consider your biggest accomplishment?
The Black Is King project. The gown that I made for Beyoncé was seen by the whole world and it got us a lot of recognition in the industry. It opened a lot of doors for the brand since then with being able to work with Cardi and DaBaby, and all the other big artists that we have had the opportunity to work with right now.
