"Well, my style is nothing out of the ordinary, but I do like to add my own twists to it. Nevertheless, I would say my style is very Yeezy-esque, pulling inspiration from Kanye West. Besides that, my style is very much whatever I think just looks good I would hope that people see just me and nothing else. I can dress comfortably, casually, or formally and still look better than the average person out there, so I would say that's very much my style."

"Being a first generation child to immigrant parents, there were a lot of things that I had to go out and discover on my own, with fashion being one of them. Growing up, I had my Awkward Phases just like everyone else, yet mine always tended to be a bit more awkward than everyone else, which eventually led to bullying. My mom would always dress me when I was younger, but that was when I could care less about what I looked like. However, reaching 7th or 8th grade was when I started to care more about what I looked like. Even then the problem wasn't solved- the thing with styling yourself is that it doesn't just happen overnight. You experiment with different looks until you find one that you like, and with society and whatever is considered "in" always changing, that can become difficult. I always needed other people's approval to feel better about myself and the way I looked, which didn't help especially with all the bullying going on. Finally, not until junior year of high school, after various awkward phases, I stopped caring so much about what others thought of me and decided to do what made me the happiest. That's also when I embraced one of my many life motto, "look good, feel good" If you think you look good, that's all the validation you need for yourself to just go outside and take on the world. People are always going to judge you no matter what you do, so might as well do what makes you the happiest right?"

Behind the Scenes
While many individuals often ask the photographer to think of ways to position themselves in pictures, Azzaam is the kind of person that definitely knows what his best angles/poses are. (In other words, I was definitely not needed HA HA.) However, watching him jump off ledges or posing in elevators yesterday showed how inspiration can be found anywhere. Literally. Even inside a nearly-broken elevator. Or a broken air conditioner. 

One thing that truly amazed me about his story, was how he always appeared so confident about everything. But reading about his past experiences simply reaffirmed the notion that clothing can help us find our inner confidence so that we can love ourselves more than Kanye loves Kanye. Here are a few more "behind the scenes" pictures of our photoshoot. Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed! 

When you match the air-conditioner, you know it's time for a picture.

Risking his life for a picture. I guess you could say he likes LIVING LIFE ON THE (L)EDGE(;

sweats - H&M
jeans - cotton on
shoes - Footlocker, ASOS
Outfits by Azzaam Siddiqi