Today we’d like to introduce you to Fonzo Smith.
Fonzo, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m from St. Louis MO, I come from a single mother home of five kids. I am the youngest. I lost my father before I even turned one year old. Never had that fatherly figure in my life. I was told in high school my senior year, I was never gonna succeed or graduate. I’m now living in Orlando, FL for three years now miles away from home. I started this clothing line in remembrance of my little cousin Lorenzo. He, my other cousin and I were driving home from a party one night back in 2018 when we were in high school. And my other cousin that’s on my dad’s side of the family was playing with a gun in my back seat while I was driving and shot & killed my little cousin Lorenzo in my passenger seat sleeping. It was a very traumatizing experience to see a loved one die right in front of you. So long story short, my big sister was always telling me to start a clothing line so once this situation happened, I decided this is what I’m going to base my clothing line off of. I couldn’t think of a name or a strong reason to start a clothing during the time she would tell me to start one. Now I have a clothing line called AZOE CLOTHING “Aye Zo Clothing” and been going strong for three years on March 19th the day of my little cousin’s birthday!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been smooth. I’ve faced a lot of challenges during this business. I struggled with finding the right vendors to create my cloth. Along with bringing new and fresh creativity to my brand. Sometimes I wouldn’t make all my money back when I would drop a collection, it was times I would pay for bulk order of clothing and would receive nothing and all my money was just wasted because someone decided to play me on what I asked for. So it was a lot of ups and downs but I felt so strongly on the reason why I started this line so I continued to keep at it and not give up no matter how it looks!
We’ve been impressed with Azoe Clothing, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am studying to become a real estate agent here in central Florida this has been challenging to overcome but I’m not giving up. I have passed the class but now working hard to pass the state exam to get my actual license.
The NEW answer would be!
Something I would share with others that I do that sets me a part is that I pray , pray for fresh vision fresh creativity for my brand. Sometimes going through life situation we can loose the vision or purpose of why we started something . So I try to stay consistent with that so I have new material to put out. Also I look at other brands such as designer brands and other local or non main stream brands to get different ideas. Or take something and make my own , critique it and sat well for my personality and my style I would have done it like this!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I have not found a mentor in the fashion world or clothing brands because it’s difficult finding someone that understands your style and vision for your own brand. But as of tweak estate I have definitely found a mentor to guide me and help me, introduce me to certain people to get me ahead and an understanding of how things will be in that field.
Contact Info:
- Email: Azoeclothing@gmail.com
- Website: www.shopazoeclothing.com
- Instagram: Azoeclothing
- Facebook: AZOE Clothing
Image Credits
Doche, “shotbykingj” on Instagram
