Alani Noelle has never thought of being anything but completely authentic. Consider her nickname "Wuzg00d," a nod to her home city of New York and how people say hello.
"[My authenticity] came from my mom instilling the importance of unapologetically showing up as myself in this world," she explained in a phone conversation.
Taking those teachings to heart, Noelle now approaches everything she does, from how she dresses to the designs she dreams up with her nail artist to her brand collaborations with her whole Original self.
When we spent the day with Noelle, we saw this firsthand. In the video, we meet her nail artist, Melissa Samuel, hear about what made the two of them first click and the design that kicked it all off. Typically dripping in jewels and adorned with color, her nails are works of art in their own right, deserving a place in some revered archive.
When Noelle isn't immersing herself in her creative pursuits, she's paying it forward by mentoring and guiding those who seek her advice, something she was inspired to do through her own mentor, which she tells us about in the video.
Hit play on the video and then keep reading to learn about everything from her career path to what she does now and where she finds inspiration.
When did you realize being creative was a career path you could take?
I always loved fashion, but I [assumed] you could only have a career in fashion if you had a brand or were strictly going in for design. I didn't realize how big the world was until I started working at Kith. I was able to learn sales, customer experience, buying, styling on women's sets, production, [and] casting. Being able to be mentored by people in those positions and help out was a huge part of broadening my understanding of how many different careers you can have.
Then with my following [on social media]—I remember in 2018 [I was] approached to host a series, and I was like, oh, you can do this, too. Both my freelance career and my retail career were the main contributing causes to opening my world.
From there, how did you strategically grow? Did you have anybody mentoring or inspiring you along the way?
Sharifa [Murdock is a] big influence in my life. She's always talked to me about how important it is as a woman of color to own things and [have] equity and financial freedom.
Do you find yourself now taking that knowledge and passing it on?
I have a direct mentee this year. Being able to speak to high school kids about how I unconventionally paved my way—I think the value lies in them being able to see a woman, and a woman of color, be herself and create her own lane by staying true to who she is—letting them know that it's okay to change your mind, too. I thought I was going to be a dancer, and then I thought I was going to be a stylist, and through trial and error, I figured it out—and I'm still figuring it out. Passing down what I know is how I pay it forward.
I love that. Switching gears, you’re someone who always stays true to who you are. You mentioned in the video a lot of this came from your mom. Tell me more about that.
As a little girl, I was always very sensitive, and I always wanted to fit in—I think we all have that feeling of wanting to feel a sense of belonging. I remember I would come home and cry because somebody didn't like something I was wearing, and my mom would be like, "Do you like it?" and I was like, "Yeah, I like it." "Well, then, that's all that matters."
Just consistently having her speak to me like that in the sense of not worrying about what anybody else had to say. Knowing that my mom, the person I looked up to the most in the world, was right behind me, encouraging me to be myself and not forcing me to be something I didn't want to be.
That’s beautiful. How do you make sure you maintain that Originality when creating?
When any opportunity presents itself to me, for me to even get on board, I need to feel that I align with this brand. That's a non-negotiable for me.
[It’s] really important for me to proudly tell my story [of] who I am and where I come from because my roots are literally the reason I am who I am today. So how do I not pay it back to that? That's how I approach everything that I do.
What do you think your younger self, that little girl, would think of where you are now?
I don't think she would even believe it. She would be like, there's no way you had your own jewelry line; there's no way you're helping a brand create their voice and helping design. Being given those opportunities [just from] being myself and my personal style and taste, she definitely would not believe it. She would think I'm cool for sure.
