Check The Fit: Fashion Student Parker Ahmad Looks Beyond the College Market

“Fashion allows people to bring out the unique and special features of themselves that may not otherwise be portrayed.” 

These are the words of Parker Ahmad ‘23, who is actively working at making her name known in both the Marist and fashion communities. The aspiring fashion stylist and designer from Bayshore, New York, looks to grow her brand from a social media following to a designer brand.

Whenever Ahmad walks into a building, her look draws attention. Whether it is zebra printed pants with a watermelon green cropped sweater or an array of caramel clothing pieces fitted with a light brown jacket, Ahmad's style speaks for itself. Her eccentric style with a flair of both a modern and vintage twist comes from her upbringing. 

Parker Ahmad sports her Diamond Hoodie, one of the designer’s creations. Parker Ahmad ‘23

“I was always into clothing, like when I was little, playing dress up 24/7,” Ahmad, a fashion merchandising major with concentrations in product development and fashion promotion, said.  “I wasn't allowed to dress myself for school though, because the one time I did I wore four different shades of zebra print and my mom was like, ‘No.’” But around the fourth grade, she started dressing herself and finding her personal style.

From then on, Ahmad elevated her style to represent who she is. Her utilization of fashion to demonstrate a sense of self-expression elevates the construct of what it means to be an artist and fashion as a form of art. In her own words, fashion is self-expression, but it is also an art: “It’s the exaggeration of what is ‘normal’ and brings it new meaning and new life.”

Ahmad’s artistic expression through fashion doesn’t end there: she also designs original custom pieces. Since July 2020, Ahmad has utilized her Instagram account @styled.by.parker to promote the works she creates for friends, family, college students and even sororities. She boils down her style for her designs as “high-end collegiate apparel,” with custom pieces like a college diamond hoodie and her lightning design hoodie. Over time, Ahmad has been able to evolve her designs to capture people and customers' eyes through vibrant fonts in correlation with contrasting colors. 

Recently, her focus has been on sorority pieces and shirts for “big and little week.”

“I had the opportunity to design the recruitment shirt for my sorority,” she said. The shirt, which would be worn for recruitment night, read “Ride with Kappa.” 

For Ahmad, this opportunity allows her brand to grow beyond social media; however, she understands that this opportunity is just the beginning. She hopes to expand her reach beyond college students and “move away from the personalized stuff into an actual brand.”

Parker Ahmad is the definition of the saying “check the fit.” Her fashion showcases her art and self-expression. It is her true passion. 

“My favorite thing is seeing people wearing my clothing. It just makes me happy when I get to see my friends like wearing my sweatshirt or wearing my mask and t-shirts,” Ahmad said. She said this joy of seeing her art and design being worn and adored by others brings her art satisfaction and that people “love it enough to wear it as often and post about it and be so open and be like, ‘Oh yeah, my friend Parker made this.’”