Joy Egbejimba | A Celebration of Life

Joy Egbejimba | Memorial | A.M.

Joy Egbejimba was a friend to Seattle Fashion Collective. But more importantly, she was a visionary leader in every sense of the word. And on a personal note, she was my friend and mentor offering advice when I was too young and foolish to know any better. Below are a few of my favorite memories in honor of her great impact on myself and Seattle’s fashion community as a whole. And while she is deeply missed, she will forever be celebrated for the great light she brought into our world.

All good things

The sun broke calmly over a clear Coronado sky. The salty sweet scent of the Pacific Ocean breeze blew warmly over my appropriately wet and frothy cappuccino. The bursting light was blotted out by my oversized aviators and Indiana Jones styled fedora whilst a bright red Columbia wind breaker braced my pale frame like a feigned hug from a distant relative. I was most certainly the only Seattleite within view, as we often stick out like a sore thumb closely resembling an REI advertisement from 1992. You know the one. Yet a calm washed over me as I stood upon the sand more outfitted for scaling mountains than body boarding halfpipes in front of the renowned Hotel del Coronado. This was the place. The history. The drama. The celebrity. The dragon tree featured in the film Some Like It Hot in honor of Marilyn Monroe. The hotel itself bathed in a glorious and almost unimaginably brilliant salmon hue in the late afternoon light. This was where I would produce Seattle Fashion Collective’s largest editorial to date.

Joy was my first call. I delivered my pitch expecting her reaction to be favorable, and refreshingly, her first question was, “Is this a luxury venue?” It was only some time later that I understood both the utility and the profundity of her question. Joy was a talented artist and designer in full command of her aesthetics. And the two of us had similar tastes in fine art and fashion. But she was an entrepreneur first and fully understood the optics of placing her brand in anything less than the perfection she demanded from herself. After all, our first commercial shoot together years prior hadn’t gone as smoothly as I had hoped. My fault entirely, though her grace and forgiveness were a considerable breath of fresh air for a young artist filled with passion yet bereft of experience. So, once I explained the venue’s history and how that would both elevate Nuciano and celebrate the story surrounding the excitement of a Seattleite’s valorized vacation plans, she agreed to the editorial. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? A walk on the beach enjoying a decent daiquiri after styling the girls in her finest attire? Cakewalk.

Models Oriana (left) and Selina (right) in front of the Dragon Tree at Hotel del Coronado styled by Joy for our Summer 2021 Issue.

I was renting studio space in Los Angeles at the time and had been in full production-mode with Jersey Virago casting models, styling fittings, engaging with Seattle designers and fashion houses, and generally fending off the reality of our post-pandemic world. As it happened, Joy’s arrival would overlap with Meagan’s, so naturally, I invited Joy to the studio for a portrait sitting. And, in a delightful update, her husband would join her. I was perhaps over-caffeinated, yet when it came time for her sitting, it was as if time had stopped. Joy emerged from the dressing room and took stage with the gravitas of an Olympic athlete, her pure and undeniable energy surging through the space like a perfume hanging sweetly in the air. Some of us have the innate ability to put one immediately at ease. And Joy was that person. Whomever you were, wherever you had been, when you were with her, you felt at peace.

The day had finally arrived. Both Joy and Meagan had stayed at Hotel del Coronado. I traveled south to meet them, the vision of my previous scouting trip planted firmly in my memory. And as I arrived, my heart sank. I learned earlier that the weather had been overcast and storms were forecasted for late afternoon. Not a deal-breaker, but far from the golden hues I encountered on my previous visit. Worse still, the hotel had undergone significant renovations with scaffolding and caution tape now littering its exterior and making the whole of the hotel an unsuitable backdrop. Fortunately this wasn’t my first rodeo, yet memories of prior artistic failures can be hard to ignore. I summoned all the strength I could project and met with Joy as she styled the models. The last thing I ever wanted was to disappoint her. And surely enough, I was greeted with a firm embrace and a wide smile. “Welcome Anthony! So good to see you on this fine day!” And that was it. The tone was set. No matter how I felt, and regardless of the environment or circumstances, we were safe in Joy’s presence. The rest of the day was magic surrounded by beautiful bougainvilleas and birds of paradise. And the worst thing that happened? I enjoyed a decent daiquiri after a walk on the beach.

Joy pictured with her husband Jude in studio, June 2021.

In memoriam

Joy Egbejimba was many things to many people. A devoted spouse to her husband Jude. A mother to her sons in whom she took great delight and took every opportunity to celebrate in conversation. She was a fashion enthusiast, a handbag designer, a luxury brand owner with a presence in multiple international markets, a meticulous accountant, an executive with an MBA in business leadership, a philanthropist dedicated to empowering women in developing nations. And more, certainly. To me, she was the epitome of the life well-lived, having prioritized what mattered most to her and letting the rest go. Joy gave me my first opportunity as a professional photographer working in commercial fashion. And more importantly, showed me what it meant to be a strong person of conviction in an industry that so often prioritizes profit over people. Her grace, attention to detail, strong passion and willingness to see the best in others were remarkable and exemplary, setting the tone for the Seattle market and all whom would follow suit. Joy made fashion more than merely clothing and accessories, caring first about the people that wore them, and only then about how their ensembles could elevate their humanity. I imagine often what our industry would be like if it did the same consistently.

The first time I met Joy was in an upper loft at the King Street Station during Seattle Fashion Week’s designer fitting. She had meticulously arranged her brand offerings on a small foldout table between two windows at the edge of the space, as instructed by the SFW staff. In front of her were white walls stretching for meters used for an art instillation that prevented sight-lines with the rest of the space. But nothing could prevent her light from shining.
— A.M.

Joy pausing for a quick portrait during Seattle Fashion Week, 2016.

“I really believe that when you educate girls, you change the world. That is absolutely true.”

— Joy Ifeoma Egbejimba