Costume Designer, Stylist & Creative Producer, YETY AKINOLA STUDIO
England-born, Yety Akinola is a costume designer and creative producer with West African roots. Starting her decade-long career in costumes in New York City after an introduction to luxury menswear at British GQ in London, she began her chapter in the U.S. at Cosmopolitan magazine. Her interests lie in curating organically complex visual stories with unexpected clashes of texture and pattern. While honouring diversity and women-focused narratives, Akinola’s uniquely layered designs are derived from her multicultural British-Nigerian background.
Her recent short, Rest Stop, continues its success on the festival circuit after premiering at TIFF, screening at SXSW, and winning the Jury Award for U.S. Fiction at the Sundance Film Festival (2023). Most recently, Akinola wrapped principal photography on the gritty independent feature Urban Ed, which highlights the fractured U.S. school system. Plus, her contemporary BET feature film is scheduled to premiere this fall.
Her decade below the line nurtured her commitment to curate and create the stories that are often left unread, as well as dressing the characters that live within them. Her latest short as producer, >span class="NormalTextRun SCXW131011784 BCX0">Dr. Sèjí Àjàyí, exploring the Pan-African whimsical world of Alkebulan, is currently on the festival circuit, with screenings at Oscar-qualifying film festivals, including Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival. Akinola is represented for costume design by United Talent Agency for TV and film worldwide.