Casey Billingsley, who professionally goes by ICONtips, has been referred to as the byproduct if Dr. Dre and André Leon Talley collided. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he was raised by his grandmother, Doris “Dottie” Johnson, in one of the deltas which came with a healthy serving of deep southern Christian roots, and he received more than his fair share as he grew up in the city’s West End.

He expected to become meteorologist, spending his days in science recreating tornadoes with 2-Liter Sprite bottles. He credits Grandma Dottie with introducing him to fashion when he joined her weekly weekend shopping trips for “Sunday’s Best.” The task of shopping for Sunday’s Best became his responsibility in his teenage years as she aged and couldn’t move around as she once did.

The Vogue and Elle subscriptions that arrived by mail were in her name but meant for him and were “quiet as kept” because a Black man in the south wasn’t supposed to be interested in fashion. He also wasn’t supposed to be styling friends Brittany Hutchinson and Danielle Roseborough in high school. Instead, he was supposed to be an athlete, doctor, or lawyer. Basically, any occupation that preserved his masculinity was suitable. At Clark Atlanta University, he double-majored in Business Marketing and Fashion Design and Merchandising.

Since moving to LA eight-plus years ago, ICONtips has styled Bianca Lawson, Savannah James, Jhene Aiko, Meg Thee Stallion, Bre-Z, Yung Miami, O.T. Genasis, etc. Today he reflects and introduces us to his official start, talks being on Access Hollywood, and more.

How did your first chance in fashion come about?

In 2009, I became the store manager for Controversy Boutique in Atlanta, which was owned by a lady named Dawn Harrell. I did that for a year and a half and started applying to internships in New York City because I was bored and knew I wanted to do more. I never got any responses, and I realized they weren’t responding because I didn’t have a New York address on my resume. So I found a random one online and used that. Soon after, I got a call from Nicole Miller saying they needed interns for Fashion Week. That call took place on a Wednesday, and they asked me to come in to interview that Friday. My situation was less than ideal at that time. I had just moved into a new apartment, and all I had to my name were those keys, an air mattress, and my laptop. All my money had gone to moving into that spot.

Still, I knew this was my chance. I remember asking God “to show yourself,” and told me to “be vulnerable.” So, I went to my Twitter and told everyone I needed $500 to get to New York, and people started donating to this Kickstarter I had set up. Then, around 11PM that night, I got a call from an older client who frequented the boutique I managed, saying that I was on her mind and asked if all was okay. At first, I said I was fine, and she was like, “don’t lie to me.” So, I ended up telling her, and she bought my plane ticket while we were on the phone. That next evening, I flew to NY.

I was couch- surfing while in New York; after fashion week, I landed an internship with Irene Albright. One day, she asked me to accompany her to Bergdorf Goodman; I met Linda Fargo as she showed us the collections, and we hit it off. She gave me a card to Mark, the Head of Client Services, and told me to reach out. Months went by before I did; it was around the time I was breaking down and saying, “I can’t do New York anymore. I’m only making $10 a day, and it’s just getting too hard.” I emailed him while at Starbucks, and he responded immediately, asking me to come in to meet with him. He hired me at BG on the spot, and that’s how it all started. I went from $10 a day to $15 an hour.

Let’s start with when you initially started styling celebrity clientele.

Ethiopia Habtemariam, the Chairman/CEO of Motown Records, is how it started. Back then, she was the president of Universal Music Group and flew me out to Los Angeles to dress her for Grammy weekend; we connected immediately. Then, Kalenna Harper of Dirty Money wanted me to come on a tour in Europe. So, I quit Bergdorf Goodman and went back to Atlanta. While I was back in the A, I got a call that the tour fell through. I was distraught, but I had started working on this girl group with my friends called “The Yes Ma’ams.”. Spoiler alert: we are working on a relaunch with all the original members.

After that didn’t take off the way we planned, I bought a one-way ticket out to LA to stay with my friend Mel, a makeup artist. The world is so small because I found out that Mel and Ethiopia knew each other. After reconnecting with Ethiopia, she told me she was staffing her team at Motown and brought me on as a creative director. My world opened up after taking that position. I had my own office in Capitol Towers, and Ethiopia didn’t put me in a box. I wasn’t only allowed to work with Motown artists; I got to style and develop relationships with artists from different labels, which is something that just doesn’t usually happen. LA is when it all started. Singer Mila J was my first real client with an actual budget.

Talk to me about working with Jhene Aiko and Savannah James; these seem to be steady relationships.

Jhene and I are both Pisces and only a day apart –the 15th and 16th, respectively, and she’s a wonderer just as I am. Even personally, we mesh very well and have a solid understanding of each other and each other’s emotions. Jhene’s ethereal; she operates from her dream space and I’m planted in editorial so creating with her is usually magical.

Savannah, she’s someone who is stepping into her swan. I enjoy and am so grateful and blessed to be a part of a blank canvas. It’s her time! Most people know her as the wife of one of the most prominent NBA players ever, Lebron James, but now it’s her time to shine. I was telling her earlier today that I never thought that she would be “someone I could take to a BBQ with paper plates and be around my not so politically correct cousins while we sit in the grass.” Savannah comes from a similar environment, so she understands. In the same breath, we can go to the finest Michelin restaurants that the world has to offer.

You were on Access Hollywood. Tell me about that moment?

I was scared as hell. A producer from the show reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I had been on television rating outfits before, and I had only once. So, on the day my agent and I arrived, I was terrified. I had my own dressing room, which I was not expecting, and then I got the script. I was like, “wow, this is serious, but when it was time to go live, something came over me, and everything flowed so well.”

Afterward, the network producer came up to me, gave me a hug, and praised my performance. Shortly after that, the showrunner came to me in my dressing room and let me know that she “never comes out of her office, so that’s a great sign.” Then, three weeks later, they reached back out telling me how well my set went and asked me back for a second time.

Name five brands you love. 

Sergio Hudson, Miss Sohee, Christopher John Rodgers, Kamsi T. Charles; a menswear brand from Nigeria and Archival Mugler rest his soul. I love archived clothing – designers were more explosive and experiential back then.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

It would be Jhene at the Grammys this past year. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it was beautiful and light. It was received so well and made Vogue’s Best Dressed list. You can’t get any better than that, so it is one of my top red-carpet moments.

Would you say you’ve gotten most of what you’ve asked for, or is there still a long way to go?

I have more strides to make. I’ve been praying for an opportunity to dress someone for The Met. I need my moment there, and I pray about that hard because I desire it a lot. I’m venturing into film and making my way into costume design. I have more to do and more to give.

What do you make of your journey when you think back to being that little boy in Birmingham? And then that young man in Atlanta?

I’m incredibly mild-mannered and optimistic. Again, always been a dreamer and imaginative; sometimes, that put me into some weird spaces because of our friend “reality.” Remember, I wanted to be a meteorologist; I was that kid building tornadoes with two 2-Liter Sprite bottles. I’ve never seen an actual tornado with my own eyes, but I was so interested that I was creating my own. That’s a reflection of my tunnel vision. My journey is a living testimony of perseverance. I watch the steps I take versus looking at where I’m trying to go because I exhaust myself when I look ahead to the checkpoint.

IG: @icontips