Kick The Concrete's 2025 Stylist of the Year: Infamis Missy speaks on bridging culture in Chicago

Infamis Missy is HER in Chicago. And in NFL fashion.

But she is not just a stylist. She throws events, offers concierge services and more. She calls herself a "lifestyle architect" because of how she helps others live the good life in the city she knows and loves.

Part of her success is her incredible work ethic. Infamis Missy has been working since she was 13 years old at her family's restaurant. She's the daughter of immigrants with a Chinese and Vietnamese background and didn't have a lot of resources growing up. She started working in retail so that she could get fly like the athletes and musicians that surrounded her.

Her sartorial savvy and eye for convenience led her to styling athletes. Her clients today include Jaquan Brisker and C.J. Gardner-Johnson of the Chicago Bears and Pro Bowl guard Laken Tomlinson. She also had mega moments last season styling Jaylon Johnson in an icy blue suit, a luxe fur coat, and was far ahead of the upcoming polka dot trend with a superb mixed prints look. Infamis Missy has made her mark through her expertise of pattern and texture while showing that anyone of any body type can look good.

As she's building her own empire, her knack for collaboration brings people together in a powerful way. If you're in the Windy City and need something to do for New Year's Eve, her Friday Jr. series, which she runs with Peter CottonTale, is "closing out the year with R&B, slow jams, candlelight, and champagne." Here's our favorite part: "no chaos, just vibes."

Kick The Concrete spoke with Infamis Missy to give her our Stylist of the Year Award and learn more about her journey.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Kick The Concrete: We would like to name you our Kick The Concrete 2025 Stylist of the Year. Congratulations and welcome, Missy!

Infamis Missy: Thank you, guys! Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys supporting me and sharing my work every week.

KTC: What got you into fashion in the first place?

IM: So I've been styling for about 12 years. I spent the past 19 years working in retail. And so growing up in Chicago, obviously Jordans, you know, our thing. Being fly, being fresh has always been a thing. And it's just the culture of Chicago, of always being fly, always having the nicest clothes and shoes on. Being a child of immigrants, I wasn't able to do that, so I started working at stores just to kind of get the funds to start dressing cool, dressing nice and fashionable.

KTC: Do you remember your first pair of Jordans?

IM: Yes and no. So again, parents are immigrants. My dad found a pair at like TJ Maxx one day. It was a pair of XIIIs. So that was my first pair of Jordans. And then my first pair that I bought would be the black toe, the red and black Jordan 1s, the OG Jordan 1s. And so when I bought it back in high school, it was the Love/Hate pack, and it also came with the yellow ones as well.

KTC: Chicago has its own distinct style, like even with Don C and RSVP Gallery. How has that influenced you and also challenged you to make your own lane in the midst of that culture?

IM: Just being able to kind of be in a city of that and have it a little more accessible to other people. And at the same time, being from Chicago, Midwest, and then having that in your city, being the first one to know about it. So not just Don C but for example, Virgil, when he started Pyrex before he started Off-White. We were able to see it in the scene before it kind of blew up everywhere else.

KTC: RIP Virgil. Every day it's like, we lost such a beautiful soul.

IM: Absolutely, yeah.

KTC: And then I know also, Chicago's music scene is so cool. Both fashion and music seem to intersect. I know you host the Friday Jr. series with Peter CottonTale. But how has the music scene also influenced your style?

IM: You know, just being able to look at music artists and see what they're wearing. I mean, going back to Kanye West, always got a shirt with a collar, a shirt with a team. Being in a city of great sports teams as well having that influence of sports culture, music. Chicago is a very cultured city, and there's a lot of talent here. And people don't realize how much talent is in Chicago, because we're such a melting pot.

KTC: Yeah, people think of New York, LA (as the hubs of culture) and Chicago could easily be that third pillar.

IM: I would like to believe so compared to other major cities for sure.

KTC: For sure. And how did you get started styling athletes?

IM: I saw the necessity of convenience. So in Chicago, our players stay closer to the facilities than they do the stadium. And so the stadium is in the city. The facilities is about an hour to an hour and a half away, depending on what area of suburbs that they live in. And so at that time, I was working at a major department store, and one of my first clients happened to be one of the players who played on the Bears. And I kind of built this relationship where I offered the convenience of, let me dress you, let me style you. I'll bring it to the hotel. I'll put the fits together. I'll bring it and I’ll drop it off to you. So this specifically just the players, that's how that started. And then it became a lot of word of mouth and other players saw how easy it was and how convenient it was, and how cool it was to like, “Okay, I got fly,” just take pics before the game. And then that kind of built up throughout the years.

KTC: Yeah, now it's a whole thing. You work with photographer Carson Krank to do fashion shoots.

IM: Yeah, more editorial style.

KTC: We have to break down, it was a favorite look of everyone's, but the look you did for Jaquan Brisker, the purple, monochromatic outfit with different brands. How did that come together?

IM: I would say burgundy is the new black. It's such a rich color. And just the color itself, having the different variations from red tone to a purple tone, it's just a nice, rich color for someone to wear. It being like a big game, putting it together wasn't much of a challenge, more so of putting the right textures and materials together. And so I started off with the jacket, then going into the shirt underneath, having matching pants and the shoes as well. Everything just kind of fell in place once I found the pieces. I'm a very visual and texture person, so I like to feel and see. When you see the product in person, it's different than just seeing it on a flat image of a picture. So it looks better in person than it did on the frames.

KTC: I mean, it still looked good on the frames.

IM: It was very rich. It was definitely very rich.

KTC: I can imagine just the depth of the look.

IM: Then finalizing with the Rick Owens (shades), the same color, it just kind of like made it a little more smoother.

KTC: Is it very satisfying when a look like that comes together? Or is it kind of just par for the course?

IM: It's satisfying when it comes together and it actually matches the vision I've had. At this point, being around it for so long, I already have an idea, and I know it's going to come together. It's not often that it doesn't. I know patterns, I know textures, I know materials. But it's very satisfying when the look is a fan favorite, of all media, all blogs, and even some influencers as well.

KTC: Have you had a favorite look this season so far?

IM: It's between that and then the look with the brown jacket and the oversized pants.

KTC: Okay, yeah, that was a good one too.

IM: And then when we did the shearling coat.

Credit: Carson Krank

KTC: I think that's neat too. You can showcase your ability to style for all different seasons. The Dolphins players might not get the cool jackets as much.

IM: Well, that's our advantage in Chicago. We get layers and we get depth and we are able to go through all four seasons versus, you know, a city like Miami, who doesn't get snow and doesn't get the cold. So they don't get to experience these cool pieces that the fall and winter bring.

KTC: Right now you are building very much your own brand, your own empire of style and culture, and bridging different elements of that. What is your vision for what you want to do with that? What are some of the challenges and what keeps you going? 

Because I know I can relate to doing it on our own, and it's a lot, but it’s rewarding, too.

IM: It's very rewarding. It's very rewarding to see that I'm able to bridge the gap between culture, fashion, style together, as well as bridging like luxury experiences. Being able to work with people of that caliber and then also be able to provide experience for them outside of just dressing them. It's very rewarding to see that I'm able to cater to a whole ecosystem.

KTC: Your title for yourself is “lifestyle architect.” Law Roach calls himself an “image architect.” Why for you was “lifestyle architect” an appropriate title for what you want to do?

IM: Because I bridge culture, style and experience all together. And so with that being in Chicago, we could tap into everything, like we're talking about fashion, music, nightlife. They all go hand in hand. So people get dressed to go out to show off their outfits, whether it's an event or a project or nightlife, but it all goes hand in hand. Again, it's an ecosystem. So you have somebody who has me dress them for an event that I'm throwing. So it's literally a system that goes all together.

KTC: Like a one stop shop.

IM: Pretty much, yeah. For example, with the concierge services I offer grooming and security. Or in Chicago, we do Summertime Chi very well, and we like to hang out on the lake, on boats. Or making reservations or even (someone can ask me) “Where can I go tonight?” Being somebody that people can go to for that reference, or to make the reservation, it just it makes it easier than someone to reach out to someone else in Chicago and they're not aware of what's going on, or what's like, the cool spot to do or go to.

Follow Infamis Missy on Instagram.

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