The Nigerian-born designer launched a luxury fashion label in Houston

ARinze Marshall grew up in a family of five boys in Nigeria. The fourth son in line was always known as the fashionable brother.

“My passion for fashion stems from my childhood,” says Marshall.. “My mother said she was just as fashionable as my father, who passed away when I was 10 years old.”

After studying microbiology in college, while simultaneously modeling and hitting runways outside of the classroom, Marshall moved from Nigeria to Houston in 2016, where he met his wife — a Houston native.

“Houston is part of me,” Marshall said. “I embraced the city as it embraced me. It always feels like home to me. And, if you look around the city, it’s a great environment for entrepreneurs. There are lots of small businesses, startups and fancy restaurants. Houston is expanding rapidly beyond oil, gas and healthcare.

It makes sense that when it came time for Marshall to launch his new luxury fashion label, he wanted to launch it in his own Texas backyard.

Inspire

“I’ve always loved to draw and I love design,” says Marshall. “A few years ago, I was going through a very challenging time. Drawing bags was an escape for me. “The more I made the bags, the more I wanted to see them come to fruition.”

At the beginning of this year, Marshall got his wish and officially started working his account, Arinze Marshall. Marshall was very intentional in every part of the process, incorporating his culture, history and native language into his brand factory. Notably, Arinze’s martial emblem comes from his home tribe (the Igbo tribe) and reflects how the tribe spells “King” in the unique NCBD script.

Although the brand is based in Houston and incorporates a lot of Marshalls heritage, it places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Its products are shipped nationally, and it has international ambitions.

“I want every fashionable person to be able to be a part of this brand,” says Marshall. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t stick to traditional African prints or fabrics. I want everyone involved and involved.

The Maiden Collection is available this year in two bags, the Oma bag (“beautiful” in Igbo language) in nude and red and the Idea bag (“thought” in Igbo language) in black and green. As evidenced by the name of the attitude bag, this collection has a strong focus on craftsmanship, design and thought. Marshall’s priority in this first collection was to show that it is ready to provide customers with high quality products, emphasizing the quality from the stitching to the materials to the hardware.

Spring 2023 collection

As for what’s next for Arinze Marshall, Marshall is gearing up to launch his next collection in the spring of 2023. The collection is expected to include a variety of items including bags, backpacks, satchels and more.

“There will be something for everyone in this next collection,” promises Marshall. “My dream is to bring everyone — regardless of background or style — into one home.” We all tell different stories, and I want this collection to embody that.

With his competition, Marshall isn’t concerned. He said that if he prioritizes quality, hard work and perseverance, everything else will follow.

“There’s a saying in my culture – ‘There’s enough room in the sky for all the birds to fly,’ and that’s how I feel about fashion,” he says. “Just run your own race and don’t worry about anyone else.

“There’s enough room in the sky for all the stars to shine.”

For a closer look at all of Arinze Marshall’s offerings, check out the full website or follow him on Instagram.