The Few
Ro Akin, owner of The Few is an eclectic creative and fashion designer, making clothing that
expresses his own individuality and seeks to connect with others who resonate with his
experiences and art.
By Zuza Gaboush
A first-generation American from Nigeria, Ro was born and has lived most of his life in Atlanta. Growing up Nigerian-American, Ro has dealt with the common issue of his full name, Olayemi, being constantly mispronounced. “Since elementary school they’ve been slaughtering my name on the announcements... and I’m just like... what?” One of the main pieces TheFew has dropped is a shirt with a print of the artist Sade, another first-gen Nigerian who has faced similar issues surrounding the pronunciation of her name. TheFew posted a video of Sade to their instagram, where during an interview, she provides the correct pronunciation of her name and explains the meaning behind it. This video stuck and resonated with Ro, who found his own experience mirrored in hers.
Condensing his own background, artistic inspirations and brand’s mentality into one piece, Ro dropped the collection “No Ordinary Love,” centered on Sade and her message.
“The shirt says ‘no ordinary love’. I wanna say that there’s nothing ordinary about us. We’re not normal. This type of love, the way we feel about this art, this craft, is not ordinary. We not looking for fame or anything like that- I would be doing this for $2. It ain’t even about the money... everything about Sade resonates with The Few.”
This expression of his own identity through clothing and other creative mediums is intrinsic to TheFew’s pieces. Ro infuses aspects of his identity, for example, patterns on Nigerian garments, into his clothing. His brand’s purpose is to represent both himself and connect with others like him. Drawing a significant portion of his inspiration from movies, Ro analyzes other forms of art to inform his work and inspire his creations.
For Ro, movies contain a plethora of clothing ideas, and the medium of film directly aligns with the theme of fashion. “When you think of Indiana Jones, what do you think of? Leather jacket, cargos, jean shirt buttoned up, the satchel bag, y’know what I'm saying? The look is a theme.” 90’s movies like Meteor Man and Big Trouble in Little China are some of Ro’s favorites, and have acted as primary sources to pull from for inspiration. However, film isn’t the only medium Ro’s interested in- working in multiple art forms such as photography, videography and writing are different elements of Ro’s self-expression which lend themselves towards his clothing brand.
The brand started off unintentionally- the idea for it first originating when Ro was a part of an artist’s collective in highschool. Starting with a large number of people (graphic artists, models, actors, painters), the group was a collection of individuals collaborating with other brands and working on their own pieces independently. As Ro joined the group and started to thrift and up-cycle his own clothing, he began to take fashion and the possibility of owning his own brand more seriously. The group eventually dwindled, and as the majority of the collective dispersed, Ro and the ‘few’ remaining members took up the work of transferring the collective into a brand. Representing Ro and the remaining collaborators of his brand, it was during this transition that the name, ‘The Few’ was born.
“[The Few] is about individuality, about being the last man standing. Everyone doesn’t win- it’s the ones who keep pushing forward. That’s what we represent.”
The Few creates streetwear because Ro finds it to be a widely accepting and versatile sub-genre; there’s no rules to it and it allows every individual to exist as themselves, forming a community through honoring differences. In the spirit of community, Ro also finds immense value in collaborating with those around him. He states, “everyone around me I admire.” When working with others, Ro believes in allowing space for creation through collaborating- taking a back seat, being open and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes, it’s valuable to sit in the passenger seat and not be the loudest in the room. He finds that collabing with other artists is a highly productive way to make work, and when thinking about his plans for the future, collaboration is a major aspect for him. One of his main inspirations is Pharell Williams, specifically the collaborative work Pharell has done for multiple brands as a creative director. For Ro, collaborating with brands and avenues outside of fashion is a large desire of his; for example, working on creating jewelry with other companies is a plan he would like to pursue at some point in the future.
Reflecting on the journey of his brand, and the challenges he’s overcome, Ro found his biggest obstacle to be overthinking- being his own worst critic and obsessed with creating perfection. Overcoming this takes practice, but it also requires just taking a plunge. “Just get it out there,” he tells us, leaving us with a few words of advice.
