Jersey power

When it comes to fashion in New Jersey, a lot of people think TapOut tees, latex-fit skirts or essentially trashy items. Completely false. Not only does Jersey have some of the best malls in the country, people tend to forget the multitude of genius that comes from the state. Just because Snooki, Pauly D and JWOWW party it up in Sleazeside Heights, doesn't mean we're all uneducated assholes that fist pump and drink our lives to shit.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon is a Jersey boy born-and-raised. Jon Bon Jovi is from Perth Amboy, NJ and even though its central Jerz, it still counts. The world of comedy may not be the same without Paul Rudd, Zach Braff and Jason Biggs who are also from the dirty, and we all know that American Pie is the shit, and it wouldn't be the same without Jim.

Some other notable New Jerseyans: Chelsea Handler, Ali Larter, Queen Latifah, Tara Reid, Meryl Streep, John Travolta, Anne Hathaway (not born, but raised a Jersey girl), Brooke Shields (endured her high school years in Jerz), Bruce Willis, Derek Jeter (lol Yankees fans) and, did I mention, that Thomas Edison set up shop in NJ to discover cool things like the phonograph, motion picture cameras and the lightbulb? Because, yeah, that happened.

Here's where I relate it to fashion now. Jersey-born 25-year-old Adama Kai, whose Aschobi Designs label is the first western style imprint to set up in Sierra Leone. She moved to Sierra Leone at four, then later trained in New York and Paris and has since moved back to Sierra Leone to pursue fashion in an underdeveloped and undervalued country.

She creates gorgeous African-inspired dresses and photographs them in the suffering streets of the country. Honestly, I could not be more proud that she was born in my home state and is doing beautiful things in an equally beautiful place that has an unfortunate history of civil war and child soldiers.