Neko Kelly: Fashion stylist from Old Harbour Bay making waves

He recalls introducing himself to his first-form class at Clarendon College at age 11 and being laughed at when he stated his career goal.

“I stood and said ‘My name is Neko Kelly. I am coming from Old Harbour Bay Primary School and in the future, I would love to be a model. Everyone laughed. The teacher asked if I was sure that’s what I want to do. I said yes. And they just laughed,” he relates to JIS News.

“My mind had been made up from then. I knew a nine-to-five was not for me. When they laughed, I was like ‘yeah, whatever’. I always had an ‘I don’t care’ attitude because I was very determined,” he shares with JIS News.

Ten years later, people are no longer laughing.

Neko has become a much-sought-after fashion stylist and creative director.

International clients such as Rita Ora and KeKe Palmer, and reggae and dancehall acts, including Nadine Sutherland, Beenie Man and Tanya Stephens, have all been ‘Styled to Roc’ under Neko’s brand.

On February 6, Neko was among 15 Jamaicans under age 30 who were presented with the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence for outstanding accomplishment in various fields.

He was recognised for achievement in Arts and Culture.

Neko recalls that it was while he was on the way to style the 2022 Magnum Calendar Shoot, that he learned of his nomination for the Prime Minister’s Youth Award.

“I was in a cab when I got the call from the Ministry of Education and Youth. I immediately froze and grabbed on to the driver’s hand. The driver did not know what was going on, so she pulled over and was looking at the shock on my face. I was there tearing up and I finally told her I was nominated. She got out of the car and jumped up and down – a complete stranger. That made the experience so, so good,” he laughs.

“To be awarded and recognised by the Prime Minister and by my country is just amazing,” he shares.

Neko’s creative awakening came as a child growing up in the fishing village of Old Harbour Bay.

“I used to watch my Aunt Sharon get dressed and do her make-up. She had scandal bags full of clip-on earrings, jackets and dresses with shoulder pads, plus she was obsessed with Iman make-up. That was my first realisation of beauty – a black woman, a family member and it felt close, honest and beautiful to me,” he tells JIS News. Neko credits his late father, Mark “Biggy” Kelly, as a major influence.

“I grew up with a very elaborate father who used to have a gold ring on every finger and 10 gold chains around his neck. Same for my mom who used to do her hair every three days. I grew up with a very stylish family. We weren’t shy when it came to fashion and self-expression, so that was the beginning,” he says. Neko dedicates the youth award to his father, who he says, was his biggest cheerleader and a critical cultural influence in his life.

“He was always very proud of me. I am pretty sure when he was alive he knew days and moments like these were coming and that I would be somebody. I know he would be proud of me, not just as a son but as a successful son, that achieved success with integrity. I know he is seeing this in spirit,” he shares.

Neko says his dad was “very cultural” and loved local artistes like Beres Hammond, Glen Washington, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, and Luciano.

“Growing up hearing those kinds of music every day made me appreciate the artistes, my music and my culture. Music made me love the culture, but fashion made me dedicated to the culture,” he says.

Neko went from listening to Beenie Man to styling him for his recent album cover, which he described as one of the most fulfilling moments of his career. Another standout moment for Neko came in June 2020 when his submission for the #VogueChallenge was recognised as among the 13 best entries in the world. The Challenge featured stylistic pieces from creatives of colour across the globe.

“In the 104-year history of Vogue, there have only been three black men on the cover and only one black photographer has ever shot a cover for American Vogue. That started a conversation involving black creatives worldwide, who said: ‘hey we can do it and even better,” he shares.

“I created a Vogue cover for every month of the year, and it went viral instantly. I did what I called ‘Vogue Jamaica’. I kept getting repeated notifications that my submission was featured in multiple articles from E! News to TMZ to Teen Vogue to People Magazine,” he gushes, adding that he was also recognised by Vogue Brazil and American Vogue.

Towards the end of 2020, Neko landed what he calls “the project of my life” when he was a co-stylist on recording artiste Maluma’s ‘7 Días en Jamaica’ project.

The Colombian singer, songwriter and actor has sold more than 18 million records, making him one of Latin America’s most successful acts.

“I was supposed to be an assistant on the set, but when I got there, they were like ‘clearly he knows what he is doing’. They made me [Miss Jamaica Universe 2017] Davina Bennett’s co-stylist. We also acted in the capacity of unofficial cultural advisors because we had to guide them on what aspects of our culture had to be included. We started shooting in Jamaica and then they flew us to Colombia, to recreate Jamaica in Colombia, and it was done flawlessly,” he tells JIS News.

Neko says that breaking into the fashion industry was not easy, noting that he was often underestimated because of his youth and gender. “When I just started and I was going into stores trying to get them to lend me clothes, people had a very negative response, especially to a man in fashion. When I was faced with people underestimating me and not giving me a chance, I started to get things custom-made. At first, I would use my mom and best friend’s clothing to style shoots,” he shares.

“By doing that, people started recognising me more. Eventually, they realised I’m not so bad and I’m not going to steal their clothes. You have to understand that someone can’t just come to your store, ask you for thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes and you just give it to them. So, I do understand that people may have been wary of me back then, especially since I didn’t have all these accomplishments under my belt,” he points out.

On the night Neko received his youth award, he joined the event via video call, and positioned in the background was a photo of Rihanna, to whom he credits the origins of his moniker and brand name, Bootlegrocstar.

It is the name he uses for his Instagram page, which has more than 30,000 followers. Neko says that Rihanna, during an interview, referred to herself as a “bootleg rock star”.

“When she said that I was like ‘that’s my name!’ My name is bootlegrocstar because people have this preconceived idea of who I am and I am nothing of the sort,” Neko shares.

He says that like the rock stars he admires, his rebellion lies in being his authentic self.

“I do not have tattoos; I don’t drink I don’t party that much… . All my idols are rock stars – Grace Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Olivier Rousteing, Rihanna and Johnny Depp. They are my inspiration and I aspire to have the same amount of cultural and fashion impact as they do,” he says.

Neko remains busy and has several upcoming projects with local and international acts.

“I have a project that I’ll be working on with [English singer] Dua Lipa, and I recently did something mind-blowing with [Jamaican artiste] Stalk Ashley as well; we did 12 music videos in two days… . My life is a movie, I’m never off set!” Neko exclaims.