In the Wild World of AK, celebrities wear comfortable clothing covered with other celebrities’ faces.
Stars like Ruby Rose, Billie Lourde, Drea de Matteo, Kiernan Shipka, Noah Cyrus, Tana Mongeau, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, and Jen Selter have all rocked Allison “AK” Kirwan’s signature merch—and you can, too.
Allison “AK” Kirwan tells Page Six Style about her celebrity-inspired and celebrity-loved venture, Wild World of AK.
Allison “AK” Kirwan tells Page Six Style about her celebrity-inspired and celebrity-loved venture, Wild World of AK.
advertisement
Allison “AK” Kirwan tells Page Six Style about her celebrity-inspired and celebrity-loved venture, Wild World of AK.
advertisement
What started eight years ago as a hobby of illustrating famous people as mermaids (because she “wasn’t good at drawing legs and feet”) has grown into a busy business that includes your favorite sticker book from your childhood, but how, when Clothing.
What started as a hobby of drawing celebrities with mermaid tails grew into a busy business.
What started as a hobby of drawing celebrities with mermaid tails grew into a busy business.
advertisement
What started as a hobby of drawing celebrities with mermaid tails grew into a busy business.
What started as a hobby of drawing celebrities with mermaid tails grew into a busy business.
advertisement
Kirwan, 29, “decided to go full-time” to work with her quirky company after being laid off from her retail gig early in the coronavirus pandemic. It was the perfect time for Wild World of AK to thrive as everyone was stuck at home shopping online and craving comfort and fun.
“It was a big period of growth,” she tells Page Six Style in an exclusive interview. “Everyone was in sweatpants mode. … The orders came in.”
Kirwan credits influencer Tana Mongeau with helping her quirky clothing go viral.
Kirwan credits influencer Tana Mongeau with helping her quirky clothing go viral.
advertisement
Admittedly “not a TikTok person,” Kirwan recalls a “surge of orders out of thin air” after internet personality Tana Mongeau, 24, wore a pair of tie-dye sweatpants decorated with screen-printed Louis Vuitton logos in a viral video. purses were covered.
“That’s when the all-over print stuff came off, so I sort of dropped the mermaid [merch] a little,” the Rhode Island native tells us.
Orange Is the New Black star Ruby Rose recently bought Dennis Rodman’s sweatpants.
Orange Is the New Black star Ruby Rose recently bought Dennis Rodman’s sweatpants.
advertisement
Kirwan admits she “had no idea” Orange Is the New Black star Ruby Rose, 36, was even a customer until “someone DMed her a selfie” of the actress in Dennis Rodman sweatshirts made by the designer.
“That was a fun surprise!” she says.
Kirwan said Sopranos star Drea de Matteo is a big fan of her many Sopranos tracks.
Kirwan said Sopranos star Drea de Matteo is a big fan of her many Sopranos tracks.
advertisement
But Kirwan didn’t shy away from the “shooting” with other big names, such as “Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo [her] Shot.”
“I have a [photo] Shoot the All ‘Sopranos’ figures [merch] and then I marked them in it. And a ‘Soprano’ [Instagram fan] Account posted it and then I got the followers from her,” tells us the young creative of de Matteo, 50, who played fan-favorite character Adriana La Cerva on the hit drama series.
Mad Men star Kiernan Shipka has also been “really supportive” of Kirwan’s company.
Mad Men star Kiernan Shipka has also been “really supportive” of Kirwan’s company.
advertisement
Mad Men star Kiernan Shipka has also been “really supportive” of Kirwan’s company.
advertisement
She adds that Mad Men star Kiernan Shipka, 23, and Scream Queens actress Billie Lourde, 30, have also been “really supportive” of their Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) plays.
Just as her now-defunct Etsy shop was taking off, Kirwan said she was “fired” from the e-commerce site for some of her mermaid drawings, surprising the designer because she made them “all by hand” with “marker and pen.” .”
Billie Lourde is among many Kirwan customers drawn to her Sopranos merch.
Billie Lourde is among many Kirwan customers drawn to her Sopranos merch.
advertisement
“It was my whole livelihood,” she recalls of the abrupt “closure” of her online shop with “hundreds” of unfulfilled orders.
“But it’s good because now I have my own website,” she adds, noting that Etsy tends to “charge so many fees for smaller artists.”
Saturday Night Live stars Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman even wore Wild World of AK clothes on the show.
Saturday Night Live stars Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman even wore Wild World of AK clothes on the show.
advertisement
Saturday Night Live stars Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman even wore Wild World of AK clothes on the show.
advertisement
Even though her company has grown tremendously, Kirwan is still a one-woman show.
“Being your own boss is fun – but also scary,” she tells us, adding that she’s also the company’s sole employee.
“It’s just me!” she says with a nervous laugh. “I’m trying to find the next step to get stuff out faster and handle that volume change because with these viral celebrities it’s going to be like 100 orders out of the blue.”
“With these viral celebrities [like Noah Cyrus]it will be about 100 orders out of the blue,” says Kirwan.Allison Kirwan/Wild World of AK
Despite her achievements, Kirwan admits she was quite discouraged in pursuing her dreams. It didn’t help that she felt compelled to study photography in college “because where she went to school, there wasn’t a fashion major.”
“I wanted to do everything,” she tells us.
The Rhode Island native owns and operates her business while also taking “all the photos” of her products for her website.
The Rhode Island native owns and operates her business while also taking “all the photos” of her products for her website.
advertisement
So she “saved” the money she received from graduation gifts — around $1,000 — and “got the first round [of mermaid T-shirts] Screen printing.”
Now, not only does she own and operate her own business, but she also takes “all the photos” of her products for her website, giving her the complete creative autonomy she’s always wanted.
“I’ve almost given up so many times because I thought it wasn’t going to work or slow down sales, but just keep going,” encourages the designer.Wild world of AK
So what would she say to other aspiring artists in similar shoes? Nothing a WWE Superstar wouldn’t advise!
“Don’t give up. I sound like John Cena, but don’t give up,” she insists.
“You just have to keep going. I’ve almost given up so many times thinking it wouldn’t work or slow down sales, but just keep going. And do what you love, which is generic but follow your heart and your passion. It will work out if you put in the work.”
Comments are closed.