Archivist Nygel Simmons Is Preserving Black Fashion History

blacknewsdailyAugust 16, 2025

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Archivist and creative director, Nygel Simmons, is countering the digital black hole in the name of Blackness, historicity, and fashion.

Simmons has meticulously carved out a corner of social media dedicated to preserving the intersection of ghetto-fabulousness, high-fashion, and the greater zeitgeist of the ’90s and early aughts through his page @nygelsartorial. With the intention to bring newness and honor the art and craft of creating still imagery, Simmons carefully scans and digitally shares the often overlooked treasure trove of primarily Black imagery that is so heavily being mined in today’s culture. “This was my culture, these were my reference points, and will continue to always be my reference points,” said Simmons. “I wanted to make a page that posted the things that I wanted to see.”

Simmons makes sure to do his research. His posts tag the accounts of the credits for the original photoshoot, identify pieces worn in key looks, and add additional culture context of particular eras. His level of care not only lends itself to archival spaces but also to creative direction and styling.

“I have this entire library of things that I can reference, and honestly, most of it is not on the internet, which is a part of why I do what I do,” said Simmons. “I love to share the things I find with others.”

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This past year, Simmons put his library to good use when he creative directed Complex Magazine’s inaugural fashion editorial with Miami rap superstar, JT. We spoke with him about honing his craft, his main influences, future goals, and more.

How would you describe your craft?
I would describe it as historical, Black, and fashion.

You’re an archivist in practice, but you were also creative director for our JT fashion editorial for Issue 001 of Complex Magazine. Talk a bit about that process.
It was definitely a learning experience for me—being on set—a moment of a lifetime. I’ll never forget it. I just wanted it to pop. I wanted it to be definitive, striking. I wanted it to force people to have an opinion. I feel like a lot of what’s going on now is white backgrounds and things that can get lost, nothing that’s super definitive.

Take me back to the day of the shoot. How were you feeling? What were you most excited for?
I was definitely a ball of emotions. I was so emotional that I was dissociating. Working with JT on a personal level and seeing how meticulous she is about the things that she does was super inspiring. I have a whole new respect for stylists and all of the things they have to be accountable for. Shout out to Aria [Hughes]. Shoutout to Complex. Super grateful.

The hair and makeup for this shoot are very nostalgic. What were the references that you pulled?
One of the main inspirations was an old picture of Giselle [Bündchen] for Numero magazine in 2003. She had this blue backdrop, but she was in black and white. It was a pop effect. Also a late ’90s Versace campaign with lots of striking colors.

Ironically, the dress and the look that Brianna [Andalore] pulled, for the red backdrop image [of JT], Trina wore on a shoot for Complex in 2004. They’re both from Miami, and the images are very similar. I thought that was pretty cool. It wasn’t even intentional.

The goal was to have a nostalgic feel for the styling with elevated pieces. For the hair, the rapper Jacki-O is a big inspiration for JT. I pull from a lot of hair magazines. That’s what’s so great about having an archive and wanting to go into creative direction and styling. I have this entire library of things that I can reference. Most of it is not on the internet, which is a part of why I do what I do. I love to share the things I find with others.

A magazine cover featuring a model in a fur hat and vest, posing against a turquoise background. Text includes

A model poses in a purple outfit against a bold red background with black abstract shapes, featuring the Versace logo.

As an archivist, what are your main influences?
Things I saw growing up. It just so happens to be popular now, but I also think that’s the cycle of life. People grow up seeing things that they aspire to be or do, but don’t have the freedom or the means to do so. They grow up and they emulate what they saw growing up.

I saw a lot of music videos. It was the golden era of hip hop and ghetto fabulous. Being in an urban environment as a Black child, this was my culture. These were my reference points. They will continue to always be my reference points. I wanted to make a page that posted the things that I wanted to see. And then it is just in my nature to always want to differentiate myself. How can I make my page stand out versus the hundreds of other nostalgia pages? I started scanning my own stuff. I’m very detail oriented. I want the quality to be there when it comes to pretty much anything I do. If you see a post on my page you’re either receiving new information or you’re seeing a picture that you’ve never seen.

A magazine spread featuring an article titled — Complex

Why do you think archivist work is so relevant and important today?
It’s basically keeping history alive in the era of the internet. Print went away for a long time. I feel like it’s coming back now, but it’s just keeping things alive. Being on set for the JT shoot was 10 or 12 hours. People put in so much work into creating these beautiful images. You don’t want that to be lost. Someone like myself, who loves fashion, it’s a treasure trove for me to buy these magazines and see things that I’ve never seen before. I strongly feel like these images deserve to be respected and honored the same way other pictures are preserved.

A woman poses against a vibrant red background, wearing a patterned outfit, with a confident and relaxed expression. — Complex

What are your thoughts on the current culture’s relationship with nostalgia?
The internet is a vacuum. People are just constantly seeing the same images and the same reference points. They’re not really doing their due diligence to seek anything else beyond that. That’s why I think what I do is so valuable. Even though it’s old content, it’s stuff that’s typically never been seen before. I’m bringing new things to the conversation.

What would you say are the most essential elements of your practice?
Nostalgia, detailed curation, and bringing newness to the zeitgeist of the internet.