Barkley '13 Making a Name for Himself At Amazon

Barkley came to the Prep from Gesu School. Like many Preppers, when he thought of a career, he focused on traditional areas: medicine, law, business. Mrs. Pinto asked a question during his junior year that changed everything.

Noticing his flair for standing out despite the dress code, “Mrs. Pinto asked me if I was interested in fashion as a major,” he says, remembering the moment fondly. “At the time, the answer was no, not at all. I wasn’t sure my mother would accept that! But sitting there, I knew I wanted to be happy and focus on something of interest to me. I didn’t know that fashion would be a career for me; that it was really ever an option. Still, she really helped me hone in on what I wanted to do.”

His mother Sharon, Director of External Affairs at Temple University, came around, and Sahron went to Philadelphia University (now Jefferson East Falls) to study Fashion Merchandising and Management. After graduating, he stayed and got a Master’s degree, which included spending a semester in Milan studying at Politecnico di Milano. After graduation, Sahron found a position as an Assistant Buyer at Forman Mills in Philadelphia. It was a job in fashion management, but not exactly what he was looking for.

“I wanted to be a stylist,” says Barkley, with an eventual goal of “becoming a creative director of my own brand or another brand.”

To that end, while working at Forman Mills, he continued doing work on the side, creating “editorials” that he would pitch to publications. As the stylist, he would work with a photo director, develop a concept, and build a team (including models, hair, makeup, etc.). He would then reach out to designers to use their clothing for the shoot.

“As a stylist, my job is to create a specific look, feel or lifestyle,” he says. “I would submit it to several different publications, based on what they are looking for. If it is up to par for what they want to put out, you receive that accolade and it gives you a chance to build your network.”

Barkley recently joined the creative team with Amazon’s new platform, Prime Personal Shopper, which Amazon promotes as a “new styling service...that provides style inspiration and personalized recommendations. After learning more about your broad preferences including style, fit, and budget, [their] stylists will curate inspirational pieces for everyday or help find that perfect look for work, vacation, or a night out.” Since November, Sahron has made the commute from North Philadelphia (not far from the Prep) to Manhattan to create looks that will assist Amazon shoppers to find clothing that suits them. In the meantime, he continues to build his brand outside of Amazon. “I want to be that guy,” he says.

He has fond memories of the Prep, and says that while he “didn’t learn anything fashion related at the Prep,” he learned many valuable lessons. “I learned to never quit and to always strive for more,” says Barkley. “I have carried that with me. I can say that I am further in many areas of my career because of the challenges that the Prep afforded me.”

He also learned how to buckle down and get work done. “The main thing that I personally learned at the Prep was to take things more seriously,” he says. “As a young boy, things can be frivolous. At the Prep, I learned that it was okay to have fun, but we were taught to get things done when needed. There was structure in place to keep us moving forward and stay on task. Things were handled within the Prep in a way that was very smooth. I always appreciated that.”