The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s Phaedra Parks has always encouraged stylish son Dylan Nida‘s creativity, but she may not have realized how one specific moment would launch a career.
“Dylan loves fashion and he wanted bell-bottom pants. However, for his size, they didn’t sell it,” the ‘Wife recalled on RHOA Season 16, Episode 16. “I said, ‘Why don’t I get you a sewing machine and you learn how to sew them yourself?’ And, literally, the rest is history.”
Indeed, when now-12-year-old Dylan, aka “Mr. President,” first appeared in the episode, he was toiling away at his sewing machine, stitching together a sample pair of wide-leg snakeskin cargo pants. Phaedra joined to point out he was already starting to receive orders and ask about the “big picture” vision for his pants line.
After Dylan suggested it was time for him to have his own warehouse to “ship out the orders” from, his mom offered him another exciting business opportunity, asking him to showcase some of his pants at the black glove shopping affair presentation she was hosting for some “very elite clients.”
Though he excitedly accepted the offer, he shot down Phaedra’s request for him to make her some pants to wear to the event, however, prompting her to playfully joke, “You’re a hater.”
How Phaedra Parks’ son Ayden is involved in Dylan’s fashion brand
Dylan’s pants line is, in fact, a family affair, though.
As seen in the episode, his “proud” big brother Ayden Nida, 15, aka “The Prince,” acted as both his model and “manager and financial advisor” — even though Dylan drove a hard bargain when he initially suggested getting a 10 percent cut of any business deals. Ayden did dub their mom’s shopping event as “perfect marketing,” after all.
“Ayden … is very much a politician. Similar to his mom, he’s got a way with words,” Phaedra added in an Episode 16 confessional. “He loves to make money. So he got that honestly.”
As she provides her “two young kings” with the foundation to “understand integrity and work ethic,” multi-hyphenate Phaedra also noted her gratitude for the “very good co-parenting relationship” she has with her sons’ father, Apollo Nida.
“My boys, they are my legacy. My goal in life is to give them a leg up. And I tell them all the time, you will be your brother’s keeper and no matter what happens in life you have him. ‘Cause I won’t be here forever,” she continued. “So, to see them showing the clothes that my baby, Mr. President, has made, I’m very proud.”
Details on Dylan Nida’s pants line
To close out the fashion event, the showroom’s founder, acting as the emcee, introduced “Mr. Dylan” as the “special guest,” revealing that he had been coming to her business to learn how to sew and had designed and made the pants that both he and Ayden were about to model for the crowd, which included the RHOA cast (minus Porsha Williams, who was dealing with an unexpected family death), as well as Married to Medicine alum Lateasha “Sweet Tea” Lunceford.
After the brothers walked the runway, Ayden directed the guests to Dylan’s Star Archive website to submit pre-orders.
As of publication, Dylan had three items available in his collection, ranging in price from $100 to $145: the “Bossy” denim jeans (modeled by Phaedra), the “Legend” vegan leather pants (modeled by Ayden), and the “Presidential” vegan leather pants, which he modeled himself, of course.
“While most kids his age are figuring out what they want to be when they grow up, Dylan is already building a brand — one stitch at a time,” his website bio notes. “What started as frustration over boring, off-the-rack clothes turned into a full-on mission: to make pants that actually speak to him — and to anyone else tired of blending in.”
Find out more exciting new details about Phaedra’s life as a single mom to Dylan and Ayden here.
