Costume Designer. Storyteller through culture and style.

Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and raised along the East Coast, Ayanna James Kimani is a sought-after costume designer whose work seamlessly blends storytelling with cultural authenticity. Her first studio release, HBO’s Insecure, quickly became a cultural touchstone, with Ayanna designing the first three seasons and elevating costumes to a standout "character" in the show.

After Insecure, Ayanna brought her creative vision to high-profile projects, including the MTV Movie & TV Awards, where she reimagined Ruth Carter’s iconic Black Panther designs, and the Family Feud Film directed by Ava DuVernay, starring Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Blue Ivy. She collaborated with DuVernay again on Season 4 of Queen Sugar and went on to design costumes for NBC’s Council of Dads, Netflix’s Tall Girl 2 (produced by Wonderland Sound & Vision), and CW’s All American: Homecoming and Tom Swift.

Ayanna’s recent projects include Disney+’s The Slumber Party and MGM+’s highly anticipated The Emperor of Ocean Park, starring Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker and produced by John Wells Productions. Her expertise spans a wide range of genres and platforms, making her a trusted partner for studios looking to bring their stories to life through exceptional costume design.

A global citizen with roots in Jamaica, the US, and Canada, Ayanna is as passionate about sustainability as she is about storytelling. When she’s not designing for the screen, she enjoys traveling with her family, curating an impressive collection of art and textile books, tending to her garden, and nurturing her vision of opening a sustainable textile manufacturing facility in her hometown.

Ayanna James Kimani is represented by UTA.