JOI AKINS

Founder & Creative Director

French Quarter Polo Club is a New Orleans-based luxury fashion brand founded in 2026 by designer and creative director Joi Akins. Inspired by equestrian heritage, international influences, and a lifelong appreciation for fashion history, Akins created the brand with a vision of bringing timeless design, thoughtful craftsmanship, and accessible luxury to contemporary fashion.

Born in New Orleans and raised across West Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina, Akins’ journey has taken her far beyond the place she calls home. From studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to spending seven years living and working across Asia and Europe, each experience shaped her perspective on fashion, culture, and design.

Her love of fashion began long before she imagined creating a brand of her own. Akins considers herself a lifelong student of fashion, learning through travel, observation, collecting, and studying the designers whose collections she once dreamed of affording. She became fascinated not only by the beauty of their work, but by the history, craftsmanship, and creative vision behind it.

What began as admiration eventually became inspiration. Akins wanted to create a luxury brand that offered the same attention to detail, quality, and timeless elegance she had grown to appreciate, but at a more accessible price point.

“I wanted to create the kind of luxury I spent years admiring..thoughtful, beautifully made, and attainable. To me, luxury should be defined by the thought and care behind a garment, not simply the name on its label.”

— Joi Akins

French Quarter Polo Club was born from the intersection of three things Akins has always loved: New Orleans, equestrian culture, and timeless fashion.

She envisioned a brand that embraced the traditions of Southern dressing and the understated elegance of equestrian style while reflecting the international influences gathered throughout her travels. The result is something both familiar and unexpected. Rooted in heritage, yet designed for the present.

Every detail matters. From the selection of fabrics and development of silhouettes to hardware and finishing touches, Akins approaches each collection with the same curiosity and appreciation that first drew her to fashion.

Returning to New Orleans to establish French Quarter Polo Club was more than a business decision; it was a homecoming. It was an opportunity to bring years of learning, collecting, traveling, and observing back to the city that first shaped her.

As a Black woman building an independent fashion house in the South, Akins believes in honoring tradition while creating space for a new perspective on luxury.

French Quarter Polo Club is her interpretation of modern heritage: a meeting of Southern charm, equestrian tradition, international influence, and quiet luxury.

It is a love letter to New Orleans, a reflection of everywhere she has been, and a celebration of everything still to come.

MADE BY NEW ORLEANS, FOR NEW ORLEANS.

Joi Akins
Founder & Creative Director
French Quarter Polo Club