Walking through the halls of Oak Park and River Forest High School, stylish hoodies, T-shirts and beanies from the company V3rzatile can often be spotted on fashionable students.
V3rzatile is the brainchild of junior David Ikeemeka, who created the company in December 2024 with the mission to empower youth to be unique. Since then, Ikeemeka and his team have sold streetwear across Oak Park and throughout the broader Chicagoland area.
Ikeemeka said that V3rzatile was originally created to honor his late sister, a graphic designer who taught him the foundation of what he knows.
Lyneice Lush, OPRF’s in-school suspension coordinator, said she found Ikeemeka’s story inspiring. “When he decided to take something that he experienced and flipped it into a positive and shared it with the world, I was excited about his idea with that,“ she said.
Along with selling clothes online and promoting his brand on his social media, V3rzatile also has a greater mission. “We’re going to start a non for profit, which educates young people on entrepreneurship and financial literacy at a young age so they don’t have to go through the humps that I went through,” said Ikeemeka.
Ikeemeka has already done much work for the community, hosting pop-up shops to showcase other youth-run companies and partnering with organizations such as Your Passion First and A Greater Good Foundation. He plans to host more pop-up shops to support local youth and businesses in the future.
Ikemeeka was recognized by the Village of Oak Park and given a Neighborhood STAR Award this past November because of the work he did to host the Oak Park Youth-Led Business Pop-Up Shop. So far, Ikemeeka has not only received recognition from Oak Park but also on local Fox32 News, where his brand was featured. Ikeemeka’s passion and drive were also showcased along with other student entrepreneurs at OPRF’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. assembly that took place on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Anyone interested in following the journey of V3RZATILE or purchasing pieces can visit the Instagram page @V3RZATILE or the official site V3RZ.com.
