Who is Asya Khamsin? Sam Brinton luggage theft revealed as Vanity Fair features fashion designer's stolen dress

Nuclear engineer Sam Brinton landed in another controversy. This time, it is after Tanzanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin claimed that Brinton was seen wearing certain custom-made outfits in a Vanity Fair photoshoot that the designer lost at a Washington Airport in 2018.

The allegation came after a Twitter user pointed out that Brinton was seen wearing Khamsin’s dress in an old Vanity Fair article. The story titled “All the style of Sam Brinton” was reportedly published in the Italian version of the magazine in February 2022.

The photos showed the LGBTQ activist wearing the outfit at a Trevor Project event in 2018, the same year Khamsin's clothing was stolen. The latter told Fox News Digital that she recently saw a news report that showed Brinton being charged for stealing luggage at Minneapolis and Las Vegas airports.

Shortly after, she came across images of them wearing outfits that she allegedly lost at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on March 9, 2018:

“I saw the images. Those were my custom designs, which were lost in that bag in 2018. [They] owore my clothes, which was stolen.”

Khamsin’s bag reportedly contained at least 30 originally designed outfits. The luggage went missing when she was flying to Washington, D.C. for a 2018 event. However, she eventually had to pull out of the show following the loss or theft of her dresses as she was supposed to put the outfits on display at the event.

Speaking to told The New York Post, Khamsin said she initially did not accuse Brinton of being a thief but was left confused after spotting them wearing outfits identical to her missing designed clothes:

“I was thinking, ‘Who took my bag, where is it?’ for a long time. Then I see images of the outfits [being worn by Brinton] and I was so confused and upset. I was thinking, where did they get those clothes – because I didn’t think they were a thief.”

The designer added that the case is under investigation but mentioned that she does not want Sam Brinton to go to jail:

“I don’t know if I would like the clothes back. The investigation is in good hands with the FBI. I’m waiting on them [Brinton], they will do the right thing. I can’t say anything bad for them, they are a human. I don’t want them to go to jail.”

Brinton was charged with felony theft in October 2022 after allegedly stealing a woman's luggage from the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport baggage carousel on September 16 that year.

They faced another arrest warrant for grand larceny in December 2022 over another incident in July 2022 where they were accused of stealing another woman’s luggage from Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport.

Brinton was released without bail and ordered not to contact any of the victims last week. They were also removed from their role as a Department of Energy official under Biden's administration following the allegations.

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What is known about Asya Khamsin?

Asya Khamsin is an experienced Tanzanian fashion designer based in Houston. According to her LinkedIn profile, Khamsin is skilled in textiles, fashion design, fashion styling, fashion consulting, and fashion shows.

She graduated from Kiswandui Primary School in Zanzibar and Haile Salassie Secondary School in Zanzibar. In her official bio, Khamsin describes herself as a “strong arts and design professional.” She is associated with Fabak Fashions.

Asya Khamsin LinkedIn Profile (Image via LinkedIn)

The designer recently made news after claiming Sam Brinton was seen wearing clothes at a Vanity Fair feature that was originally designed by her and later lost at a Washington D.C. airport in 2018.

Khamsin initially filed a police report with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and lodged a complaint with Delta Air Lines after missing her clothing. She then pleaded with the airline to help locate her lost bag of expensive jewelry and outfit.

She recognized her designer dresses after recently noticing news photographs of Brinton wearing the same custom outfit. Khamsin was eventually convinced that the dresses were identical and took to social media to post a side-by-side comparison, which showed that the outfits were similar.

The designer told Fox News that her lost dresses and jewelry were originally been displayed at the Lady In Red fashion show she runs in Dar es Salaam.

Asya Khamsin reportedly filed a complaint with the Houston Police Department on December 16 and spoke with the FBI about the investigation. However, Sam Brinton has not been charged over the former’s claims so far.

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Netizens react to Asya Khamsin’s claims over Sam Brinton Vanity Fair photos

Netizens called out Sam Brinton following Asya Khamsin claims (Image via Getty Images)

Sam Brinton has continued to make the news ever since he was arrested for allegedly stealing women’s luggage at two different U.S. airports last year.

More recently, Tanzanian designer Asya Khamsin also claimed that the nuclear engineer wore her custom-made clothing on a Vanity Fair feature. The same outfits reportedly went missing at a Washington airport in 2018.

As the claim went viral online, several social media users took to Twitter to react to the allegation.

As reactions continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Sam Brinton will address the situation and respond to the new accusations in the days to come.