Hi Guys,
Next up in my Breaking into Fashion series is none other than stylist extraordinaire…
…June Ambrose!
If you haven’t heard of June, she’s outfitted the likes of Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Ciara, Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, and Jay-Z, just to name a few. She worked closely with video director Hype Williams during his Gimme Some Mo days and was the stylistic brains behind a ton of epic hip-hop videos past and present including Big Pimpin, All in my Grill, We Belong Together, and Sexy Love. She even styled Mo Money, Mo Problems (Remember those shiny suits???)
She was kind enough to interview with The Fashion Bomb to give you aspiring stylists tips on how to get your foot in the door.
June knew from a young age she had a passion for fashion. She says, “I was always interested in clothing. When I was in elementary school, I created our first school fashion show. I got everyone involved, whether we were making pocketbooks out of crepe or skirts out of construction paper.“
A marketing major, June’s first job out of college was at an investment bank. Finding that crunching numbers wasn’t her calling, she threw caution to the wind and interned for a short period at Uptown/MCA in their marketing department. Her drive got her noticed by Jive Records, who hired her as a stylist for groups such as Hi-Five, The Backstreet Boys, and R. Kelly.
After her stint at Jive, she worked as marketing director for the 90’s uber-brand, Cross Colours. She says, “Cross Colours was the biggest and the only urban brand in the marketplace at the time.” As a marketing director, she placed Cross Colour clothes on the hottest acts of the moment, including TLC and Kriss Kross. She managed to make enough artist connections to become a freelance stylist.
For those wanting to break into the business, she says, “The industry is saturated, but if you’re going to go for it, take a course. Get an internship with a credible stylist or a magazine. It’s a business, not an industry. If you’re only interested in meeting celebrities, forget about it!“
She continues, “Build your portfolio. Have a plan as to how you’re going to market yourself to acquire clients. Do a really great internship that will allow you to experience and understand everything that goes into it.“
She credits her success with her insatiable search for fashion knowledge (sound familiar?) She says, “I was a sponge and OK with learning as I went. It was my passion and everything that I did. I wanted to know where clothes came from before they went to stores. I dreamt, lived, and breathed fashion.”
Need a bit more fashion knowledge yourself? Lucky you, June compiled all her best style tips and fashion advice in her book, Effortless Style:
In it, she discusses everything from the importance of fit and wearing the correct undergarments to buying the right accessories to achieve a celeb glam look.
She says, “Effortless Style talks about capturing fashion and interpreting it into your own look…using the right tools to translate celebrity and runway looks into the style of an average person.” Sign me up!Effortless Style is now in paperback (easy to tote around). Get your copy for $11 at www.amazon.com.
Smootches!
* Beyonce plays with color in Paris….
…mixing pretty purple with pink and red. Bold, but does it work?
*In NYC? Take a styling course at FIT for $280.
