How to Break Into Fashion: Celebrity Stylist EJ King on Finding his Niche and Creating the Fab Life

Today, we have a special Breaking into Fashion interview with celebrity stylist and TV Personality, EJ King. Not only has he starred on BET’s About the Business reality show alongside Eva Marcille, he is also currently on tour with Chris Brown for his Party Tour as his resident wardrobe stylist.


Prior to getting on the road, we got a chance to catch up with EJ and get the scoop on his fabulous life. He goes straight into telling us about the days before all the glitz and glam.


He says, “I used to work 12 hours a day dressed in a white jumpsuit from head to toe making pacemakers with two other people in the room (who would’ve thought, right?).” What soon broke this cycle was a call to be an extra on the set of the movie Dreamgirls. He continues, “I asked my mom what she thought about the opportunity and she said I should go for it”. They both agreed that if anything were to transpire from it, he would take it as a sign and leave his hometown of Moreno Valley, CA to pursue a career in LA.

He says, “Once I got back to work they said they had to let me go because I didn’t take off properly”. Sure enough, he took that as a sign and moved to LA that same week. “A friend of mine who was a model, offered for me to work as her stylist on her shoots, and shared her one bedroom apartment with me so I could get my start”.

While working on his friends’ magazine shoots, her publicist asked if he’d be interested in working as a publicist and offered him a position as her assistant. He says, “She took me under her wings and taught me everything about PR.” King found himself working as a publicist for two years. He began to frequent circles with all of young Hollywood’s hottest stars and cultivated relationships with them.


As he started to gain more ground in Hollywood, his boss began to see more potential in him, “she thought it would be a good idea for me to work on the creative end and introduced me to King Magazine’s Fashion Director at the time, Seannita Parmer”. Not one to leave any stone unturned, King took the opportunity to intern for Parmer for a full year. He was able to assist with shoots and gained more visibility with potential clients.


From there, he was able to book his own clientele. “I ended up moving to Atlanta for two years to work with T-Pain”. His roster also includes Lil’ Wayne, Day 26, Nelly, and Chris Brown who he’s worked with for 9 consecutive years.

He remembers having to work with a large budget of $10K for the first time with the girl group, Sophia Fresh. He says, “It was an amazing moment for me because everything I had once dreamed about I was actually doing”.


His ultimate goal, “I want to have multiple businesses running that relate to fashion and beauty.” He has wasted no time with his business endeavors. He is now a partner for StarfireLA hairline owned by Chante’l Griffith.

For those who do not know, King also has ‘hairstylist’ on his resume. He was born into a family of hairstylists. He says, “Hair is something that made me come to life more. I got locs just to have hair. My mom told me I used to play in wigs all day long.” Looks like this recent hair collaboration is right up King’s alley after all!

His advice to those who aspire to do big things, “As children we love to dream, then once we become adults we somehow think that’s over with! Keep dreaming! Everything I once dreamed about having by the time I hit 30, I now have!” There you have it, never let your dreams die!

To keep up with EJ King follow him on IG @ejking21

 

Thoughts on EJ’s fab journey?