22 Black Men Dominating As Celebrity Fashion Stylist
The Golden Globes, BET Awards, Met Gala and every event in-between, if there's a red carpet on the scene you can expect celebrities to show up trying their might to debut a fashion moment. A-listers have long been the poster boys and girls for high fashion but, behinds those looks are the architects of style, the celebrity fashion stylist.
Celebrity styling is one of the most coveted jobs in the fashion industry. These consultants advise on what to wear, secure the garments and accessories to wear and return them back to designers all on the behalf of their clients. Television shows from House of Glam to Styled by June and the Rachel Zoe Project have highlighted the work of these creatives as they build looks from square one: finding the inspiration to accompanying them on the red carpet to keep their clients best dress list fresh for the entire night.
It's a fast pace, high-intensity job, and many of the stylist responsible some of the most fashionable looks in recent times are black men. On The Hollywood Reporters, 25 Most Powerful Stylist in Hollywood 2019 list 4 black men, styling duo Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, Law Roach and Jason Bolden received a nod for their work in fashion but we can add a few more brothas to this list. From Rihanna to DJ Khaled the black men are influencing your favorite celeb's, and indirectly your, style choices so behold, meet 25 black men dominating the fashion industry as a celebrity stylist.
JASON BOLDEN
Jason Bolden stumbled into his career in fashion starting with a retail position at a Cynthia Rowley brick and mortar in Chicago while studying pre-med at Northwestern University. Since 2011 Jason Bolden has styled Taraji P Henson, Ava DuVernay, Angel Curiel and Dave East and started his design studio, JSN Studio.
JASON REMBERT
Jason Rembert’s editorial background assisting on sets for shoots with major fashion publications W and Harper’s Bazaar helped honed his skills as a celebrity fashion stylist. He is responsible for styling some of the most stylish black men in fashion from Michael B Jordan to Odell Beckham Jr. In 2019 Rembert launched his womenwear brand, ALIÉTTE and since its collection debut starlets like Zendaya and Issa Rae have worn dresses the line.
WAYMAN BANNERMAN AND MICAH MCDONALD
According to the Hollywood Reporter, styling duo Wayman and Micah are one of the top Celebrity Stylist for 2019 and one of only 3 black men to earn a spot on the magazine most powerful celebrity fashion stylist list this year. Their clients roster ranges from actors Tessa Thompson to the queen of ip hop soul, Mary J Bliges.
BRAND WILLS
Brand Wills carved out a lane in celebrity fashion styling dressing athletes. His clients include Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals and Rudy Gay, small forward for the San Antonio Spurs.
DEX ROBINSON
Dex Robinson is another stylist and brand manager who specialize in working with athletes. Robinson believes one piece of styling advise every man should know is, “when it comes to having style buying the most expensive brand won’t necessarily make your stylish. It’s the way you put your pieces together that will determine how stylish you are.” Some of Dex’s clients are football player Tyrod Taylor of the Los Angeles Chargers and soccer player Jozy Altidore.
LAW ROACH
Law Roach is a stylist and Judge on ANTM VH1. Though he’s most known for his work with Zendaya and Ariana Grande Roach, who started his career working in a vintage boutique in Chicago, is also responsible for keeping Shameik Alti Moore dapper.
KOLLIN CARTER
Kollin got his start working for another black celebrity fashion stylist, Law Roach. Currently he’s the stylist behind many of Cardi B’s most iconic fashion looks.
WOURI VICE
Wouri Vice broke into fashion interning at Giorgio Armani before styling his long time friend Alicia Keys. Today Vice is the key fashion stylist for Grammy Award winning R&B singer H.E.R.
HARRISON T. CRITE
Memphis, Tennessee native Harrison T. Crite moved to New York City and starting interning with Mercedes Benz Fashion Week to get his foot in the styling door. Crite work can be seen on many international stars like Nomzamo Mbatha and Bonang Matheba. Last year the stylist launched his men’s but unisex accessory line Axcexx.
iCON BILLINGSLEY
iCON Billingsley keeps Meghan Thee Stallion and Yung Miami from the City Girls fly. The Birmingham, Alabama native credits, “speaking things into existence and nurturing relationships,” as the reason for his impressive client list.
MARCUS PAUL
Marcus Paul has work with rapper Pusha T as his stylist for the last 6 years. When it comes to styling clients, Paul told Complex, “The true influencers are the clients, but it’s the stylist’s job to collaborate and work with the client and curate and enhance their image.”
ERIC MCNEAL
Eric Mcneal worked under stylist Jason Rembert before taking on his own clients. He’s currently in charge of keeping supermodel Joan Smalls in the latest high fashion.
KWASI KESSIE
Kwasi Kesse is a Harlem native stylist who calls rapper ASAP Ferg a client. Recently Kessie debuted his own sneakers with team 3 stripes, Adidas.
DAN P LEE
Stylist and East Carolina University alum Dan P. Lee has outfitted rappers Kodal Black and actor Jean Elie
AVON DORSEY
Avon Dorsey gained his industry experience freelancing for Glamour and Instyle Magazine. Dorsey has styled Rae Sremmurd, Quincy and Trevor Jackson for red carpet appearances and as the Contributing Fashion Editor for Essence Magazine.
TERRELL JONES
Terrell Jones is in charge of some big and tall style with DJ Khaled and Fat Joe as his key clients. Jones described Khaled’s style as, “confident, clean and unique,” in an interview with billboard.com and although he pulls luxury labels like Gucci and Louis Vuitton for his client of 14 years many of Khaled’s looks are custom made.
JAHLEEL WEAVER
Jahleel Weaver is Rihanna’s stylist and the Junior Creative Director of Fenty Corp. Weaver assisted stylist Mel Ottenberg before joining Rihanna’s team.
MATTHEW HENSON
Matthew Henson was a fashion editor at Complex Magazine for 6 years before taking over as ASAP Rocky’s stylist. In an interview with the New York Times, Henson recalls his first time styling the rapper starting off shaky. “The pull’s cool, but this is why I don’t work with stylists,” the Harlem born rapper told the stylist the first time they met according to Henson
E.J. KING
Stylist EJ King has dressed R&B singer Chris Brown and model Eva Marcille and was a cast member on the BET reality show About the Business. King worked in PR and interned for Fashion Director Seannita Parmer before taking on clients of his own.
BRYON JAVAR
Saweetie, Jacob Latimore and Jazmine Sullivan all stay fly thanks to Compton-born stylist Bryon Javar
ATIBA NEWSOME
Atiba Newsome was one of the stylist from the B. Lynn Group on the 2010 fashion reality show, House of Glam which aired on Oxygen. Atiba has styled Cardi B, Faith Evans and Mya.
MEMSOR KAMARAKE
Mensor was the lead stylist for Wendy Williams before venturing back into freelancing. Before Wendy Williams, Kamarake was the fashion director at Vibe Magazine and styled many of their celebrity covers including the Barack Obama cover.