From Ava Duverne to Gabrielle Union, Jason Bolden’s work can be seen on every red carpet. The stylist, who is responsible for Yara Shahidi’s incredible 2021 Met Gala Josephine Baker look, has had a very unique and relatable entry into the fashion industry.
Bolden is from St. Louis and he headed into Chicago to study pre-med at the illustrious Northwestern University. He quickly learned that pre-med was not for him and he transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago. Like any other college kid, he soon ran out of money and started working at different high-fashion retail stores to make some money. He started at Cynthia Rowly and they moved to Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Oscar de la Renta. Through this job, he became familiar with the wealthy clientele of the city, but still sought out celebrity interaction.
Every fashion student dreams of moving to New York City and owning their own store, and that is just what he did. He went to New York and started a vintage clothing store titled “The Garment Room.” His collection was very well thought out and had unique pieces, which led many designers like Calvin Klien, Akris and Ralph Lauren to head into his store to gain inspiration for their new collections.
Through his work at the Garment Room, he met many celebrities and became friends with Gabrielle Union. This friendship eventually led to his first styling gig in 2011 for Union’s appearance in Art Basel. “She’s like, ‘Just find me something from your store to wear. Just bring it!'” says Bolden. “It was a friendly moment and I put her in this vintage Lanvin [for a Vogue party] and it just went crazy.”(Fashionista.com)
After this styling appointment, Bolden became widely popular and eventually became a full-time stylist when he started working with Taraji P. Henson. “She literally said to me, ‘Well, you need to get it together because I’m about to blow the f*** up and you’re gonna be busy,’ and literally from her mouth to god’s ears: transition,” he explains. “It was like boom, boom, boom, boom, and everything back-to-back and I became this — it is what it is — go-to for all the amazing brown girls, which I die for. That was the start and, for the past three years, it keeps exploding even more.” (Fashionista.com)
His client list is huge and includes Yara Shahidi, Storm Reid, Sabrina Carpenter, Sasha Lane and Ava Duverney just to name a few. He has also been part of Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 25 Most Powerful Stylists” for 3 years in a row and stars on the Netflix show, Styling Hollywood. I highly recommend watching this reality show because it provides great insight into what goes on in the world of styling during different events.
Additionally, he also is the co-founder of JSN studio which is a “multi-disciplined creative studio made up of a growing team of individuals who support Bolden and his partner in realizing the breadth of their creative output. With projects spanning the country, JSN Studio focuses primarily on residential + commercial interior design, luxury staging and product design.” (Business of Fashion)
Bolden is one of my favorite stylists. He always makes looks that are so unique but also very personal to the celebrity. I have never seen a look from his that feels overwhelming for the celebrity because it always feels like they could have this in their closet. Below are some of my favorite looks by him:
Storme Reid
Yara Shahidi
Taraji P. Henson
