How June Ambrose orchestrated hip-hop’s most important fashion moments

We spoke at 9:30 am on a Tuesday in January, but judging by the way June Ambrose assembled, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Showing up dressed to the nines to a morning Zoom meeting was standard for a celebrity stylist.

Wearing a wide-cuffed navy Esenshel hat and two-tone statement glasses, the 51-year-old designer and stylist has just returned from Paris Fashion Week. Ambrose attended What the controversial runway show of Schiaparelli – with artificial animal heads on dresses. She described it as “a little wild”.

“However, I loved seeing Doja Cat in all the redstones,” Ambrose told HuffPost. “Because they’re comparing it to Missy Elliott’s ‘She’s a Bitch’ moment.” I like it.”

Ambrose orchestrated the look in 1999, when bald Missy Elliot wore a head-to-toe all-black Mistress-inspired jumpsuit with jewel-encrusted forehead and forehead as makeup in her music video.

Jay-Z’s longtime personal stylist – he affectionately refers to her as his “style secretary” – Ambrose is credited with bridging the gap between high fashion and hip-hop. She is the inspiration behind some of the most memorable images in hip-hop, from Missy’s “The Rain” to Diddy’s “Mo Money Mo Problems” music videos and many other iconic moments. Images and outfits created by her by hand, and to this day leave a noticeable imprint.

With almost 30 years of experience in music and fashion, Ambrose is on a journey of reinventing himself. She’s a pioneer in design and style, and now she’s embarking on her next fashion adventure: taking the WNBA and women’s sports to the next level. As Creative Director of Puma, which she has held since 2020, Ambrose has used her talents to create the two-piece “Keeping Score” collection. The second part will be released in March.

“I realized that the culture I changed in music would be the same culture-changing conversation I could have with this opportunity,” Ambrose said. “And I was going to take advantage of it. We knew it was a sport that these girls played just as hard and were underpaid and not supported. It was an opportunity for us to give them a life off the court.”

Ambrose is no stranger to challenging social norms and misconceptions. Since her time working with Missy Elliott and other hip hop legends, she has become known for taking risks by flipping the script and redefining masculinity, gender expression, feminine sensibility and provocation in hip hop fashion.

“I used to let male rappers wear my women’s glasses, but I didn’t tell them they were for women,” Ambrose said. “I would give them something that wouldn’t be considered hip-hop or gangster. I would say, “Put it away.” If you own your masculinity, whatever you wear, it should show up.”

With female rappers, Ambrose sought to help them own their sensuality from within. Whether it was baggy pants or men’s boxers, she taught them that clothes don’t make an artist.

“I think it comes from us really rethinking and understanding the source of sexuality and the source of femininity, the source of ownership of our identity at a very early time,” she said.

Before becoming an award-winning creative director and costume designer, Ambrose was a Caribbean kid in St. Louis. Croix puts on fashion shows in their Sunday attire. She recalled one of her most memorable catwalk outfits from her kindergarten teacher photo: tiny June in a pistachio A-line babydoll dress with chiffon sleeves and a Peter Pan collar.

“I told all the parents after school that we were going to have a fashion show in the cafeteria. They said all the kids should come in their best clothes and I arranged that with my teacher,” Ambrose said. “After I walked down the aisle, I went over and sat on her lap to watch how everyone else was doing it. I sat on her lap like the editor-in-chief. Maybe it was life that told me something early.”

Ambrose, born in Antigua, moved to St. Croix at 11 months old, then emigrated to the US at the age of 3. There, she and her mother set up a home in the South Bronx, living with her mother’s stepmother. Ambrose refers to her “grandmother” as her refuge and early inspiration for her style, her own Dianne Carroll or Dorothy Dandridge.

Describing herself as “very precocious” as a child, Ambrose said she always wanted to be seen, learning early on the power of clothing in storytelling and character development. Fashion has become her calling card, a means to gain respect by destroying narratives. “I was my first muse,” she said.

“When I started in the music business, I wanted to create a storytelling that felt very unique from my point of view, and that also needed to uplift and elevate the culture of people that I know deserve to be treated and seen. “, – she said. .

In high school, Ambrose made costumes for the school theater department. After graduating from Julia Richmond Talent Unlimited High School for the Performing Arts, Ambrose took a job at an investment bank, fulfilling her mother’s desire, who wanted her daughter to receive a steady weekly salary.

But Ambrose could not ignore the creative itch. A former classmate of hers who worked in the marketing department at Uptown MCA Records enlisted her help in designing a photo shoot. In less than three years in corporate America, Ambrose quit his 9-to-5 job, became an intern at a label, and the rest is history.

In his modeling process, Ambrose emphasizes how collaborative the experience should be, allowing the subject to feel in control. An organic and authentic style is paramount, and she approaches style from a “creativity, passion, and truth” perspective.

“The audience should look at them and think [the subject] We did it ourselves,” she said.

Ambrose, who still has butterflies fluttering before each work, she is meticulous and purposeful in her work. Among her favorite music videos that she designed and styled are Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Gimme Some More” while working on Mariah Carey’s “Emancipation of Mimi” with Jay-Feelin’ It. Z.

“Designing one of Jay-Z’s first costumes for Feelin’ It in Jamaica,” said Ambrose. “This yellow linen suit was really good because I really wanted it to feel like it just came out of the Casino Royale in the south of France. I wanted the perfect yellow and I couldn’t find it. So I just thought, “I can handle it.”

She went on to develop major collaborations between her clients and various brands such as Missy Elliott’s “Respect ME” x Adidas collection in 2004. Fashion houses capitalize on name recognition but remain reluctant to lend clothing to black artists and stylists. (IN interview with XXL, (Fashion legend Misa Hilton recalled how luxury designers would turn her away from tailoring for her clients such as Mary J. Blige and Jodechi.)

“I lived in fashion houses without seeing us and without waiting for them to invite us or ask permission to create such a visual image that would be provocative enough to be noticed,” Ambrose said. “They had to go back because we swallowed the consumer, and We influenced them.”

Ambrose says that while there is still much to be done, the relationship between fashion and hip-hop is evolving as fashion brands collaborate more with cultural pioneers. (LVMH recently selected Farrell as the new spokesperson for the fashion house. male creative director.)

Her background in music stood her in good stead as she moved to the creative director position at Puma in 2020. Her own client Jay-Z, along with Roc Nation business partner Emory Jones, introduced Ambrose to Chief Brand Officer Adam Petric. According to her, it was her partner who pushed Jay-Z to this.

She said the timing couldn’t have been better. She signed with the brand in 2018 and became creative director in 2020. At Puma, Ambrose led the label’s comeback for New York Fashion Week in September 2022, designing over 40 custom looks for the brand’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection.

She continues to be a champion for people who deserve to be seen, highlighting women in sports and the WNBA in particular. Ambrose launched the brand’s women’s basketball division in 2020 and its first collection in 2021, an initiative that made Breanna Stewart the 10th woman in WNBA history to get her own signature shoe.

Now the first joint collection of Ambrose and Puma called “Keeping Score” is ready. The first fall was in January. 26 and features deeper colors like burgundy and blue as well as athletic silhouettes that are functional and versatile for many body types. The second release is scheduled for March 16 and includes more green, white and blue colors, which Ambrose says are inspired by the retro silhouettes of tracksuits and varsity jackets that connect old school and new school.

The timing of the release of the Women’s Basketball Collection is significant, celebrating 29 years as a costume designer, stylist and creative director, 50 years of hip-hop and celebrating 75 years of Puma.

“I kept score then and I keep score now. I pay attention to who gives, how we pay up front, how we build,” Ambrose said. “I want to really stigmatize this phrase. It’s more than just words, but it’s in action.”

In this vein of self-reflection, the first drop is a 20-piece collection that is “intentionally parochial and has a sophisticated sense of age,” she said.

In the second half of her life, she says, she wants every chapter to be as meaningful as ever. The biggest lesson she says she’s learned is to trust herself.

“It’s a great reimagining,” Ambrose said. “I think the biggest lesson is to trust yourself and know that I have had enough. For every closed door, there is either one you can build or another that will open.”