Meet Jaymes Blond

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaymes Blond.

Hi Jaymes, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first started my career being interested in Fashion but not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. As a young child from a small town in New Jersey, there are not many outlets for youth to cling to involving it and fashion at a high level. I had an older cousin that I was close with and somewhat of a mentor. She was a Wardrobe Stylist, working with clients like Keyshia Cole, Lil Mo, Prince and more. She introduced the concept to me, and I immediately became very interested. I was always very enamored by Celebrity culture since a child, and I wanted to be involved – but I did not really know to what degree. The idea of a career that exclusively bridged the gap between Celebrity culture and fashion sounded like the perfect job for me, lol.

This being said, upon solidifying my interest, my cousin granted me the opportunity to assist her for the many styling gigs that she was involved with. Being that we were both from New Jersey, many times were spent traveling up to NYC (where the majority of her gigs were(. Within the first few days of assisting, I got to learn quickly that the job of a Wardrobe Stylist is not as glamorous as it appears to be. It is in fact very gritty, and only advisable if you truly have a love and passion for it. Granted, I genuinely believe that after all of the blood, sweat, and tears are put into each gig – it can in fact be very rewarding. It’s nice to be able to take credit for transforming someone’s look or being able to advise a new era in a Musician’s life. At this point, I got to have first hand experience with assisting my cousin with Personal Celebrity Styling, Runway for NYFW, and a few shows for VH1 (Love & Hip Hop). Unfortunately, all good things come to an end…my cousin had decided to make the executive decision to move to Atlanta and offered me the opportunity to come with or stay behind. I chose to stay behind.

The decision to stay behind in New Jersey was an integral moment for me simply because I did not realize that this simple decision would be the catalyst for what was to come. At this point, I was 20 and had no true idea or direction on what I should have been doing to shift my career from a Wardrobe assistant to a Wardrobe Stylist. The first step was to create a portfolio! I immediately started networking and reaching out to my friends in NYC and asking to collaborate on test shoots to build my fashion portfolio. I did not know much, but I knew enough – being able to apply the tools I learned while assisting.

I started off conducting shoots with my own funds in order to create the ultimate portfolio. After about 5-6 test shoots, I felt as if I had built a pretty solid “beginners portfolio” and it would be in my best interest to showcase it by creating a website with my very own domain…and I did just that. Within creating the website, I felt as if it created a more professional aura around my work ethic. I started getting outreach from Photographers whenever they needed a wardrobe stylist and designers whenever they needed assistance with styling runway shows or editorials. Within my first year, I had successfully styled about five editorials.

This then led me to landing my “first big gig”. Someone from Kanye West’s team reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in Styling the models for his Fashion Show/Presentation for Yeezy Season 3. Of course, I said yes! This was such a huge moment for me that I never had imagined would happen, especially seeing Kanye as one of my biggest fashion inspirations!

Fast forward a few years in 2020, I decided to make the move to Los Angeles. In the midst of the pandemic, I must add lol. This move was overall motivated by me wanting to leave the 1-dimensional fashion scene in New York City and be more involved in the Film/Television and Music Industry side of it. Within my first year of moving to LA, I took a job as an E-commerce Business Manager, managing this Start-Up Company that sold car audio. If I’m being honest, I absolutely hated the job, but I simply knew it was temporary and that I moved to LA to chase a dream! Surprisingly, after working my 9-5 after a year and doing some Freelance stuff on the side, I had a Musician reach out to me and ask if I did Creative Direction and Wardrobe Styling and if I would be interested in taking a call with her to discuss our opportunities of working together. Just like that, later that week, I was able to quit my dreadful 9-5 and start working full-time under a retainer.

I went on to kick off Creative Directing and Consulting, my first Musician in Los Angeles. Muni Long! Within this gig, I was personal styling, artistic direction Album Covers and Music Videos, and overall consulting any visual aspect of her artistry. Under my creative control, she then went on to garner millions of views on YouTube and received a Grammy for Best R&B Performance, amongst other awards.

While simultaneously providing Artistic Direction for Muni Long, I also had the pleasure to be involved with Kollin Carters Wardrobe team and was involved with providing consulting for artists like Ciara and Normani. One of the major gigs I got to work on with him for Normani was her ‘Wild Side’ performance for the MTV VMAs.

I then went on to provide Consulting Services for Korean Pop Star CL for her Coachella Performance in 2021.

The very last gig that I did was being under a retainer and providing Wardrobe Styling and Artistic Direction for Musical Artist Danileigh. I was able to be involved within her breaking her silence on a previous scandal and making a comeback with an interview with Angie Martinez for People Magazine. I was fortunate to style her for her last EP “My Side’ and also provided Wardrobe Styling services for her ‘Dead To Me’ Music Video.

After my very retainer ended, I decided to pivot and take a break from the Music Industry, and it can sometimes be fickle and very intense. For the past year, I have been providing Content Management and Consulting Services for a Start-Up Beverage Company.

One thing about me is I am willing to challenge myself and try anything. I know that I have no bounds on my artistic ability, and I can visualize and provide things my peers ultimately can’t.

I think I have taken a long enough break and will ultimately be making a comeback to the Music Industry to provide Styling and Artistic Direction Services in 2024!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been the furthest thing from a smooth road.

1. One of the biggest obstacles I have faced is I feel as if I have been told no more than I have ever been told yes.

2. I have had to spend a lot of my own money to make some of the biggest projects I have been involved with come to life.

3. No matter how big of a company you work for/with, wardrobe budgets often tend to be very small – which causes you to have to be extremely innovative!

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
A lot of people often question how I have been able to be involved in some of the big projects I have been involved in. They often speculate that maybe I know someone or have some sort of nepotism.

Unfortunately, that has not been my reality. I have not been handed anything, and in fact feel as if I have had to work 10x harder for any opportunity that was granted to me. I actually take pride in being able to say that I am a hard worker and have not accepted any handouts on my journey.

Something that many people don’t know, and that I have barely even shared with close friends is that I do have a family relative (cousin) that is a Celebrity (Nia Long). I have never shared this because I have never wanted there to be an assumption that is how I got my success. But now the cat is finally out of the bag, lol.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jaymesblond.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymesblond/?hl=en