Jalil Johnson’s style may be exuberant and expansive, but his roots are in a tiny town with a population of just around 1,300 people. “I’m originally from a very small town called Hurt, Virginia. I moved up here seven years ago to go to NYU,” he says. He intended to be a journalist, but when Anderson Cooper spoke to his class and told them they don’t need a degree to go into journalism, something shifted for Johnson. He switched to NYU Gallatin, where students can create their own concentrations, and he focused on how fashion influences race, minoring in history as well. “While I was in school, I was also interning and working,” he continues. “I’d be on set and then I would have an AirPod in so I was also in class. So, I was steaming [clothing] and also listening to a lecture about Aphrodite. It was quite a time.”
After graduation, he worked at Saks for three years before departing recently to focus on his own endeavors. “I was assisting Solange Franklin, who’s an amazing stylist, on set with my future boss, now former boss, Roopal Patel,” he recalls. A few weeks ago, I met Johnson in Harlem to photograph his outfits and discuss his journey at Saks and why he chose to leave the job behind, his Substack, how he first found a passion for style, and plenty more.
Fit One
Coat by Tory Burch; top by Christopher John Rogers; vintage T-shirt; shirt (wrapped) by Comme des Garçons Play; trousers by GU; hat by Lauren Manoogian; watch by Breda; bracelets by Dorsey and Catbird; rings by New Top Jewelry, Tén-Seventy-Two, Elsa Peretti for Tiffany, and Alexei Hay; necklaces by Alexei Hay, Joie DiGiovanni, Rene Barnes, and vintage; earrings by New Top Jewelry.
You just left your job. What’s next?
I started a Substack last year. I just realized I was having a lot of fun doing these outside projects, and I wanted to spend more time on them. I loved my time at Saks. It was an amazing three years. I learned a lot. I never thought I’d go into retail, so that’s been a godsend in a sense. It’s shown me such a different side to the industry that I don’t think I would have fully recognized if I had gone the path that I thought was going to go. I’m so thankful for Roopal, because I had no experience in that field and she took a chance on me. I just felt that this was the time to go out on my own and focus on my growing Substack.
When did you first find a passion for fashion and style?
I always go back to getting dressed for church. It was a whole production. It was a theater of itself to get dressed to go to church. It’s almost akin to holiness to be dressed very nicely. There’s also such a rich history within the Black community of “Sunday best,” which dates back to enslavement. That’s where I first got interested in it, seeing my mom fussing over what to wear. I also remember early on watching the first season of Project Runway. I was too young to even realize what was going on, but I was just like, “This is amazing. These people are creating these beautiful gowns.” I remember sketching. I remember my grandma, who was from Detroit—I call her my Sasha—she gave me one of my aunt’s old Barbie dolls. And she was teaching me how to sew. My mom said, “You can’t be a designer. That’s for gay people.” And that stopped it, but I still always had an interest in fashion. [Then there was the] September issue of Vogue 2015 with Beyoncé on the cover. She was in a Marc Jacobs dress, and I was like, “I need to get back. This is what I want to do.”
Fit Two
Vintage jacket by Armani; T-shirt by Prada; shorts by Stóffa; shoes by Martiniano; hat by Polo Ralph Lauren; vintage scarf by Bill Blass.
How has your personal style changed since you first got into fashion? Or has it?
Working in the industry, you are exposed to so much and you’re working with so many different people that have different viewpoints. I’ve taken in so much. I’m a sponge. I have soaked up so much from these different experiences to inform how I dress. I’m still very much focused on what makes me happy; I don’t dress for an outside perspective. It’s all about what’s going to feed my passion, but I am always looking around to see where I can find inspiration, because inspiration is everywhere.
What advice do you have for a reader who might not be fully expressing themselves, either ideologically or in terms of style, but wishes to experiment further or push deeper into that repression?
Start with a movie, and not just a movie but look at everything and just give it a try. If you’re trying to experiment, if you are male presenting, or identify as a man, and you want to dabble into something more feminine, I would say go to a store and find something that grabs your eye and just try it out. It’s also very nerve-racking, because we live in a patriarchy. We live in such a homophobic society that looks down upon people, so it puts an innate fear in someone to try something that’s different. It’s having to build confidence to try these different things, which is a lot of introspective work. The way that I’ve gotten over being afraid is asking myself, What is it about this that feels weird? Does it feel weird because I think society has told me that it feels weird, or does it just not work for me? The thing about style is that not everything works for everyone, and that is trial and error. You’re not going to just wake up and be like, “Bam, I have it figured out.”
Fit Three
Coat by Maison Margiela; shirt by Wales Bonner; shorts by Alex Mill; shoes and sunglasses by Loewe; vintage brooch, vintage tiara, and bag by Chanel.
Can you remember your first significant fashion purchase?
I love heels. I was very adamant that my first pair had to be Manolo Blahnik heels. They were the Carolyne style, and it was a blue tweed with a leather cap toe that was blue. All of my significant purchases have been shoes.
What sorts of trends or brands are exciting at the moment, if any?
I don’t really follow trends. Trends in this day and age are very interesting, because they exist, but they also don’t exist. That’s my hot take. In terms of brands, though, it’s Prada. Prada is always pushing the button. Miu Miu is fantastic. The Row. Diotima [by Rachel Scott]. Christopher John Rogers is amazing. I tell him all the time that I think that he is the embodiment of American fashion. He’s this vessel that’s holding the history of the past, the present, and the future because there are so many references. There’s Isaac Mizrahi, there’s Bill Blass, Halston. There are so many people within his work.
Fit Four
Shirt by Chava Studios; shorts by Valentino; skirt (worn as cummerbund) by Dries Van Noten; shoes by Xero; hat by Jenny Walton; necklace by Lemaire; vintage corsage and sunglasses by Tom Ford.
Do you have a favorite fashion writer?
Rachel Tashjian is fantastic. She’s so well-read, so well cultured. Also, Leandra Medine. The way that she writes about putting together an outfit is genius and so special, and it just makes me want to be a better writer and think about my outfits differently. José [Criales Unzueta] from Vogue is amazing.
And stylists?
Brian Molloy who styles the Row. Tory Burch is amazing. Solange Franklin is fantastic. Love her work. Carlos Nazario, who I interned for one day. He would not remember me at all, but what he’s done is simply beyond. It’s really beautiful.
Fit Five
Coat by Comme des Garçons; vintage top from Front Street General Store; shorts by Raey; shoes by Andrea Gomez; vintage Murano bead necklace and necklace by Don’t Let Disco x Jalil Johnson (not credited earlier); vintage brooch and hat by Dear: Rivington.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?
A hat of some sort, probably from Gigi Burris, who is a fantastic milliner. I love her. I have this fantastic coat from Christopher John Rogers that has paillettes running down the middle and on the sleeve. I call it my Technicolor Dreamcoat, so I would wear that. Underneath I’d probably wear something from the Row, maybe a whole set situation. For shoes, let’s do Manolo Blahnik. For eyewear, either Jacques Marie Mage or Tom Ford or Oliver Peoples, something in that realm. One piece of jewelry that I would wear, it would have to be this [necklace in outfit five], because I actually wear this every day. I always wear a pearl because it’s my birthstone. I read that you’re supposed to wear your birthstone for good luck or protection.
