This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Fashion List Here.
Stylist for Generation Instagram.
Jamie Mizrahi is proof that a career in styling is a process much like getting dressed. You start bare, slowly adding pieces, until finally, you've constructed an outfit. Or in her case, a lauded career. Though today she dresses women like the Foster Sisters and badass Sasha Lane, Jamie got her “first client,” after over ten years in the business, grinding it out in both New York and Los Angeles. “It takes hard work and determination,” Jamie says. “In my experience, it takes never saying no and constantly doing the best you can while learning from others and your own mistakes.”
Of which, she says, there were so many little ones in the beginning. They make her laugh now, as errors are an inevitability in a business that's core nature is on-the-go and very demanding. You're constantly dealing with tiny details and large personalities. The stylist acknowledges however, to be allowed the space to err is vital. “You can’t do better if you can’t make mistakes,” she says.
“You can’t do better if you can’t make mistakes.”
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Unafraid to ask for help, Jamie explains she is “constantly asking [mentors] for advice, seeing where they are in their lives.” She’s realized, “it's not always easy to get to the right decision on your own.”
In her spare time she's a sucker for pottery, hot yoga, cooking, and hiking, swearing by both her skincare routine and “laughing a lot.”
Part of her career process has included hiring an agent, an important step. “An agent helps you keep all the pieces together and works on building your career with you, helping bring in new opportunities, while you're out hustling."
As time goes on Jamie's relationship to herself and career only gets “better and better,” in part because she truly loves her chosen path. And whether she's working with friends or new clients her approach to the job doesn’t change. “When I'm working, I make sure to maintain a level of professionalism always. If you're hiring me to do a job, I'm going to do it to the best of my ability - and treat everyone with the same amount of professionalism. Of course there are situations where there's play mixed with work, but I let my client steer that ship.” She's also sure to let those clients be the architects of their own style. The goal is not to have people recognize her work. There's no signature "Jamie," outfit.
Her day-to-day includes being a supportive woman in both her work and personal life. “I mostly work with women every single day... women doing lots of different things. I cheer them on, I give my ear, I offer advice when someone asks and I push my friends, clients, and colleagues to be the best they can." She aims to surround herself with people who do the same for her. For young but seasoned stylist female empowerment is about, “women standing up for what we believe, working towards what we want and championing each other to do whatever we set our minds to.”
Considering she’s not yet 30, her centered approach to styling will likely facilitate a long and empowered career. “Keep working. Keep creating. Be happy. Be healthy," she says. "If you can do those things the rest falls into place.”
It might not be so crazy that “world domination,” is on her bucket list. And if that doesn’t happen at least you know she’ll be dressed for it.