Thank God Its Friday POU!
Today’s feature in our world of celebrity stylists is the creative force behind the Beyonce brand!
Ty Hunter
Ty, the man behind Beyonce’s ferocious style, has been working with the singer for over 16 years.
According to an interview with Billboard Magazine, Ty was working a 9 to 5 job as a window dresser for a Houston boutique when in comes Tina Knowles.
“I was working in a store in Houston and I met Ms. Tina and we just clicked instantly,” He revealed to Billboard. “I had a day off and called her to see if she needed help. The rest is history. The next week I was at the Grammys.”
From the famed metal glove she rocked in the “Single Ladies” video, to the plush gown she wore to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” during President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, Ty’s been Bey’s secret weapon behind her iconic looks.
An early encounter with stunning Motown legend Diana Ross sparked his interest in style. “My mom and dad took me to see Diana Ross and I was in awe of all the costume changes and the hair. I became a fan right away and that’s what steered me into fashion.”
With no formal training but a talent for fashion, Ty’s achievements have been recognized by Harlem’s Fashion Row, an organization dedicated to promoting people of color in fashion, which named Hunter a 2012 honoree.
Hunter’s success proves “that fashion and art are intertwined,” as a recent profile of a Harlem’s Fashion Row event described this evolution of the indusrty. Hunter’s work has contributed to this evolution. There are few stylists who have the most exclusive fashion industry creators on speed dial to create and loan rare and custom pieces for clients as Hunter does. This demonstrates his industry cachet and significant cultural capital.
What’s next for Hunter?
Ty’s creating an accessory line and we can expect him to continue dressing the Knowles sisters, as Beyoncé’s sister Solange also ranks among the high-profile people he works with. Credited with creating her looks for the video “Losing You,” the younger Knowles sister openly acknowledges Hunter’s extensive knowledge of high fashion.
“Ty is really good at what he does,” Solange told InStyle.com. “But obviously he’s extremely busy [working with my sister]. So I use him for the big dog things—I typically save those Ty cards for videos, though recently I’ve started to work with him a lot more.” For the “Losing You” video, shot in Cape Town, South Africa, the pair styled the looks on-the-go. “We didn’t have changing rooms on set, because a lot of the video was just a drive-by-in-a-van sort of thing,” she told us. “We literally would take our suitcases out around the van and pick out what my friends were going to wear.”
See their styling in action by watching the video below.