Misa Hylton
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Misa Hylton (previously known as Misa Hylton-Brim; born January 6, 1974) is an American stylist and fashion designer. Known as a pioneer in the fashion industry, she has styled many hip-hop and R&B artists since the 1990s, most notably
Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...
and
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
. Hylton's style, referred to as "hip-hop glamorous," has been credited with influencing fashion trends in popular culture. Hylton is a global creative partner for MCM and was the centerpiece of the 2019 documentary '' The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion''.


Early life

Hylton was raised in
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
, New York to a mother who is of Japanese and Jamaican heritage, and a father who is African American. She enjoyed fashion from a young age and was also a hip-hop fan. Hylton listened to hip-hop radio stations and envisioned what the artists might be wearing. Her future boyfriend, Sean "Puffy" Combs, also grew up in Mount Vernon and lived close to one of Hylton's childhood friends.


Career beginnings

Hylton began working in fashion when she was a 17-year-old high school student, when she assisted on a Jodeci music video. Her boyfriend and A&R intern,
Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...
, invited her to the set, and together they convinced
Uptown Records Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by old school rapper ‘Dr Jekyll’ - Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip-hop. Beginnings and success In ...
founder
Andre Harrell Andre O’Neal Harrell (September 26, 1960 – May 7, 2020) was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper. He formed the short-lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown in 1980; they sig ...
to let the group members wear combat boots, hoodies, and backwards hats. Combs later introduced her to other artists at Uptown Records, who became some of her first clients. Hylton most notably dressed
Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...
and
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
, whom she considered her muses. She began to design clothes due to the difficulty she experienced finding clothes for Lil' Kim, who was 4'11" and wore size 4.5 shoes. Hylton was the designer and stylist for the purple jumpsuit and pasty that Lil' Kim wore to the 1999 VMAs. She stated that she focused on innovation and risk-taking with her early styles, and connected that pattern to being a member of the "hip hop generation". Hylton took inspiration from ''
The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...
'' for the fashion in Lil' Kim's "Crush on You" video. She also styled Lil' Kim for her solo debut album, '' Hard Core''. When she was 21, Hylton founded Chyna Doll Enterprises and provided stylists for video shoots, magazine covers, and public appearance. Chyna Doll Enterprises styled artists such as
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...
,
Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...
, Jodeci, Q-Tip, Foxy Brown, and
Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...
. By age 25, Hylton had made one million dollars as a stylist. Hylton has also styled Combs,
Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...
,
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
,
La La Anthony Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez; 19791982) is an American television personality and actress. In the early 2000s, she worked as an MTV VJ on ''Total Request Live''. She was the host of the VH1 reality television reunion shows '' F ...
,
Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Mase (often stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean Combs, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 ...
,
Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor performing on film and television. He has received a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden ...
, and Mary J. Blige in the " Not Gon' Cry" video. She has spoken on the issues she faced as a young woman of color in the fashion world. The fashion her clients wore was referred to as " ghetto fabulous," which Hylton called "hip hop glam," and was not accepted by the mainstream fashion world. She would purchase luxury fashion for her clients on her own credit card. When Lil' Kim gained credibility after a MAC campaign, Hylton's clients began to be courted by fashion houses such as Galliano. Hylton stated in an ''Billboard'' interview that one of her favorite brands to borrow clothing from is
Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...
, in part because they featured
Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British supermodel. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was th ...
as a model when dark skinned models were rarely walked by major fashion houses. Hylton frequently collaborates with Dapper Dan. Together they created custom shorts for rapper
Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...
fabricated from twenty dollar bills, and styled the
Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...
Zucca print suits for the "Let's Get It" music video.


Contemporary work

In 2012, she opened Misa Hylton Fashion Academy with co-founder and stylist Jai Hudson. Hylton starred in the documentary,'' The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion'', about the role of fashion in hip-hop. The film premiered at the 2019
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
. In February 2020, Harlem's Fashion Row honored Hylton, April Walker, and Dapper Dan for their contributions to the fashion industry. Hylton is a global creative partner for MCM. In 2018, she designed the fashion in the " Apeshit" video by Beyonce and Jay-Z. She designed custom MCM chaps and a western hat for
Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...
's July 2019 ''
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'' performance. Hylton also styled and provided fashion direction for ''Paper'''s November 2020 Flo Milli editorial shoot, which included a custom denim bustier, panty, pasties, and headwrap. In 2021, Hylton launched her INC fashion collection for
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
department stores. This was part of an 'Icons of Style' campaign run by the store to promote and showcase the work of Black American style-makers and designers, including Ouigi Theodore and Zerina Akers as well as Hylton.


Impact

Hylton frequently dressed clients in
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
-inspired attire in the 90s, such as in Mary J. Blige's " All That I Can Say" music video. The trend has been traced to the "Yeehaw" style of 2019. She is credited with shaping the way women rappers dressed in the 90s, and those styles are thought to influence women artists today. While women emcees of the 80s wore more masculine fashion, Hylton "encouraged girls in the game to celebrate their sexuality through fashion." Celebrities such as
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
have referenced Lil' Kim, one of Hylton's key clients, as inspirations for their fashion sense.
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...
's gold chained headdress from the video "
Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...
" and matching red fur and bob wig from " Backin it Up" are traced to Hylton's selections for Lil' Kim. Hylton encouraged her first professional styling clients, Jodeci, to wear modern, casual clothing including hoodies and backwards hats instead of the de rigueur formal clothes and hard bottom shoes. The look went on to influence R&B fashion and is said to remain a point of reference for contemporary artists.


Personal life

Hylton has three children: son Justin Dior (b. 1993) from her relationship with hip-hop entrepreneur
Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...
, and son Niko (b. 1997) and daughter Madison (b. November 1998) from her marriage to music executive Jojo Brim.


Legal issues

On April 29, 2025, Hylton filed a $5 million lawsuit against longtime friend, singer Mary J. Blige, for breach of contract and interferences, involving a business deal which regarded rapper Vado. Hylton claims in the lawsuit that she launched a management company in February 2023 to represent for Vado, who would later sign a contract with Blige's imprint, Beautiful Life Productions. Blige later used tactics to coerce the rapper to terminate his management contract with Hylton's company.


References


External links

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Misa Hylton
on Instagram {{DEFAULTSORT:Hylton, Misa 1978 births Living people African-American fashion designers American fashion designers 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople American women fashion designers African-American business executives American artists of Japanese descent People from Mount Vernon, New York American people of Jamaican descent 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American women Fashion stylists 20th-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century African-American businesspeople