With a star-studded client list that includes Lizzo, Issa Rae, and Mary J. Blige, celebrity stylist Jason Rembert would be a busy man even if he was not running his own fashion label on the side.
The Queens native cut his teeth through internships at Elle and W magazines before dropping out of college to try his hand at styling, dressing Nicki Minaj and Rita Ora before they were household names.
Since then, he’s come up with some truly memorable sartorial moments for famous people looking to make wider statements with their style — think Rae’s all-black designer wardrobe while hosting the 2018 CFDA Awards, or AOC covering Vanity Fair in a “suffragette white” powersuit from the brand Rembert, Aliette.
“I am grateful to be blessed with dream clients. With a daughter, it’s important to me to defend these great figures; women who kill it, who are impudent [themselves] and send that elevator back down,” Rembert tells Vidak For Congress Style. “I want to be a part of that.”
The fashion connoisseur recently teamed up with Grand Marnier to create his own cocktail, the Maximalist Margarita, which blends the blend of brandy and orange liqueur with Espolòn Blanco tequila, passion fruit puree and black salt.
“Grand Marnier is big on maximalism and maximalism has always been part of my approach to styling, my approach to design,” explains Rembert.
“I enjoy clothes. Every client that ever comes to me, I tell her, ‘There will be times when everyone loves’ [your look]there will be times everyone hates [your look]. But as long as you I feel good about it, I do my job.”
Below, Rembert takes a look back at some of his favorite looks for Lizzo, Rae, Blige, Ora and more over the years.
Lizzo in Mary Katrantzou on the cover of Time (2019)
“That’s probably one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. I believe Lizzo did a show in Texas, and we had three hours for the shoot. I just landed, didn’t know if the [clothes were] come, didn’t have a team – it was just me.
‘That’s a Mary Katrantzou dress, actually backwards! We turned it around and put on the Manolo Blahnik shoe, and [photographer] Paolo Kudacki said, “What if a foot is up and the shoe is just… there?” It was special. It was timeless.”
Issa Rae in Pyer Moss, Sergio Hudson and custom Jason Rembert at the CFDA Fashion Awards (2018)
“Issa is such a special person. She defends the underdog; she defends others who resemble her. I really appreciate having a customer like that, who has that intention behind them.
“I remember the day it was announced [that she was hosting the CFDA Awards], some really great, huge designers who said they’d love to dress her up for the event. I was like, ‘I don’t want to work with one of these huge designers; I want her to wear all black designers.” I had a meeting with Issa and her publicist, and they said, ‘Say less. Were in.’
“The carpet was definitely a big moment. But as a whole, that [night] was probably the most powerful moment of my career.”
Solange Knowles in Erickson Beamon on “Saturday Night Live” (2016)
“Solange is special – she’s like a unicorn. She has such a voice and such sophistication and a minimalist approach to her style.
“But when you look at this image, I love that there is a maximalist feel through the minimalism. As simple as the silhouette of the dress is, the cut necklace to match the hair and headpiece makes it timeless. makes it ambitious.”
Mary J. Blige in Dundas at the Super Bowl halftime show (2022)
“Mary J. Blige is ‘ghetto fabulous.’ She has this flamboyance in her style and she loves a boot. And on a stage the size of the Super Bowl, I wanted to stay in her world. I wanted the glitz and glamour, and I wanted it to sparkle.
“[The look] was originally purple, and about three weeks before the Super Bowl, Mary called me and said, “I think we should make an option in white.” The white version came maybe six or seven days before the Super Bowl, and it was beautiful. There was no comparison. It was undeniable that the white one was the one.
“The purple one is actually what she wore on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter [Power Stylists 2022 issue]. So it has been used!”
Zayn Malik in Versace at the Met Gala (2016)
Zayn said, ‘I want to look like Jax’ [from Mortal Kombat]. I was like, ‘The character? With the metal arms? Okay!’
“[The look] was actually extremely lightweight; it looked like real metal, but it wasn’t. [At] Back then, menswear wasn’t as adventurous as it is now—there’s so much versatility in menswear now and so much fluidity—so to see that on the carpet and on the cover of any newspaper the next day…that was a proud moment. ”
Mariah Carey in Christian Siriano on the cover of Billboard (2019)
“About six years earlier, my agent said, ‘Do you have dream clients?’ And I was like, ‘I have one: Mariah Carey.’
“It was like a dream come true, to have just one person on your wish list and be able to work with them, collaborate with them. And actually that image is also on the cover of her book [‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey’].”
Rita Ora in Donna Karan at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party (2015)
“Rita is someone who can wear anything. This was a custom Donna Karan dress and Rita went to In-N-Out Burger right for this rug. I thought, ‘I can’t believe you can wear this amazing sheer dress that hides nothing and still eat a cheeseburger.’
“You can’t wait Spanx [under this] – you can’t wear anything.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Aliette on the cover of Vanity Fair (2020)
“That suit was shipped to LA and went missing for four days, but had to go back to New York City [for this shoot]. I was like, ‘I’m not shipping this suit — I’m going to fly it.’ I flew with the suit and dropped it off myself. I’m not good enough to be my own messenger; I’m not very good at sewing my own buttons.
“I didn’t expect to be on the cover. I was not [even] expect a credit. And I feel blessed, I feel honored. Where I grew up in Queens is part of [AOC’s] neighbourhood. And one day I can’t wait to see AOC as president. I met her at the Met Gala and said to her, ‘Thank you for wearing my suit.’”
Zendaya in Aliette in “Malcolm & Marie” (2021)
“[Zendaya’s stylist] Law Roach is one of my best friends and he is a creative genius. During the pandemic, he calls me out of the blue and says, “I’m designing costumes for this movie and I’d like to see if you can submit sketches…but I need them today.”
“I was like, ‘Cool, I got you.’ I sent sketches, went to get samples, overnight the samples, made the dress in the next two days, overnight the dress. Then we had to make a duplicate within two days. But we made it!
“The movie came out in January. I had a job at Issa and she said, ‘Have you seen the movie?’ And I said, “No, but my dress is in it.” She said, ‘There are three stars in the movie: John David Washington, Zendaya and the dress.’”