#236: Celebrity Stylist Jason Rembert

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome celebrity stylist for Odell Beckham Jr., Rita Ora, Russell Westbrook, Issa Rae, Erykah Badu, Gucci Mane and more, Jason Rembert to the Upper West Side! We discuss growing up the son of a single mother with four siblings in Far Rockaway, Queens, taking the bus two hours to attend school, his favorite subjects being math and dressing the best and how he graduated a year early and headed off to college. We talk about the jobs he held down selling kids' suits at Nordstrom and then preparing meals in a hospital kitchen, his failed application to intern at Vibe Magazine, before throwing a late-night, Hail Mary attempt for an spot at ELLE, knowing nothing at all about the publication. Jason gets into his time fetching coffee, rearranging closets and learning at the elbow of some of the great editors in fashion, moving over to W Magazine where the tone and energy were way different, what his family thought of his new workplace, and how one day he found himself assisting the stylist for Alicia Keys, and saw the potential in pairing high end brand names with staples from the projects he grew up in. We discuss the early work he got through Carline Balan, the missed opportunity he had with Lady Gaga, how he bounced back from personal and professional losses, and the stellar 2018 he had in which he was recognized for his ground breaking achievements by the CFDA, by artists and athletes alike, by the industry at large, as well as the greater Instagram audience. All that, plus how Jason balances his family life, what separates him in a very competitive business, what he thinks of the fanny pack trend, how he keeps his kids grounded, what his freshman year roommate wore day in and day out to Jason's dismay, and so much more!