Acclaimed stylist Misa Hylton, who has worked with a roster of top-tier entertainers like Missy Elliot, Lil Kim, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, and others, spoke on the Know Your Brand – Image Makeover forum at the Disney Dreamers Academy.
Fashion designer Jerome Lamar was a guest, and style and beauty expert Mikki Taylor served as the panel moderator.
The three style aficionados discussed the importance of developing a personal brand during the segment.
“It’s important for any brand to know their brand
story and how it shows up; imaging is your billboard. Certainly for yours truly, I know my style persona is classic with a twist; it represents my brand as a creative, it represents my brand as an author, speaker, and executive producer, and I really use it as a framework so that I’m never out of my lane,” said Taylor.She continued: “That is the crux of the message we were sharing today with the dreamers that’s part of knowing your brand; it’s packaging the whole persona.”
One poignant moment occurred when Disney Dreamer Cadence Brown said that she lives with chronic depression and anxiety in a video recording. Hylton and Lamar completely remade the brand and persona of the aspiring singer and actress. When she sashayed on the stage to show off her makeover, her outfit visibly lifted her confidence and spirit.
As the Black community continues to speak about mental health awareness, BLACK ENTERPRISE asked Hylton to talk about how fashion and looking one’s best can positively improve an individual’s mental health.
“Fashion and looking your best can help a person’s mental health first; when you feel good on the inside, you feel good on the outside, but sometimes you have to feel good on the outside and let it come into the inside,” Hylton explained.
She added: “We don’t talk about that a lot, sometimes it’s the reverse, and sometimes it’s a reminder, reflection, and mirroring of who you really are, sometimes all you can really do when you are not feeling your best is get it together on the outside for now, and that’s a start. Then you see yourself, and you are like, ‘yes, this is who I am, I remember who I am,’ and that is what we saw Cadence experience.”