January 5, 2023
How Beyoncé’s Mother Tina Knowles-Lawson Helped Stylist Ty Hunter Make a Big Splash in Fashion
From dressing mannequins to dressing Hollywood’s elite, this stylist only needed that one big break.
Ty Hunter, one of Hollywood’s most prominent stylists, credits Tina Knowles-Lawson for the takeoff of his fashion career after she promised him during his retail days that she would get him out of working in a clothing store.
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According to Insider, Hunter was working at Bui-Yah-Kah, a boutique in Houston’s Galleria mall, when he first met Knowles-Lawson and two-thirds of Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, who were regulars at the clothing store.
“I’m going to get you out of here one day,” Knowles-Lawson promised Hunter one day while visiting the boutique.
Hunter voluntarily helped the ladies style outfits during their visits, keeping Knowles-Lawson updated whenever a new design came in.
“It was like the older brother playing dress-up with his younger sisters,” he said.
The stylist kept in touch with Knowles-Lawson after transferring to work at Bebe, where he first met Beyoncé Knowles-Carter after the group visited the store one day while filming with MTV.
Hunter had his first gig with Destiny’s Child on their “Survivor” music video, which he said was a fearful experience styling a project of that scale.
Knowles-Lawson invited him to tour with the group, where he learned to produce looks in a fast-paced environment, from improvising outfits to fixing wardrobe malfunctions.
“This game can be real tricky. You could take off sick, send an intern, and they’ll hire your intern,” Hunter said, recalling the loyalty Destiny’s Child showed him.
“I had different celebrities trying to snatch me, too. But there was loyalty and a family bond that could not be broken.”
Hunter is the mastermind behind Beyoncé‘s iconic pink sneaker heel in the “Check on It” music video, where he cut up a BAPE tennis shoe and a pair of heels and glued them together to make the innovative look.
The stylist is also responsible for Beyoncé’s 2011 VMA’s red carpet look, where he went on the hunt for the perfect loose-fitting dress fans raved over as she announced her pregnancy onstage that night.
Additionally, Hunter styled the On the Run looks for Bey and her hubby Jay-Z‘s tour, along with other major events like her Met Gala outfits.
Billy Porter is one of Hunter’s most recent celebrity clients.