My collaboration with Ariel on the first 3D Virtual Fashion Show was hosted by celebrity stylist June Ambrose. Many people wondered why June Ambrose and not someone more popular in the Middle East.
Read on to know why.
June the Stylist: Opulent. Decadent. Distinguished, just a few attributes that Author of Effortless Style and Celebrity Stylist extraordinaire June Ambrose, embodies. Through June’s agency, Mode Squad, Inc, the world has witnessed stylistic evolution of some of today’s most influential entertainers and recording artists.
As well as being a stylist, June is also a fashion designer showing her work through customizing metallic leather pants for Sean “Diddy” Combs and Busta Rhymes, One of a kind pieces for Jay Z & Will Smith. Some of her clients are Zoe Saldana, Missy Elliott, Kelly Ripa, Kim Cattrall, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Estelle, Garcelle Beauvais and Ciara. Speaking of Mariah Carey, I remember when I saw the cover of The Emancipation of Mimi, which turned out to be the biggest come-back in music history, I stared at it day and night. I fell in love with it instantly and thought that whoever has come up with this vision is a genius. Never in my life did I think that I’d be meeting this person.. June Ambrose.
From being a guest on The View, The Today Show andThe Oprah Winfrey Show, to designing her own line of head turning tefta turbans, which transform any person into a superstar! What a simple idea that has been done over and over, yet taken an extra mile and has made all the difference!
I’ve seen stylish people, but no body and i mean NO body has made a fashion impression on me the way June did. The way she assembles her looks, the different ways she collages her photos on Twitter is just plain inspiring!
June the mother, the friend, the inspiration: At the Address Hotel in Dubai, preparing June’s dresses for her fittings before our event, the door rings, I open it and I almost faint! I got so excited, asked for her permission if I can hug her, and sat staring at her as if she was a Roman statue (only dressed with traditional UAE costume – which looked phenomenal on her!) While she tried on some of my dresses from the Love Affair collection, she looked into the mirror and said “Alicia Keys would love this one”. Then she picked up an Orange flowy dress that Middle Eastern women prefer to avoid, as they usually prefer figure hugging dresses. She looked gorgeous!
Her Trade Mark: Big Smile and the combination of Shades, Turban & Red Lipstick.
June Ambrose and myself, both wearing AIISHA
Every minute I spent with her from there onwards taught me something. Whether its how she cooks colorful food to her children so that they enjoy healthy food, or how she mixes colors in the most insane combinations, or how she doesn’t like to be defined by the celebrities she dresses up. This is where she affected me the most.
June on her own, is a book to learn from. A kind and loving human who smiles from morning to evening just for being alive, breathing and appreciating the life she was given. She makes you realize the gifts each and everyone of us has been given in this life. How do you absorb so much positive energy from someone and then turn your back and complain about a wrong food order or a bad hair day?
She’s just a kind person. Whoever she sits with and talks to will feel that he/she is the most important thing to June at that moment. She knows how to make people feel special and thats hard to get over.
We laugh and talk and I think we learn from one another. She tells me that I’m her sister from another mother.. One thing stuck to my mind while we were having dinner was when she pointed to her chest all the way to her stomach and said “This is my temple, I don’t mess around with fast food”
Since then, I never had fast food.
When she left, I missed her. You know how you can quickly get attached to someone who might have changed your life forever in a matter of few hours? Thats what happened.
June Ambrose wears AIISHA
So from across the world, I’m very thankful for meeting June, the sister, the friend, the stylist, the amazing human being.
June Ambrose fixing her Turban on my head
“Fashion is about self-expression and a statement about our times…”
June Ambrose
On Thursday, 3rd November, Ariel will be hosting its first ever ‘Tweet Chat with Aiisha Ramadan’. Ariel and I brought you the Middle Easts’s first 3D fashion show to life and now, we’ll meet you all on Twitter.
