Miso Dam is the Young Stylist Shaping the Future of Fashion

August 26, 2021

Los Angeles-based wardrobe stylist Miso Dam is continuously changing the game and proving herself in an industry that has previously been heavily seniority driven. While attending Parsons, she began her career in the fashion world as the assistant fashion director at Barneys, and upon graduating, decided to make her way back to LA where she became the sought after stylist she is today. Although only having officially been in the styling industry for a few years, she has dressed icons such as Lil Uzi, Salem Mitchell, Dixie D’Amelio and not to mention countless editorials for office.

Most recently, Miso dressed Big Latto for office’s digital cover where she showcased her talents yet again and proved herself as an innovative leader and a driving force in the future of fashion. She has created a signature style within her creative work through plays on colors and mixing luxury high-end pieces while implementing smaller designers to give them their spotlight.

Interview by Cassie Jekanoski
Photos by Alyssa Cancilla

In an exclusive interview with office, Miso opens up about her success and how she got to the point where she is today.

Check out the interview below.

So first off what's up? What are you doing today? How's your day going?

It's going well. I am styling a music video up in northern California tomorrow and Friday. So today's kind of doing some last-minute pulls, making sure I have everything going and talking to the director about what we're going to do and all of that. So, pretty crazy, but I'm really excited, like really good people I'm working with.

Oh, amazing. Have you done music videos before?

Yeah. When I moved to LA I was very new to the whole music industry, so it's definitely a new kind of stomping ground for me, but it's different. And I'm learning so it's great.

Oh, it's so much fun. Especially you doing something that you don't do all the time.

Yeah, it's definitely an entirely different world working with music people versus fashion people. So it's definitely a whole new experience.

You've styled for office quite a bit. What have those experiences been like?

It's crazy because I lived in New York for five years and I just moved back to LA a year and a half ago. And so I love office. I was cleaning out my closet and I was like, "Oh my god, I have an office sweatshirt." So it's kind of really cool to work for them. And I feel like it's kind of a New York staple. I feel like everyone kind of has their moment with office. I've had friends intern there and been editors and work for them. So it's really cool that I get to do that but in LA.

Has there been a favorite shoot that you've been on?

I loved one that we just did. I just styled Big Latto for office, which was really, really fun. I always joke that when I moved to LA I wanted to style rappers. So it was really cool to style a female rapper and have a female team. I think the concept was super cool and kind of pushed me to do other things. Whenever I style for editorials, it's very brand restricted with sponsors and all of that. And when I style for office, they're very open to whatever I want to do. So it kind of pushes me to look for new designers. I'm always on Instagram saving brands, so for office, I always go back to those bookmarks. We use those brands when I'm styling office, which I really like because I'm so used to high fashion stuff. So it's really nice to kind of do something different.

I think one of my favorite shoots that you did was the Compton Cowboys.

It's funny because I went to one of their talks when I was still living in New York. They were doing a talk at the Soho House and I was there and I was so amazed. And then fast forward I got to style them and it was a really good day and the photographer Danielle Levitt, she's amazing. I've worked with her multiple times and she just has really good energy.

So can you talk to me about how you got started? What was the process for you to get to where you are today? Did you know that you always wanted to get into styling?

I went to school in New York at Parsons, and in my sophomore year of college, I think when I was 18 or 19, I landed an internship at Barneys. I had gone to Parsons as a graphic design major, so I think I applied for an internship for digital content or something like that. And when I was interviewing for the internship, the HR girl was like, "Oh, actually, the fashion director at that time had just quit. So the fashion assistant needs a lot of help in the fashion office." The fashion office is where you work with the buying team and discover new brands. So I had interned for the assistant fashion director my first year. And then they hired a new fashion director, Marina Larroudé who came from Teen Vogue. And I was just in love with that job.

I think growing up in the suburbs of LA, you really aren't aware of all these different jobs in the fashion industry. You either become a fashion designer or a fashion photographer. And so now I'm learning you can be a merchandiser there, you can do social for fashion, etc. And then my senior year of college, I got hired as the assistant fashion director at Barneys and then I did that for three years. When I graduated college, I was kind of really over New York. And so I was like, "let me just quit and move back to LA and see where it goes." When I first moved here a lot of people didn't know what I did in New York. I think they kind of just assumed like, "Oh, she's a fashion girl. So she's a stylist." So I never really planned on being a stylist, but it kind of fell into place. It's not something I was looking for, but it kind of just made a lot of sense.

I feel like great things happen when you're not really expecting them to.

It kind of just happened that Barney's was closing down as I was kind of deciding to leave. Something was drawing me back to LA and I knew that I could style differently than those who were in LA because I kind of got my footing in New York. So I was exposed to a lot more than people who lived here on the fashion side.

And you talked about growing up in the suburbs outside of LA and not really knowing about all of these fashion jobs. What was that sort of like for you?

Growing up, my parents did clothing production and so I grew up in the garment industry of LA. I think growing up I knew the hardships and working in fashion isn't easy. And I think I knew that from a very young age. I remember telling my mom, "I'm never gonna get into fashion," because my idea of fashion was always a fashion designer, fashion photographer, or fashion editor and I thought those were the only three things. So in my brain, I was like, "I'm never gonna make it as a fashion designer and I have no desire to open my own fashion brand." I really wanted to do writing and I wanted to be a journalism major. And so I applied to college for all different journalism classes and I didn't get accepted to any of them. So I think moving to New York, you're just exposed to so much more.

So what was the moment where you felt like you were making it?

I think when I first saw my name in print. I feel like that's such a mind-blowing thing. I honestly didn't think it was going to be a big deal. When I was at Barneys, we did print stuff and I was in charge of doing all the photoshoots of our catalog that was mailed home every season. But I think it hits differently when it's your name and it's not an assistant.

So I have been seeing all of your editorial work, and you really blend colors, textures, and fabrics really well. How would you describe your styling process?

I'm glad you said that, because I really focus on color when I'm styling, which I don't know if it's technically the best thing, but I love color. So even if the garment doesn't make sense but the colors do, that's how I would style things. And I always try to blend high and low. I'll mix really high-end pieces or something that's more body fitted with something a little bit more bulky and more casual. I style a lot of the people who are in their 20s, so I never want them to look uncomfortable and too mature for their age. I want them to look like an elevated version of themselves.

How much of your own personal style do you try to put into your work?

A lot, which sounds bad too, because I'm always just like, you have to remove your personal preference when you're styling. But I think people hire me because they see how I dress myself and I think they want that. I try to be conscious of the talent's style, and then I try to mix a little bit of my style.

I feel like you have a signature to your work and that I feel like your colors, your patterns, and everything that you kind of mix into different things. But I feel that kind of just by putting your own personal touch into things definitely makes you stand out.

My assistant just asked me, "how do I find my signature?" And I was like, "I think it just takes time." I think it took a while for me to have my signature.

Where do you get your inspo from?

Oh, my gosh, so many places. My mom's a really big stylish person, so I feel like anytime I style something, she'll give me her opinion if it looks good or not. And then honestly, I feel like Instagram is such a big part. I think during the pandemic, styling really took off for me. People weren’t dressing up to go out, I think they're just dressing for their own style. Also, random everyday people, even if they're not in the fashion industry, just their own style, what they see comfortable, and what they deem stylish for themselves. When I do a shoot, I look back on those inspirations.

What was it like for you during the pandemic in styling?

So I moved back to LA in the summer of 2019, so the pandemic hit six months after, and so I was barely getting my footing into styling. It's funny because I think when the pandemic hit, a lot of editorials moved to LA because there was just more space to do stuff during quarantine. I think my styling really picked up during quarantine and I was doing a lot of quarantine photoshoots where I was styling in my tiny apartment. And then dropping it off to the talent and putting a slideshow together of a style out and then sending it to them. I think it's also just learning how to work with New York when you're in LA. I think it's even the time difference and all the headquarters are in New York. So it's learning how to work with those PR offices and even working with editorial teams. I think it's a lot harder.

Working in the industry I feel like it's really seniority privileged. Have you felt that it's been hard to have your voice heard?

I was always the type of person to be like, "okay, keep your head down and just work hard and be humble." Like, there's nothing to brag about kind of thing. My background is on a corporate level, and I think especially at corporate, it's very about seniority and I think I was very lucky to have mentors and bosses who kind of just saw that I was working hard and eager to learn. They just allowed me to do a lot of stuff which allowed me to move up really high at a young age. When I started styling, there are stylists who have been in the game for 20 plus years that are getting gigs that sometimes I’m like, it would make more sense for me to be styling this talent, she's my age, you know, and has the same style as me. It is kind of tough when you see someone get a job just because of seniority when you know that your taste would be a lot more fitting. So that's definitely challenging. I think it's also challenging navigating a new city that is very celebrity-focused and them having their set style already. I think it's just kind of finding the gaps between this empty space and just finding those spaces and putting yourself out there. There are just so many people who are so good at these jobs that you kind of just need to be like, "Okay, what makes me different?"

And what would you say makes you different?

I think I know a lot at a very young age, and I think I just started very early. I think I have a lot of experiences and I've gone through a lot and I know how the fashion industry works. At a very young age, I think I've been able to use that to my advantage. I think a lot of people my age are just starting out assisting stylists and all of that, and I think the reason why I was able to kind of just start working for myself immediately was because of the relationships I built when I was at Barney's. So that's what makes me different because I think a lot of people who live in LA don't have the experience of New York and working at all these big fashion companies.

Do you have any advice that you would want to give to somebody? What's the best advice that you've received from your bosses?

Learn as much as you can. I would say if you're not going to go to college, assist someone. I think being someone's assistant is literally the best thing you can do. I was someone's assistant for three years and did the grunt work because you really learn. I think when you assist someone, you kind of learn what you would want to be as a boss. Everything I learned from my bosses and mentors, I kind of carried with me being the boss and working for myself. Don't complain, I think everyone has put in their fair share of fetching coffee, packing up samples doing all that. Don't ever think you're good enough because I think there's always going to be someone that's better. Yeah, but learn as much as you can. I'm literally still learning and I'm going to try to learn as much as possible. I think the more you know, the more you can do it, the better. I think everyone has multiple things that they can do.

Fashion

Happy 424 Day!

Simon Rasmussen — What's going on?

Guillermo Andrade — Right now we're just setting everything up.

So, what are you doing, is it a party?

Well, I kind of felt universally forced, right? Because 4/24/24, I was just like, I don’t really have a choice here. The stars also just kind of aligned, so to be honest, I got this settlement that came with a bunch of clothes so I had this idea to give back to the kids who fuck with us by allowing them to buy our shit first. Not handing stuff out for free, but to do it in a way where we could skip the middleman of the industry, so to speak, and not allow clothes to disappear into the abyss of Farfetch or whatever else. So what we’re going to do is a sort of warehouse sale, which we’ve never done before so that was really exciting for me. I didn’t want to do just another warehouse sale, so it’s like a sample sale turns rager. We teamed up with Adidas and a couple of other sponsors, then drinks, DJs, and a performance.

Sick, I love it.

Yeah. My dream sample sale. Also, it’s not just hoodies and t-shirts here in there, it’s proper collections from the past three seasons. I’m also not picking and choosing, trying to make it accessible, like this was the only way I could afford to buy shit when I was a kid, bro. Sample sales were the thing I looked forward to the most.

I feel you. In New York, there's the annual CDG sale, which is when I used to cop all my CDG.

The only time I could afford Rick. I flew to New York once for a Rick sample sale and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I got invited. And it was mental. I still have those pieces. I will never sell them. Not even because I got 'em cheap. It was also just really fun. Even on the flight to New York, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to New York for a sample sale, what a fucking loser I am. But it was like the adult version of when I was a kid and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I'm 20-something and I'm still doing the thing I was doing in high school. So I hope we can create moments like that for kids here in LA.

Yeah. I love that. It’s important to connect with them; they’re essentially creating the brand. If you don't have them, good luck.

I mean, yeah. Fuck, bro. It's cool that we've been around for this long. I mean, it got a little rocky there for a second I think, for all of us. So coming out of it, tomorrow is a celebration. And it’s like an odd day of the week. It's a Wednesday, super random. And now that we've set it up, the homies are all like, Yo, I'm coming. I'm coming. Let me jump on stage, let me do this, and that's really what it's always been about. It's not some other strategy to get likes on the internet.

That’s how the best things happen, you just couldn’t help yourself. It was intuitive.

Yeah, it all came together in a really nice way.

Would you say that’s how 424 started as well? I remember we met in like 2010 on Fairfax and I was visiting with Rasmus…

Oh bro, it’s probably the time when I started the branch… do you remember Cecilia from Black Dakini? She’s the one that introduced me to CIFF and honestly, I didn’t even care what she was doing, I was just like, I’m coming, I’ll go with you. She said she’d give me half of her booth and I said, Awesome count me in. At the time, I had just gotten my green card and I wasn't allowed to ever leave America, so Copenhagen was one of the first cities I went to when I could finally travel. I mean, you see what we did at CIFF bro? It became our fucking hub for half a decade.

That was a moment for sure.

I remember the first account I got was Antonioli, and he came super gangster, being like, You're going to sell me these clothes. And I was like, bro, I didn't come to sell clothes. I'm just kind of catching a vibe with my homie and I made these things. And he's like, No, you're going to sell it to me. And then I was like, Oh my god that’s Claudio Antonioli. So then I went home, I googled wholesale, and figured that shit out. [laughs]

[Laughs]

Like you said, I couldn't help myself, but I didn't just make t-shirts and hoodies either. I was really on my Rick wave, so I made my version of the Rick things. It was that meets like The Boondock Saints, because I'm still a little bit of a Cali bro, sort of rock kid, but not really. I like hip-hop, but I like the way the rock stars look. I like the contrast. I thought it was cool. After that, I just never stopped.

It was clear to me when I first met you that you were onto your own thing in LA. It made a lot of sense, and it was so cool. It was before 424 was its own brand; you just had the store and this really cool curation.

It was all my shit, bro. I was very, very invested in sharing all of these things that I was finding from all over the world, like Astrid Anderson. She was one of those designers at the time, so important to 424. The connection to Copenhagen specifically for me was huge. I had a big fan base there. It was incredible. And then here in LA, we were sharing the things that we were a part of and finding; it was still the early days of Fear of God, Rhude, Martine Rose. A lot of these brands, we were the first store to ever sell it — we were selling Hood By Air on the West Coast.

You had Rick as well, I remember.

Oh yeah. It took me a long time. But I got Rick, bro. By the time I had to close the store on Fairfax, I already had a Raf Simons account. I had reached my ultimate dream. It was really all the stuff I wanted to wear at the time. It was dope. The best of the best.

We had an office magazine newsstand in there as well.

Oh yeah, we did! I came to visit the one you had, and I was like, Yo, I got to bring this whole fucking thing over here. But yeah, in LA, after two days people forget you exist, but everyone’s been super supportive. We’re all 10 years older now. We've been around forever at this point.

It can be dangerous to take those breaks when you’re figuring shit out, but there’s something very genuine to this comeback you’re having.

Thank you, thank you. We’ve been in and out of those fucking showrooms in Paris for long enough. I've been in and out of these factories for the past 10 years of my life. We had to figure something out. And I think now really diving in, being in Italy full time and being there to develop these products over time, I think that the whole thing just really shows the suppliers respect you more. The people who are making your goods understand why you're making them. And I think now I finally got to the place where I'm not making Italian things, I’m making my clothes, I'm making Cali-centric shit, but with that European technicality and execution. With this Fall / Winter collection, it clicked.

So what’s the vision for the next year? What are you manifesting?

I'm just fucking relentless, bro. This is the way I want to live my life. Now that we are more aligned, more prepared, and have more experience, moving forward it is just more of becoming a fully functioning company that can provide and create opportunities for all of the people around me. We’ve been operating just on instinct for a long time.

Sustaining a business is scary, trust me I know.

Scary as fuck, dog. I just opened a store next to Bottega, bro, and it’s like what am I even doing? You have to just believe in the thing you're doing more than anybody else.

100%, and it seems like that’s what you’re doing.

And fashion’s kind of a competitive sport, as much as people don’t think it is. We can reach a certain level without losing ourselves. My biggest ambition at the moment is to create something that, when you leave one of our neighbors you come into our place you don’t feel that the level has been sacrificed at all. And it’s not easy.

Definitely. I wish I could be there tomorrow.

Thank you, bro. 10 years now. You’ve always shown me so much love. We have to do a booth or have the office part of the next 424 day. Shit let’s do a 424 day in New York.

That would be sick. Let's do it. I'm here. Let’s catch up soon.

Next season’s right around the corner so I’ll see you in Paris.

Yes, see you in Paris and Happy 424 day!

Fashion

Luis De Javier's Puta Takeover

April 25, 2024

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Words and photos by Izzy Capulong

The Spanish-born London-based designer has been well-loved for his genderless tailoring, latex mastery, and overall message of empowerment. Dressing everyone from ravers to A-listers, De Javier’s latest drop pushes his design repertoire to a new level. “While designing for my celebrity clientele and showcasing my creations on the runway has always been my dream,” he notes, “It’s equally important to me that my brand resonates with a wider, more diverse audience.” While this collection’s medium has shifted from corsets to sweatshirts, the classic LDJ avant-garde sensibilities remain. Bikinis and booty shorts are shamelessly emblazoned with “PUTA,” blazers are constructed with ample shoulder padding, and I had my eye on the cheekily-named “Faguette Bag.”

The Puta collection will be available exclusively on emcee.

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