There is perhaps no one who has made a greater impact on the fashion of hiphop and the music industry at large than June Ambrose. Known for taking chances and creating some of the most iconic and memorable looks of all time, Ambrose was able to draw on her formal training – while adding some of her own personal style and flair.
“I started off with formal education—I was a theater major and costume design was my elective,” costume designer & creative director Ambrose tells Grazia USA. But after finishing school, Ambrose chose a career in investment banking instead of fashion. After two years in finance, Ambrose interned at a record company—“it was very short-lived,” she admits—and then returned to her roots and passion: costume design. “I incorporated my company in 1994, nearly 30 years ago,” Ambrose says. “I saw the opportunity and white space in the industry and really understood what I needed to do.”
Ambrose realized that she excelled at developing characters within the music space using her training. “I really started to focus on costume design and music videos,” Ambrose recalls. After reconnecting with legendary music video producer and director HypeWilliams, Ambrose used skills to develop artists and create iconic moments.
“We started to really disrupt things,” she says. Case in point: styling Missy Elliott in a puffy suit for “The Rain” video, still one of the most memorable moments in hip-hop history. “The work I did with Missy specifically and what we were able to do in terms of females in the space with Missy as the muse was unmatched,” Ambrose explains, adding that she dropped little “breadcrumbs” of her own personal style into this and many of her projects including the oversized sunglasses Elliott dons in the video. “Did we know that Missy suit would be in every write up about iconic fashion moments—yes!” quips Ambrose. “We were taking no prisoners, we had nothing to lose.”
Ambrose immediately became the go-to for the biggest names in the industry including newcomers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs aka Puff Daddy. “For Puff, it was high fashion sportswear and disrupting the hip-hop expectation,” Ambrose recalls. “We were doing something really glossy and not so ‘hip-hop.’”
Ambrose has also worked with rapper, record executive, and entrepreneur Jay-Z since inception of his career. “I worked with all his Rockafella artists and me and Jay are still working together,” Ambrose says. “Seeing that this one individual who was able to inspire so much and being so close to it was so inspiring.”
Another standout experience for Ambrose was her work on 1998 movie “Belly” starring DMX and Nas. “I learned so much, mainly about not judging a book by its cover,” admits Ambrose. “Because when I met DMX I assumed, and he proved wrong every stereotype cast upon him.”
Just before the start of the pandemic, Ambrose was tapped by Puma to launch a women’s basketball line. “This wasn’t really a thing so that was a huge responsibility for so many reasons,” Ambrose explains. “But I knew the task was to shift culture once again and find lightening in the bottle.With this line, I was able to infuse high fashion and I’m really proud of what we did.”
The release of her 2006 book “Effortless Style” was a true gamechanger for Ambrose. “To be a published author was a huge milestone and career highlight,” says Ambrose. “I always knew it was bigger than me but now as an author, I can’t be erased from history.”
