By Chassee Palmer
Fashion is not just a hobby; it’s an art, and that’s just what Rylton Thomas has been making. The Northern Virginia native makes an experience like no other when he styles his celebrity clientele. He plays with patterns, silhouettes and textures to create marvelous looks. Thomas is currently a senior Business Administration Major with a concentration in Marketing at the illustrious Clark Atlanta University.
The young entrepreneur has his hand in multiple scenes. If he’s not styling some of your favorite celebrities like Nivea, Aliya Janell, Eva Marcille and Kali, then he either has his hand in the marketing industry making sure his brand is top-tier, or he’s dabbling in making his own apparel. Thomas turns everything gold that he touches and creates nothing more than a “RYLexperience.”
Q: How did you gain your start in fashion?
A: I gained my start in the fashion industry by simply being myself. Expressing myself through my everyday wardrobe allowed for me to receive the right attention from the right people. I met a friend who was also already in the same position I wanted to be in. I decided to become his assistant and shadow him on gigs to get hands-on knowledge quickly to start my own journey.
Q: Why did you feel it was important to cross fashion and marketing?
A: I felt as though it was important to integrate marketing and fashion simply because they go hand and hand. In fashion, the most important part about your brand, career, image, etc. is making sure you are branded correctly and reaching your targeted audience. After being in both industries, I would always somehow intertwine the two unknowingly, so from there I just decided that I would make fashion & marketing my specialty.
Q: How did your first celebrity styling experience go?
A: My first “celebrity” styling experience was everything I expected. I had the opportunity to style for WETV’s “Growing Up Hip-Hop: Atlanta” for client, Reemarkable (Easy E’s Daughter). It was very quick and a one-time experience, but I learned so much during that day. I learned that this was my passion, and I couldn’t stop until I reached where I was supposed to be.
Q: Where do you pull influence from?
A: Most of my influence comes from my childhood. Growing up in the late 90’s/early 00’s, there was so much fashion influence within society and pop culture. I loved taking my sister’s magazines and posters just to look at the fashions and what was going on in pop culture. In addition, my mother was very fashion-driven from a young age. She made it a point that any time we left the house -- even if it was to get mail -- that we looked presentable, because you never know who could be watching. As much as I hated it, I can honestly thank her today for instilling in me such poise and fashion sense at a young age.
Q: What advice can you give to upcoming stylists?
A: My best advice to upcoming stylists would be to never give up. In this industry there are so many times where it may be difficult to the point where you’d want to quit, but resilience is the key to longevity. In addition, another piece of advice would be to follow your own path. I’ve learned along my journey that everyone’s path is different. You shouldn’t compare yourself, your talent, etc. to anyone else’s.
Q: Where do you see your business and yourself in the next 2-5 years?
A: In the next 2-5 years I see my business in its next phase of success. Owning my own showroom and storefront, traveling, hosting seminars and more! In the next 2-5 years, I am planning to open TheRylExperience Productions, which will serve as a production company and agency for the fashion industry that caters to those who are like me, a “Jack of All Trades.”
Q: What can we expect from you in the near future?
A: In the near future, there is a lot to expect… from new brand collaborations to unreleased music videos, to relaunching my own brand, there is a lot I have planned in such little time. Sometimes I wonder how one person can get all this done, but with God anything is possible.
To keep in touch with everything Rylton Thomas is doing, follow his Instagram @therylexperience.