The Journey to Greatness as Ohio's Next Best Thing in Fashion | Justise Y'Lana

Updated: Aug 17, 2023

By | Aniyah Davies

Miuccia Prada once said, “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.” Columbus-based stylist, Justise Y'Lana, proves this statement. Justise Porter, also known as @justiseylana on social media, is a Kent State Alumni and an up-and-coming stylist in Ohio who does editorial styling and currently works at Tiffany & Co. and Columbus apparel store, Sole Classics. Justise presents herself to the world in many ways through her baggy, eclectic style that draws people in and her glowing personality that draws you into her journey as Ohio’s newest face in fashion. However, before she became a new force in fashion, she got her start at Kent State University.

Her first styling experience was at Kent State in the group “Kent Styles”, a group that orchestrated photoshoots and did runway and editorial work. They wanted Justise to style a photoshoot and gave her a theme for a photoshoot. They encouraged her to go to the thrift store or utilize items that she already has to style models. She stated that her first experience was, “Interesting and fun, yet challenging.” Along with styling in Kent Styles, she also modeled. She got the opportunity to star in their “Black Love” photoshoot as a model and that’s where she fell in love with editorial work! Justise described her experience by saying, “Just being in that environment and the photo shoot, I realized my love for shooting and I was like yea this is what I want to do, because there is personal styling, wardrobe styling, different types of styling, but the fashion and photoshoots, editorial styling- that’s what I love.”

Soon her love for editorial work turned into her journey to being a stylist, which she feels that she is still on and growing in. As she is on her journey, one major takeaway from her is what sets her apart from other stylists. Justise prides herself and her work on the fact that she has a style that is unconventional from what other people consider to be popular and she works with her clients differently, she says that “I always say that I’m weird, but not in a bad way. I just always have felt out of place when it comes to my fashion sense. When I was growing up it felt like a bad thing, but now as I’m growing into a woman and seeing different types of fashion, I’m realizing that I’m not that weird, I’m just eclectic. I just have a certain style that people may not run to, but they can acknowledge that style.”

“So, I think what sets me apart as a stylist is using things that I wouldn’t see other people, for example, using things that aren’t a part of the norm. And, I try to push my clients to step out of their comfort zone because you can wear a basic tee, some jeans, and some tennis shoes, but what about this? What would make you stand out? If my client wants something simple then we will go in that direction, but for a photo shoot, if we’re going for an editorial style, I want it to be like WOAH, I don’t want it to be something that I’ve seen before.”

And within all of Justise’s photoshoots, she has created things we haven’t seen before! With each of her clients, she not only captures their personalities, but she implements her aesthetic of a 90s feel with simple and feminine undertones. It shows through her lookbook with Sole Classics, her 50s photoshoot with Jamal Reynolds, and her photo shoot with Lauren Cody & Zelle Johnson. She was asked how she implements her style and her fashion interests into her looks and she described that when she’s styling, she tries to make looks that she would want to wear herself. She emphasized that when she’s creating, she trusts herself and her vision because not everyone can see her vision or the final result. “I try to be confident in my vision and realize that my village is my village, the people that do like it is something I need to appreciate, and stop worrying about the people who don’t. That allows me to continue to put my spin on things and out my sense of style in my photoshoots.” Along with that Justise mentioned that in her process she does a lot of thrifting, layouts, and mood-boarding to keep her visions cohesive. On a more personal level, many of Justise’s fashion inspirations that she implements into her style are influencers and fashion icons that we all know and love. Justise mentioned Dearra Taylor, Naya Ashley, Aliyah Jay, Teyana Taylor, and many more!

As much as Justise spoke on her flourishing career as a stylist, she also spoke about her experience as a Kent State Student. Her college experience was filled with memories such as her first time getting on the dean’s list and getting a 4.0, but even more so connecting with the minority community on campus: “I always say there is KSU and then there is BKSU. We can appreciate KSU for what it is, it has definitely opened a lot of doors in terms of internships and things like that, but BKSU- that’s where I felt that I learned myself and found real mentors. For example, Ashley, Mike, and Dr. D- that’s who made my experience worthwhile and made me grow into myself and realize who I am. Like the SMC, when I had nothing to do I would go there and have that space to help you feel like your not alone. To feel like I just want to get my work done, and listen to music, but also I just want to be around my people. That was the experience for sure along with many of the parties and events.”

In addition to BKSU being an amazing portion of Justise’s experience, there is also another aspect to being a minority student at Kent State. Justise told the story of a time, while she was a Resident Assitant, she was in charge of racial conflicts among the RA Staff within the dorms and she made a bulletin board that described different types of privilege to educate students. The board got defaced along with The Rock constantly being defaced while she was at Kent State. “My first time really being around that many white people was college, but when I got to Kent I noticed, for the majority of my experience, if I needed help with something and I wanted to ask a classmate they would say things like ‘I did it last night, you should’ve done it’, but they would help their white counterpart. Also, being a minority and there are only like five Black people in your class and you have to band together, but of those five people some people might want to work with you and others may not. So it was definitely hard and frustrating as hell, but it taught me that it really is a dog-eat-dog world and when you do find those people who are willing to help you and who do care about you, you hang on to them. However, for the most part, you got to do this on your own.”

Even though Justise’s experience may not have always been great at Kent State the process provided her with the stepping stones to become the amazing stylist and young woman that many look up to today, she was asked what advice would she give fashion students trying to gain a job and follow their passions once they graduate AND what’s some advice that she would give someone aspiring to become a stylist in the industry. Justise stated that the process is not going to be easy, despite social media and the outside world making it seem like the path is simple. She goes on to say that most times, your success won’t come straight out of college, so be prepared for that journey and take that time to enjoy yourself outside of college because college is hard. Lastly, she said something that shed some light on the positive side of understanding your path once you make it to where you want to be: “Once it does happen, enjoy and cherish that. Just enjoy the whole process of getting to where you want to be.”

Overall, Justise has made big strides as a stylist with her biggest accolade so far: styling a photoshoot for Sole Classics, an apparel shop based in Columbus, OH. The photoshoot was featured on their website, their app, and their Instagram. People got the opportunity to see her work on a large scale and in a way that moment reassured her of her gifts and talent. While Sole Classics and Justise’s styling brand are amazing ways to view Justise’s talent, the best part about her isn’t her creative ability, but it’s her personality. Justise is a kind, welcoming spirit that lights up a room and the people around her. As she’s on the journey to fame and continues to grow, please continue to watch her and support her, but also follow her example and enjoy what life has to offer on the process to greatness while also giving back to the people around you with not only your talent but the light that you carry within you.