When most New Jerseyans are enjoying our lunch, our California brothers and sisters are just stumbling into their closest breakfast and coffee shops. They are ordering menu options most of us on the east coast would question as edible, and enjoying a sun we all deeply imagine. However, many of them are on a different type of grind. Late nights and early mornings with most of their meals on the go. Shaleeta is no stranger to eating on the go. Most of her meals, including breakfast are consumed from inside a vehicle, which is moving 9/10. And that’s ok for her. At age 26 she’s been used to moving this way, living a fast pace journey. A journey that started part time retail at Victoria Secret and projects her to in front of your screens. I got the opportunity to catch up with her via phone in as she checked in with me from Los Angeles. Getting her start in 2012, Shaleeta begins pulling clothes for music videos. Loving the joy that it brings, she set out a local search to acquire more creatives to help power Four Styling Group.
What is Four Styling Group? How did it come together? And what does it mean for creating?
So there’s this girl her name is NIKKI Jeans; she styled Kanye [West] for the Glow in the Dark Tour. And that, for me, was the best tour ever.; his mom had just passed away, so the intensity of that show. So after tour NIKKI wanted me and Brandon to come out to LA and start pulling clothes for music videos. My first week in LA I was doing this and realized this was something I wanted to do. So all my friends that I grew up with in Cheltenham are just naturally fly, all with a natural style that’s just different. I called my friends Brittany and Sherelle, they’re twins, and they had a best friend her name is Imani. Imani had a good friend his name is Ritchie(Dvvnci) and we all just came together and I started Four Styling Group. From there I started conceptual business cards because from that point everything was business minded. We all had business cards with our favorite icons on the back. At one point at I started with Chanel then later it was Grace Jones. And I started because I wanted to style more Editorials, but I wanted to bring a team together, where like myself they were just different. We are a link for all creatives, from photographers to models to stylists where our creatives can establish quality work for their portfolios.
They can be apart of quality events, things that they be proud of.
What’s your definition of a creative?
I think it’s someone who doesn’t have to try hard to paint a picture. Whether it be clothing, photography, music, anything. I think when people start to put themselves in a certain category for example, designer or stylists, they kinda prevent themselves from what they can do so I use the term as an umbrella sort of thing.
How do you keep yourself from limiting yourself in order to tell your story?
I like to tell my story mainly through visuals so that’s why I like doing editorial photo shoots. Something that I can be involved with the set, the models, the hair and makeup up and everything. And I also like to direct videos.
Now with directing videos do you find that easier or more difficult than doing something else you are really great at such as styling or creative directing?
You know what I think I like it, I like it because I’m always going to style whosoever is in the video. It’s very hard that I’ll go on set and not touch things up anyways. So to know I can be good at those things and coach a team and give team management.