#ghetto fabulous

I first saw this photo when it was published in Vibe magazine back in the day, it brings back so many memories of being at my mom and dad’s crib flipping through magazines getting super inspired by what was happening in New York City. It was visuals like this that sparked that flame in me to pursue a career in Fashion and to offer my twist on things. I will never forget these days, ahhhh the 90′s now that was the real time to be alive.

Misa, left, and the fur designer Nija Battle, right, styling a pair of mink jeans for a shoot Kim did with Vibe in 1999.

Misa Hylton: “My favorite places to shop back in the day were the shops on Eighth Street in the West Village,” Hylton says. “I loved Versailles and Petit Peton. I would go there so much they would call me ‘the queen of Eighth Street.’ I’d park my car, chill with my flip phone and have the shop employees bring bags and bags of merchandise out to my window. It was very regular for me.”

The Queen of Ghetto Fabulous herself, Mary J Blige on the set of her “Not Gon Cry” music video shoot. Misa shared a dope store about this moment.

Misa Hylton: “I put her in a Fendi Mongolian fur and big twisty earrings. I remember on set, someone kept coming over asking if she could take off the earrings. They wanted something softer, smaller,” Hylton remembers. “And I said no, that it was part of the look, at which point her manager went over to them and said, ‘It’s up to Misa.’ At that point, I was validated. The earrings were staying. Those times helped me define my lane. We weren’t trying to be in anyone else’s lane but our own. We created the lane.”