Fashion designer and celebrity stylist Maxie J appeared on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s talk series Hip Hop & Enterprise to share her journey from being an influencer to launching her own fashion company Ellaé Lisqué.
The Inglewood, California, native recalls her early start as an entrepreneur and how it came naturally due to her passion for style and beauty. With her intricate, lavish designs, James soon learned that she needed to work with the right manufacturers to get her pieces designed and shipped to her eager customers.
But working with manufacturers on the other side of the world came with its own challenges. As a solution, James walked into one meeting as a potential customer and walked out as a business partner with her own manufacturing company in Turkey.
Now with the power in her hands, she has turned out looks for the likes of Summer Walker, Saweetie, Sevyn Streeter, Hannah Stocking, Bebe Rexha, Tamar Braxton, Keyshia Cole, Meagan Good,
K.Michelle, and more.With a business model based around inclusivity, James hires BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) young adults with a team of all women of color. Her work and steady grind have elevated her brand and gotten her noticed by celebrities and designers alike.
Through all the ups and downs of starting an internationally-run
business, Maxie J is finally in a place where she’s ready to pay it forward and teach the next generation of fashion designers through her upcoming “Fashionaire Academy” Master Class and “Fashionaire Success Guide.”“I’m striving right now, and I want to pass on the knowledge,” James said. “I had to bump my head a thousand times to get here,” she said. “If I can teach others how to avoid the head bumps, then I’d be living my full purpose and doing God’s work.”