'Working with JVN is heaven': Meet the woman responsible for Jonathan Van Ness's best Queer Eye looks

Alison Brooks is the woman behind the Queer Eye star's boundary breaking outfits... 
1/33
Sabrina Carder19 July 2019

It's hard to decide what we love most about Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness: his unapologetic exuberance, enviable luscious locks or sassy and innovative style?

The grooming guru quickly captivated millions as one of the Fab Five in the 2018 reboot of Queer Eye. But, away from the show's heartwarming stories, off-screen, it's Van Ness' personal style that has taken centre stage.

Over the past year, Van Ness' wardrobe has seen a noticeable shift from athleisure to 'shamazing' gender-fluid looks. The transition of which has been highlighted by his recent Queer Eye Season 3 press tour wardrobe. Noticeably, skinny jeans having been swapped for midi skirts and Chelsea boots for high heels, with each ensemble breaking menswear boundaries.

Stylist and costume designer Alison Brooks is the woman behind his inimitable outfits, and with a background in drama, the duo were the perfect match. "I studied theatre," she tells Standard. "All my actor friends would have me style them for auditions and events. I slowly went into styling because it just felt natural and effortless for me."

Stylist Alison Brooks and Jonathon Van Ness (Alison Brooks )
Alison Brooks

Her role as Van Ness' stylist came around purely by chance. "The first time I met Jonathan, I was asked to style Margaret Cho for Fashion Police, because her regular stylist was on vacation. All I can remember is that when Jonathan - who was Margaret’s hair stylist at the time - walked into her dressing room, he just filled the room with light and love and fantastic energy. I fell in love immediately. A year or so later, he was doing the first press tour for Queer Eye and I was hired to style him. We just clicked."

Between them the duo has created many a memorable fashion moment, ranging from glamorous red carpets to powerful 'I mean business' outfits. Earlier this month Van Ness made headlines strutting his stuff through Washington DC's Capitol Hill with Democratic wunderkind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing an on-trend tie-dye midi skirt, neon jumper by A.L.C and Maison Margiela boots.

At the 2018 Creative Arts Emmys, the 32-year-old affectionately known at JVN, again wore Margiela, but this time a see-through mesh body suit and sequin sarong which was instantly hailed 'iconic' by fashion critics.

Jonathan Van Ness attends the 2018 Creative Arts Emmys
Getty Images

Two appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live also saw Van Ness' sartorial choices take social media by storm. For his first appearance, in 2018, JVN pulled off a poncho by The Row and Vetements sock boots in the the only way JVN can - with oodles of sass.

For his second appearance, a sheer sequin top paired with Dries Van Noten trousers and Stella McCartney kitten heels gave his 3.4 million Instagram followers just as much joy as his morning body positivity dances and #JVNskates updates.

"Gender fluidity is totally important for Jonathan’s style," explains Brooks about the integrated mix of womenswear and menswear. "But, it never occurred to me to only dress Jonathan in menswear, as I don’t see fashion as split into menswear and womenswear per se. I choose pieces that resonate with both of us. It may be the fabric, or the movement, or the design of course, and then we just play. It is more of an organic evolution."

Jonathan Van Ness at Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2018
SplashNews.com

Brooks, who describes Van Ness' style as "chic, modern, a little boho, and classic with a twist", adds that when planning an outfit she thinks "about the vibe or the story we want to convey for this event. It’s about the energy of the moment."

From the autumn/winter 2019 catwalks, which saw male models rocking lipstick and pencil skirts, to some history-making red carpet looks during awards season, like Billy Porter's tuxedo-gown hybrid, 2019 has seen non-binary fashion become more mainstream. Van Ness' candid and constant showcase has put him front and centre of ensuring gender fluid fashion is the future.

"I definitely see more gender fluid dressing in the future," says Brooks. "I’m a firm believer in playing with fashion and not sticking to anyone’s rules. Everything JVN puts on, he wears effortlessly and it’s just stunning."

Jonathan Van Ness at Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2019
Bauer-Griffin / SplashNews.com

JVN's wardrobe is filled with high end designers, with Rick Owens, Stella McCartney, Prada and Gucci and Vetements being some of his favourites. In the past, getting permission from such big name fashion houses to blur the boundaries of their womenswear and menswear collections would have been no easy task, but, this is changing, says Brooks. "I see more designers becoming open to lending womenswear for men and vice versa.

"But, sometimes sizing issues come into play and things need to be custom made."

Of course, what we really want to know is: is working with Van Ness as much fun as we imagine?

Alison and Jonathan at a fitting a few weeks ago: "JVN was trying to show me how to take selfies... he was making fun of how much room is always above my head!” (Alison Brooks )
Alison Brooks

"It is truly heaven. I have a blast and JVN lets me play and we laugh non-stop. It’s the best job ever!"

Can you believe? Yes, we can.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in