Even when I think my schedule is chill, it usually isn’t,” stylist Jared Ellner says from his home base of Los Angeles, where he’s just returned after a stint in Europe. For the past few weeks, he’s been juggling a slate of overlapping international projects, including the wardrobe for Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet tour and the Oscars after-parties, which five of his clients attended. Right now, Ellner might be one of the busiest people in fashion. “But that’s the beauty of this,” the 28-year-old says. “I’m very grateful to ride this wave.”
A new class of young creatives is driving entertainment forward: YouTube wunderkind-turned-entrepreneur Emma Chamberlain, pop powerhouse Carpenter, and Hollywood multi-hyphenates like Molly Gordon and Rachel Sennott, who write and star in today’s buzziest indie films. Along with exceptional talent and sitting on the millennial/ Gen Z cusp, one key thing these women have in common is Ellner, who styles all of them. “I still don’t totally know how it happened,” he says of the influential clientele he’s assembled. “L.A. is a very tight-knit community; it’s a bunch of friends talking to friends. The right people cling to you if you’re lucky, and you cling to the right people if you can find them, and it just kind of builds.”
A self-proclaimed fashion nerd who grew up in suburban New Jersey, Ellner fed his obsession by taking sewing lessons and studying both fashion and art history. He enrolled at Parsons for fashion design, where he built his stamina for sleepless working nights. After college, he took an assistant gig at the now-defunct Garage magazine. The first shoot he styled solo featured Chamberlain; about a year later, her publicist called to ask if he’d consider working with her full time.
Ellner has a track record of taking a client from fashion newbie to front-row fixture. A prime example is Chamberlain, who signed on as a Louis Vuitton ambassador—a first for a YouTube-native talent—in 2019. The two worked together on a handful of projects before her first Met Gala in 2021. “Things got much more serious after that,” he recalls. (They are so close that Chamberlain modeled Ellner’s self-titled fashion line when it launched this past fall.)
Sennott was his second client, a connection made by their mutual friend (and her Shiva Baby costar) Gordon. He styled Sennott for the movie’s premiere—her first time working with a stylist. “We were so green, and now she’s a Balenciaga [campaign star],” he says.
Ellner’s encyclopedic fashion knowledge informs his work, and he’s unafraid to drop an archival reference—a styling tactic that has sparked heated discourse among fans online. “I think people are rightfully fatigued by it, so it’s a balance of figuring out when it feels authentic, impactful, and useful, and when it feels like a crutch,” he explains. His favorite nod to the past thus far? Carpenter’s Bob Mackie gown for the 2024 VMAs—previously worn by Madonna to the Oscars in 1991. “I’m so spoiled with clients who do such a good job of owning a look that I’m never worried they’re going to be lost in a reference,” he says. Another favorite pull is Todd Oldham; Ellner dressed Olivia Rodrigo in a look from Oldham’s spring 1995 collection to celebrate the release of her album Guts, and a year later, Carpenter wore a look from his fall 1994 show for New Year’s Eve.
Styling is intimate and requires intense vulnerability, so when it comes to Ellner’s clients, the lines often blur between the personal and professional. “I am so comfortable and productive with Jared, because the foundation of our relationship is friendship rather than business,” Chamberlain says of their partnership. “We are not afraid to disagree and voice our opinions, because we trust the bond we have, which allows us to truly collaborate.” Gordon echoes this sentiment, saying, “Jared is so giving, warm, and kind, but he has a cutting honesty that I trust 100 percent.”
“The sweetest part of the job is that all of these people feel comfortable allowing me into such personal parts of their physicality, their image, and their communication of themselves to the world,” Ellner says. With his long-term clients, he enjoys helping to curate an overall image that goes beyond just a year or two of looks. “The balance of styling is keeping everybody in their zone while also allowing the freedom to experiment and be a different person for a day, without feeling inconsistent with their personal brand,” he explains. A recent moody turn he’s proud of is Chamberlain’s Oscar after-party look, which might just be his favorite: a Jean Paul Gaultier by Ludovic de Saint Sernin gown, set off by a bleached-blonde pixie cut.
Another important through line for Ellner’s clients? While they’re all serious talents, they don’t take themselves too seriously. “There are a lot of people who would not be comfortable taking a risk or doing anything even slightly off-kilter for a major moment,” he says. “But all my girls—they’re fearless.”
