Photo: WENN 

Ever wondered who is the force behind your favorite stars and their elements of cool? Be curious no longer, as Jenke Ahmed Tailly is one of the most in-demand stylists working today!

While you’ve probably never heard of him you are familiar with his work. In addition to being a fashion editor and consultant, Tailly’s hands-on effort can be found flowing from the closets of stars such as Beyoncé Knowles, Kanye West, and most recently, Kim Kardashian West. An enigmatic figure within the industry, Tailly has been able to capture the rhythm of the streets, the catwalks, and make a person’s body hum with effortless cool.

“I like to do my work quietly,” Tailly told Elle.com in a special interview. “I don’t really like to put myself at the front.” Splitting his time between Paris and New York, the Cote d’Ivorian and Senegalese fashion insider doesn’t like to share the spotlight alongside those he works with. “I only just joined Instagram recently,” he admitted. “All of my friends were yelling at me because I haven’t posted anything yet or accepted any followers.”

Unlike other stylists who love to be as popular as the celebrities they work with, Tailly doesn’t book lucrative hosting gigs or even wants the spotlight. Instead, the skilled tastemaker hones his craft with a strong passion and love. Having worked with Queen Bey for the last four years, Tailly combines her personal proclivities into the outfits she rocks for magazine covers.

Citing his “stylish mother” for inspiring his sense of style, Tailly has always found the fashion world fascinating. “Fashion was part of the culture I grew up with,” says Tailly. That inspiration propelled him to school, but surprisingly enough, it was not for fashion design or business. Choosing marketing, a young Jenke Ahmed Tailly worked retail jobs at Barneys New York and Chanel. Fast forward a few years and he would be shot by Annie Leibovitz as a model.

His true big break came in 2011 when L’Officiel Paris asked him to help style and creative direct their 90th anniversary issue. “I told them I wanted to put a black girl on the cover,” Tailly said. “After 90 years, they only had two black girls on the cover, and I said I would really like the future to be more diverse. We were thinking Halle Berry or Beyoncé.” He convinced L’Officiel Paris that Beyoncé would do it because, “he is really good friends with her husband’s lawyer.”

Photo: Andres Otero/WENN 

Promoting diversity is paramount and a serious cause close to Tailly’s heart.

“I’m flabbergasted when I go to a fashion show and I don’t see a black model or an Indian model or an Asian model or anyone of color in the front row,” Tailly says. “It’s 2015, brands should take the memo. The buying power of those minorities is enormous—why are we still not represented enough?” Fashion has made some subtle changes within the industry.

From the cover of Vogue Paris featuring a black model for the first time in five years to LaVerne Cox becoming a mainstay on the red carpet, the industry is becoming less-and-less white-washed.

“The more diverse people working behind the scenes in fashion who have the power to book models, the more diverse faces we’re likely to see in magazines,” says Tailly. “As a black people, I’m more likely to want to book a black model. It’s a delicate subject but I think it’s natural to gravitate towards a model that looks like you, that you can relate to. So if you’re blond-haired and blue-eyed, you’re probably more likely to book a model that looks like that too.”

[via Elle]

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