Meet Jonathan Marc Stein: The 27-Year-Old Celebrity Designer and Stylist Making a Statement

27-year-old Jonathan Marc Stein is a young celebrity designer whose name you need to take note of. An engineer-turned-fashion designer, Stein has already been seen on/in Ariel Winter, Danielle Monet, Harper's Bazaar, Landon Barker, Elle, and more, with his collections gracing Fashion Week runways all over the world. For most of his career thus far, Stein has moved and worked in silence with his work speaking for itself, but now he is ready to begin sharing his journey along with tips and tricks and insight as to how he has become a pinnacle in the fashion space at such a young age. With appearances on red carpets of the most notable award shows and custom ensembles made for some of the most fashionable celebrities in the industry, Jonathan is undoubtedly a designer to learn from and be inspired by.

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We caught up with Jonathan recently to get a glimpse of his world, who he is as a person and designer, and plenty more. You can learn more about Jonathan through the full interview below.

ONE37pm: Hi Jonathan! Thanks so much for chatting with us! Can you first start by introducing yourself to our audience?

Stein: Hi I’m Jonathan Marc Stein! I’m a celebrity fashion designer, which I’ve been doing since around 2017. I went to school and got a degree in mechanical engineering, and then during my sophomore year I saw a runway video, and the rest is history!

ONE37pm: The rest is history! How were you able to immerse yourself in the fashion world?

Stein: When I saw that runway video—I think it was Alexander McQueen 1997—it just really hit me. I decided it was something that I wanted to do, so I started teaching myself how to design and sew. Around six months later, after I had created my first collection, I got a chance to do this mall show in Columbus, Ohio, and it went so well that a scout from LA Fashion Week saw me and invited me to show in Los Angeles. That was towards the end of 2017, and then a scout from New York Fashion week happened to be at that show, and it kept snowballing. I moved out to LA, started establishing my brand, and we now have over a hundred celebrities and clients that are a part of my repertoire, and I guess that’s it!

ONE37pm: That’s amazing! What does a day in the life look like for you?

Stein: Each day is very much different depending on if it's award season or some events going on. Usually I’ll wake up, get my coffee, run down to my studio which is actually on my property, and if I have a project that I’ve started I’ll sketch something out from scratch and start draping materials on the mannequin. If it’s an award show or event, it could be a very long day of me going over to the client’s house, or them coming over to mine for fittings and measurements. If it’s a fashion show, it could be an eighteen hour day of finishing up last minute things because as a designer there’s always something you want to change at the last minute. Each day is totally different!

ONE37pm: How do you stay creative and take care of yourself?

Stein: That’s a hard thing! I do burn myself out a lot because I’ll do eighteen hour days three days in a row, and then I’ll take a few days off. Sometimes I’ll go to the beach, or I’ll just stay at home doing absolutely nothing. As far as how I stay creative, it’s definitely hard in this industry because I’m always comparing myself to other designers and what they’re bringing out along with what trends there are. I kind of just create twenty different looks either from feeling or from what the trends are during certain seasons.

Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate what I like versus what’s trending because at the end of the day it is a business I’m running. I try to create things I like first and then things other people like second, and hope that it aligns very well. I’ll also go outside, and that inspires me to create something new.

ONE37pm: Part of being a designer/stylist means establishing relationships with fashion houses and brands. How have you been able to do that?

Stein: It’s actually been a lot about networking and connections. A lot of the time I’m on Instagram trying to find stylists and clients that I love, and I’ll just start talking with them, commenting, and trying to build a relationship with them. Other times I’ll see somebody at an event, compliment them on what they’re wearing, and get to learn more about them. Building those relationships is probably the most important part of creating new clients, and a lot of the times when I have a fashion show for my collections, there will happen to be certain people there that want to work with me. Or they’ll see my stuff on another client that they like, and that eventually leads into another opportunity.

ONE37pm: What are some of your favorite projects that you’ve done so far?

Stein: Recently I did a shoot for Harper's Bazaar with Landon Barker which was extremely fun. I don’t always work with men and that was something cool for me, because most of the time my clients are women in the industry.

ONE37pm: You’re 27. Where do you hope to be in the next five years?

Stein: That’s a tough question! I’m definitely hoping to have a few stores established, and I want to keep expanding my brand to bigger clients. I’ve definitely been hoping to end up working with people like Zendaya and of that caliber. Right now I’m a little bit lower than that, so in five years I would like to have a bigger repertoire of clients. I hope to have an office in Europe because there’s so much going on over there, and hopefully by then I can show at Paris, London, and Milan Fashion Week!

ONE37pm: Is there anything else you want to add?

Stein: Lately I’ve been really focused on inclusivity and sustainability, so I’ve been pushing my business towards being 100% sustainable, whether it’s recycled materials or the process of how I start and end my business. I want everything done in Los Angeles to reduce emissions. I'm zoning out of using materials that are harmful to the environment, and in the process of switching everything over to sustainable products. 

I’m also about to release a new trench coat jacket! I’m trying to break the bridge between luxury fashion and sustainability by incorporating two looks into one. It’s gonna be a long jacket that zips around the middle, and then it will be able to turn into a motorcycle jacket. I’m working more on incorporating technology into my products so it's wearable for multiple seasons and durable. It’s called the Daniel Trenchcoat, and it’s named after my father who was murdered a few months ago. It’s definitely been hard, and I’m hoping to have 50% of the proceeds go towards a charity that we loved. 

You can find out more about the Daniel Trenchcoat and all of the latest happenings with Jonathan via his official website.