BIO

Jérôme LaMaar is a Bronx born Creative Consultant, Designer, storyteller and futurist stylishly blending and transforming fashion, accessibility, art, technology, color and culture. With over 20 years of experience thanks to an early start at Baby Phat at age 15, where he gained significant experience for his role as Associate Creative Director for the successful brand all while attending school. An ambitious teenager full of talent and a lover of art & fashion history, Jerome would collect his grandfather’s vintage clothes and styled them with modern pieces with a strong sense of color and style which led him to stand out from his peers. This strong sense of style created unique features in several Japanese street style magazines throughout the early 2000’s. Later in 2008, he official cultivated trends in New York, Paris and Japan and became a certified trend forecaster for Promostyl, Peclers Paris, The Doneger Group and WGSN, traveling the world identifying fashion, emerging cultural movements, color, technology trends for global trend agencies.

In 2015, Jerome created his own store, called 9J Concept Store in the Mott Haven area in the South Bronx which sparked the development of the forgotten area. 2017, Jerome was the inspiration for the best selling children’s book, Scholastic’s The Word Collector highlighting his love of community, words and the color pink. In 2022, he made history once again creating a successful 3 part collection for Macy’s . The collections focused on New-American classics fusing color, tailoring, glamour , vintage ideals and workwear details from menswear and womenswear with a touch of refined street style and dreamy preppy style for 5:31 by Jérôme LaMaar x AND NOW THIS. The collections sold out in record breaking time both online and in-stores.

Jérôme attended The Fashion Institute of Technology for Fashion Design and Fabric Styling. He now holds certifications in software engineering from IBM, UX Design and Generative AI from both Microsoft and Google as a focus to bridge color, style and technology to improve the way brands relate to what consumers desire. Jérôme has collaborated with A-listers such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and partnered with brands such as Auberge, Adidas, Birkenstock, Booking.com, Calvin Klein, Disney, Diageo, Faena Hotels, Grubhub, Google Pixel, Glossier,LYFT, LEE Jeans, Michelin, Mattel , Manolo Blahnik, NIKE, Stadium Goods, Samsung, Swarovski, Seamless, P&G , Pantone, Perrier, PUMA, Pinterest, Tommy Hilfiger, The Real Real , Timberland, Virgin Hotels , Warner Brothers , Wells Fargo,Woolrich, The United Nations and Uniqlo. A native New Yorker known for fusing style and culture with technology and luxury, LaMaar’s innovative vision continues to push the boundaries of style, gender, and tech, inspiring a new generation of creators to embrace different ideas to build culture. This non-traditional result focused approach to style, creative direction, branding and marketing has led to being featured multiple times in GQ, Vogue & The New York Times 16x.

“It’s about STYLE not TRENDS. I am obsessed with details, knowing the demographic well, impactful storytelling, timelessness and sprinkle a bit of magic on everything I touch.”

A life in style and technology with Jerome LaMaar Rice, "The Style Monk"

Born and raised in the vibrant streets of Bronx-Harlem, Jérôme LaMaar has spent over 20 years redefining fashion, art, and culture. A true New Yorker at heart, LaMaar has dressed A-listers, coined the term “South Bronx Luxe,” and collaborated with global powerhouses. His unique vision was showcased in Beyoncé’s iconic Black is King on Disney+. He has been featured in commercials for MTV and Co-hosted and Emmy Nominated TV show called UPCYLE NATION in 2022.

As a polymath with an IQ of 130, LaMaar has been featured in The New York Times 16 times, and several features in Vogue Jerome is most comfortable wearing many hats as a Creative Director, Designer, Stylist, and Futurist. His journey began while attending the High School of Art & Design in New York city at just 15 years old with Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons, working as the Associate Creative director overseeing 31 licensees, later evolving into a global trend forecaster who guided brands like Swarovski, Adidas, Amazon, Warner Brothers, Perrier, Puma, Nike, RED BULL, Pantone, Google, Uniqlo, Mattel, Essie Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Snapchat, Proctor & Gamble, AirBnB and Calvin Klein. In 2006, LaMaar was tapped to help ignite excitement by connecting tastemakers and emerging talents for the New York official opening of Uniqlo Soho and later bringing it to the Bronx . In 2013, he launched the magical lifestyle brand 5:31, beloved by stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Mariah Carey and Kim Kardashian. 5:31 Made history selling out worldwide in stores and online in a collaboration on n All Gender stylish clothing with Macy’s in 2022. Jerome has also been featured in national commercials for MTV, Absolut and many other for his sense of style and ability to speak on camera.