The name Stephanie Shepherd might ring a bell. With 1.1million Instagram followers she’s risen from Kim Kardashian West’s personal assistant to blazing her own influencer path. After leaving the Kardashian fold to pursue her own projects she began working with J Brand.
Tasked with refreshing the ‘Little Black Jean’, Steph Shep (as she’s known on social media) has collaborated on a limited-edition run of high-rise skinny jeans. With a snugger fit and a lace-up fly, they are designed for Instagram. ‘I think it creates a really sleek look. For some women, myself included, the tummy area can be an insecurity, and I think the lace-up offers a little extra support,’ she explains.
For the last seven years, the multi-hyphenate professes she’s been living in skinny jeans. Sounds familiar, right? With her own wardrobe as her jumping-off point she wanted to make a staple that’s comfortable and stretchy. ‘I wanted it to be something that both my mom-friends back in Ohio and my fashion-friends in LA can wear and really make their own,’ she explains.
J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
1 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
2 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
3 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
4 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
5 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
6 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
7 of 7J brand stephanie shepherd kim kardashian west
'Steph and I are both from Cleveland, Ohio, and she told me the story of when she first moved to Los Angeles and saved up money to invest in her first pair of luxury jeans, which happened to be J BRAND' recalls Mary Peffer, Senior Marketing and Communications Director at J BRAND, 'It’s such a relatable wardrobe milestone. From there, we just began brainstorming to create something special that would both honor her aesthetic and look great on different body types. Steph’s favorite jeans are the Maria (our best-seller) so the team started applying her notes to the original design. It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done in my career. Steph has a strong creative eye and knew exactly how she wanted them to fit and feel—a soft lace-up skinny that would slurp you in in the most flattering way without restricting form. We literally had employees begging to take home the sample. That’s when we knew we probably should have made more pairs.”'
With only 100 units produced, they unsurprisingly sold out super fast - in 19 hours to be exact. However, a source says more will be made available after the success of the first drop.