FASHION

Jazzy Roulhac is the exemplary image of a strong businesswoman. For years, she has used her passion for being a powerful leader and a captivating speaker to create jobs and represent people in the fashion industry. She is a ground shaker, a forward-thinker, and takes advantage of her skills and connections to propel other aspiring innovators to flourish in the industry. She represents creators that would normally have been overlooked by the critical and stereotypical fashion industry, and instead, provides them with the opportunity to be connected and empowered. Roulhac is a woman to watch as she blazes her path through the industry and builds a community that supports strong Black women. Roulhac strongly identifies with Boston, as she was born and raised in the city. Through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) educational diversification program, she was provided the opportunity to attend a private boarding school near Cape Cod. Post-graduation, Roulhac launched herself into the retail industry, working as a personal stylist with Nordstrom. This work gave her an outlet to be a creative leader and visionary. Her work ethic and skill for networking and communicating with people from all different backgrounds instantly differentiated her from others her age. The connections she earned and respected were a large catalyst to her success. They exposed her to modeling, to owning a business,

and to being a creative director, an author, and an educator. After five years at Nordstrom, Roulhac chose to use her acquired leadership skills to be a creative innovator fueled by style and fashion. She had the connections and experiences from an early age, and in 2013 she established her first business, Beautiful Bostonian.

“I wanted to be more specific and intentional about what drives me and my passion… I wanted to think about how I could make money in a way that not only fueled my passion, who I was, and what I wanted to do, but also uplift other people around me that do so much for me every day. That can be a friend, that can be a family member, that can be all the creatives that I interact with on a daily basis,” Roulhac said.

Beautiful Bostonian is what Roulhac refers to as a “creative agency.” She takes advantage of her expertise and her connections to help eager creators and innovators become oriented within a field that they would not have been previously exposed to. Her goal is to manage talented individuals who are underrepresented within the industry. She wants this business to remain local to Boston and represent authentic fundamentals that honor and respect her clients and give them the possibility to be triumphant when the odds are frequently against them. She wants Beautiful Bostonian to, “exclusively promote Black and Brown businesses and talent.” Her site offers a variety of directories that provide the client an opportunity to meet with the Beautiful Bostonian team for help with personal branding, business development, corporate development, personal styling, and subscription. Depending on the option one chooses, the team would then assist in developing or rebranding one’s image, understanding and fixing possible kinks in the systems, providing social media kits, and creating contact lists of references. Her goal is to further someone’s company or clientele, whether that be through photography, styling, modeling, or creative direction.

“Beautiful Bostonian was just a style blog. Initially, it documented the huge change that I took as a stylist and somebody in fashion…then I started to realize my influence and the finger I had on the pulse with creatives in the city and projects that were happening. I got signed to model in 2015, and when I started modeling I started making those connections and creating relationships with brands in the city… and with that I started to get introduced with other influencers in the city… we just all started collaborating,” Roulhac said.

Roulhac is an advocate for Black and Brown women in the industry, and serves as a leader for her community. She is inspired to use her resources to provide Black women with the opportunities they would not have been normally given, and uses her own connections to help propel the women around her. She is passionate about supporting and furthering Black creators and artists in the industry. She strives to change the paths of Black visionaries and is dedicated to educating and promoting awareness.

“Women are my goal, I want to work with women…I think Black faces need to have more visualization in roles of leadership no matter what industry…I am trying to hire Black because I want people to have an opportunity,” Roulhac said.

Beautiful Bostonian is described as a cooperative operation, sourcing talent and innovative ideas from within their community.

“Black economies in history have grown off of a cooperative model… say there is a service or a product that is needed, it is first outsourced from our communities from the people we are familiar with, our families, the people we grew up around. I want to employ my friends, I want to collaborate with as many people as I can, I want to create connections, I want to network, and I want to get back to Black cooperative economies… if we have a bigger emphasis on cooperative economies in our community, then we can change the lifestyles of a bunch of people and level the playing field, we just have to work together, ” Roulhac said.

Beautiful Bostonian was Roulhac’s first business venture, but her passion to be creative has led her to be active in several forward-thinking projects and organizations. She is a full-time employee at Uptima Business Bootcamp, which teaches innovators how to be a leader and own a business. She believes in educating and supporting the community of talent around her in order to ensure they are as prosperous as they can be. In 2014, she authored, “Her Story.” The book is an interactive autobiography with names and stories changed to resemble fiction, but still inspired by the real stories and experiences she has had while growing up as a young Black woman. The second edition of the book is in print, to be released within the coming year. Roulhac is also a partner in an online upcycling clothing store called Re/Up Warehouse. The online thrifting brand is centered around unisex and multi-seasonal street style clothing. Her next project, “Jazzy Inc.” is a modeling and talent agency that she is hoping to expand to be bicoastal in California, New York, and Boston.

“My most recent business model is a talent agency that is a social experiment…I do think there is an uncomfortable stigma and overall behavior surrounding Black models and Black talent everywhere. I think Boston is a little petri dish of a place that it continues to happen, but I want to see if my influence and the passion and fire that I have to promote myself…can promote a roster of my girls, or a roster of people who may not look like the regular rosters that we may come across. I want to manage people who are underrepresented, and I want to have one of the most powerful agencies out there,” Roulhac said.

Roulhac’s passion for being a leader has undoubtedly led her to connect a community that will be forever changed. The opportunities she is providing to underrepresented talents redefines the game for so many struggling innovators in today’s society. She is doing more than running a business; she is creating a movement. She is inspiring the rising generations of creators to push the industry to be better, to stay accountable, to enhance diversity, and to break the social norms that have been dominating the industry for centuries. Roulhac is a visionary of her time. She only sees roadblocks as barriers to overcome, not dead ends, and her team will continue to turn heads as they move forward as trailblazers. By employing the services of Beautiful Bostonian, you are gaining a community, a substantial list of life long lasting references, and becoming part of something profound. When doing business with Jazzy Roulhac, you get the chance to work with someone who truly strives to change lives.

@thebeautifulbostonian; www.beautifulbostonian.com