How @usrnamejada Built a Fashion Commentary YouTube Channel

The mononymous Jada, also known as @usrnamejada on YouTube, is a cultural commentator who covers fashion through a sociological lens. Her interest in fashion was born in childhood after she received a pair of plastic, feathery princess heels. While she might not have realized it at the time, these toy heels enabled Jada to use what she was wearing as a tool to communicate something about herself.

Today, Jada explores the relationship between fashion and personal agency in video essays with titles like “wild women dress the best.” and “overdressing is the highest act of self-devotion.” Her content is designed for deep thinkers and those who want to explore how fashion intersects with culture, politics, and the ways we view the world.

Jada could be categorized as a “thoughtfluencer” – an influential social media personality whose content shares pointed observations and intellectual takes. A recent Dazed article highlights the rise of the thoughtfluencer and the desire for knowledge in a slop-laden social media environment. Jada’s content is definitive anti-slop. Thoughtful, well-researched, and wholly original.

In this interview, Jada joins me from her home studio in Charlotte, North Carolina. We discuss her process, how she developed her unique style, and how she thinks about YouTube platform growth.

Interview:

Tell me a little bit about your interest in fashion and where it came from?

I was always attracted to fabric and texture and colors that stood out to me. I used to cut up all of my clothes and rework them into something new. Just being able to have hands-on experience with clothes developed my love for fashion. 

Growing up in a small town, though, you don't really see too many avenues to explore fashion. So, I had to create my own lane. Because of that, a lot of my creative skills are self-taught.

Can I ask what you do now for work?

My day job is in private equity, on the procurement side of things. And after that is YouTube.

I assume your day job is very analytical and takes up a lot of your capacity. How do you balance your analytical and creative sides?

I feel like I have to split myself into two. Obviously my day job requires more structure, discipline, and organization. But I think that translates to my creative side and allows me to have a consistent flow. I’m able to look at things from a more analytical standpoint to see what worked and apply it to my next video. So I think a lot of the skills I’m building at my day job are training me to get better at YouTube and whatever else I approach. I feel like you need [the analytical side] to really make your creative career take off.

At what point did you decide that you wanted to make fashion focused content?

At some point, I thought, “This is something that I've always loved and thought about. I love shopping. I love the art of fashion.”

I think maybe the blockage was that I didn't go to fashion school. I don't approach fashion in the same way that others do when it comes to conversations. So I thought I wasn’t as much of an expert to talk about fashion. But then I realized I could talk about it my way. So it became a no-brainer after that.

What do you mean when you say that you don’t talk about fashion the same way other people do?

Unpopular opinion but a lot of conversations surrounding fashion kind of sound like conversations about [professional] sports. And no shade to sports, okay? But where’s the fun? Where’s the grassroots feel of it?
My connection to fashion is grassroots. It’s going outside and experiencing it hands-on. I want [conversations about fashion] to be more fun and exciting. I think fashion is art so why not make it vibrant in conversation?

Do you find that this makes your content more approachable?

Yes, very approachable and digestible. I have a lot of inspirations for my channel. One of them is Tamron Hall. She says that you're a good communicator if you can speak to all people. And that's what really stood out to me. So whenever I make my videos, I do want to get my point across. I do want to add in research. But it's really about how I communicate this to people of different backgrounds and ages. 

And your content is very culturally relevant. How do you stay aware of what's happening in the world and how are you connecting the dots to fashion?

There are some times when I’m definitely tapped into the culture but I also take an intuitive approach. If I see something and I feel strongly about it, or if I haven't seen something that I feel like should be discussed more, I kind of just lead with what's on my mind or what I'm feeling led towards intuitively, and I just figure out how to talk about it. 

There are some topics where I say “how am I gonna make a video about this?” But then I just start doing research and figuring out how I can really put it together. 

Do you consider what’s trending when you plan your videos?

Sometimes. Like the Dolly Parton video. I like Dolly Parton. I think that she fits the woman that I speak about in a lot of my videos. 

I do tap into what's trending as far as conversations. But other times, I think I just wanna see what I haven't seen yet. And that's where that intuitive approach comes from, just figuring out how I can make it a conversation.

Can you talk about your process a little bit? You don't have to share your secret sauce, but I’m curious how you get from end to end. 

When I'm really on a run, thumbnails come first. Then it's music and the background, acoustic sounds that match with what I'm talking about. I think it's really led with sound.

Then I like to learn about the peculiar fun facts of the subject. The things that people really don't gravitate towards to make it engaging. From there, I want to be playful. So I think that's what I center… How can I make this fun?

Can you talk about audience engagement? How have you seen your audience grow over time?

My channel started off as self empowerment content. Then it was pop culture before it became fashion commentary. Now that I've stuck to this, I see a lot of return viewers and commenters. 

The videos that do really well are the ones that talk about women’s empowerment through fashion. I've had women reach out to me and say that my video healed them or inspired them or made them cry in a good way. “Wild women dress the best” was one of the videos that did really well, and I understand why.

What is your ultimate ambition for this channel or for your social media presence in general? 

There is something that I'm working on related to fashion that has been my biggest dream. I think once that is out, my YouTube will, again, change. It'll still be fashion centric, but it'll focus more on this big thing versus fashion commentary. So, I think social media will see more of me once that is out into the world.

I’m excited for what’s coming next. 

If you were speaking to somebody that said, Jada, I really admire you, I want to start a YouTube channel. I wanna build an audience. What advice might you give them? 

I would say tune out the world. I think a lot of the content today is one size fits all. It's easy to just apply what you’re seeing everyone else do. It works, I get it. 

I don't have a fashion school background. I don't approach fashion in a corporate “fashion speak” way. It's very candid and I think if you lead with [a point of difference], people will definitely appreciate your voice and what you have to say. 

Don't doubt yourself and don't go with what everyone else is talking about. Figure out what you are drawn to and how you can translate that into a video or whatever else you want to do. Lead with your heart.

Subscribe to Jada on YouTube and follow her on Instagram: @usrnamejada