Kiana Tipton’s Fall/Winter ‘25
Kiana is wearing a JOHANSEN white button up, Swedish Stockings tights and her Great Aunt Helen’s Heart Brooches.
My latest ongoing series, Personal Campaigns, highlights the styling choices of individuals in their own personal space. The shoot is a collaboration—each subject plays the role of stylist, and I capture their looks. The outfits you see here (and in future shoots) are what they sleep in, wear around the house, go to work in, and hit the town with. I’ve also included bits of interviews with each subject about their personal style.
First up is my best friend, Kiana Tipton. An abortion activist, writer, and one of the most stylish people I know, Kiana has a personal commitment to wearing only secondhand clothes. She gets just as much joy from scoring a great deal as she does from putting together an amazing look. I think her style is effortlessly unique—it doesn’t follow any particular trend. It’s just… her. She’s fly, she’s chic, she’s fresh. She’s Kiana. You can follow here on Instagram HERE.
“I hope people feel like I look like me every time they see me, maybe just in different fonts, depending on the venue or context. ”
Kiana wears a vintage unbranded silk pajama set
See (B)
Jacques Morel: How would you describe your fashion sense? Are you particularly into name brands? Do you thrift or prefer buying brand new?
Kiana Tipton: A friend shared “the three-word method” developed by a New York-based stylist, Allison Bornstein, meant to guide your purchasing and style evolution that I’ve clung to over the past year +. My words are playful (or whimsical), vintage, and French (or chic). I source most of my clothing from thrifting and second-hand shopping or The Real Real, and I make a list of items I want at the start of the year and try my best to stick to those so I don’t venture too far off from my words (or my budget). I mainly care about silhouettes and fabrics, but I do love Jil Sander, Issey Miyake, and Dries Van Noten whenever I can get my hands on them secondhand. I also make saved searches for particular items like “vintage fox fur green scarf,” for example, on sites like Mercari, Poshmark, Depop, Ebay, and The Real Real, and check them weekly.
Kiana wears a vintage robe along with a vintage teacup.
JM: How do you dress for professional settings like the office, meetings, or co-working situations?
KT: I have four Issey Miyake pleated tops perfect for media or on-camera interviews, layering at the office, or meeting other professional people for meetings at or after work. They are my go-to tops for a work look that is refined without being boring or not feeling like myself. I try to buy one yearly on the SSENSE sale or The Real Real if I can find a reasonable price. These are also the perfect gift for pregnant friends in your life. I always gift them as a push gift because they look so good on a big belly and can grow with a changing shape.
Kiana wears Hanes women’s boxers and Hanes ribbed crop tank.
Kiana wears a vintage angora red sweater, Cou Cou intimates white tee, Still Here NYC jeans and Repetto shoes.
JM: How do you approach sustainability and ethical considerations in your fashion choices?
KT: A few years ago, I committed myself to purchasing as much as I could second-hand and no fast fashion at all. This has helped my style steer away from trends and feel more interesting. I also spend a lot of money on tailoring or adding custom embellishments like embroidery or buttons to better match my aesthetic. Today, most of my favorite items have been given a second life by embroidering something over a stain, hole, or rip, and making it truly a one-of-a-kind and unique piece. One of my favorite things to do is take pieces of clothing from family members who have passed and turn them into wearable art. It gives me an excuse to talk about someone and keep them with me in a meaningful way. Brooches and pins on sweaters, jackets, and button-ups are a simple way to do this.
Kiana wears Jill Sander heels, Tabio tights along with a Cou Cou intimates white tee.
Kiana wears a Jil Sander blazer, Orseund Iris top, Balenciaga shorts along with Stuart Weitzman boots (all second hand finds, she adds!)
Kiana wears a silk blazer thrifted with pins from both grandpas, a Dries Van Noten skirt, a thrifted purse, Jil Sander shoes and the necklace reads ‘abortion’ which you can purchase here from the nonprofit Shout Your Abortion.
JM: What is your favorite piece of clothing you own? Did you wear it in this series?
KT: My Dries Van Noten Metallic metal threaded skirt. I did wear this as my going-out look for the series. I bought it half-off several months after I saw it on the runway, and I’m so proud of that purchase. I had a Google image and product search saved for it, hoping I would be able to find it on sale, and I did. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to wear it often, but metallics are really easy to dress up or down, and I wear them all the time. A dramatic item like a metallic and fur skirt also functions well within the three-word style paradigm I try to stick to (playful, vintage, French/chic). The metallic is both playful and chic, and when paired with Black items can edge closer to the chic side, but when paired with a vintage T-shirt and tennis shoes, it can seamlessly shift towards playful and vintage.
Kiana wears a Paloma wool dress, vintage purse, and a vintage Jil Sander cashmere coat
JM: Which pieces in your wardrobe feel the most like you right now? What staples anchor your look, and what new additions are rounding it out?
KT: My white long-sleeve button-up top I bought years ago from Johansen Johansen. I added gold heart brooches from my great Aunt Helen at the collar, and it's such a simple touch that completely elevates this basic item in my closet. The next item is a brown vintage Jil Sander cashmere trench coat I bought from The Real Real this fall. Both layer effortlessly and immediately level up any outfit. No matter what your three words are, everyone needs a long-sleeved white button-up and a warm, dramatically long trench coat. I’ve also been really into a surprising or interesting accessory lately, like a vintage silk scarf tied somewhere randomly or a colorful fur hat or scarf with a relatively simple outfit. Bright socks or tights are an easy way to do this in winter, too.
JM: What do you want people to feel or understand about you when they see how you dress?
KT: I hope people feel like I look like me every time they see me, maybe just in different fonts, depending on the venue or context.
