A true Renaissance man born with a fascination and curiosity for the world around him, J. Corbett Holmes is that rare breed of talent capable of channeling and adapting his many artistic abilities amongst a spectrum of endeavors, earning praise and success at each turn of his profession.
Drawing upon his 20-plus years as an accomplished New York and Los Angeles apparel and toy designer, Holmes has fashioned a career observing and interpreting life, style and trends for celebrated design houses, fortune 500 companies as well as his own signature, ready-to-wear business.
Trading fashion collections for short story collections, Holmes is adept at weaving colorful essays and quirky fiction that chronicle contemporary life with a candid yet impartial viewpoint. Life, love, work, dating and relationships are but a few of the universal topics that provoke his questioning mind. Binding each of the writer’s various works are the common threads of intelligence, wit, perception and an almost melodic style that engages both the reader’s intellect and sense of humor.
With the ever-changing seasons Holmes has been fashioning a new look for himself as a writer and journalist. For the past three years, his work has appeared each month in Shavings From My Head---his reoccurring column for IN Los Angeles magazine. His work has also appeared in Frontiers magazine under the title HoMeBoy. Both chronicle the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged gay man. Holmes is also in development on several books---one being a collection from Shavings From My Head---a collaboration with his friend and the illustrator for the column (Former Project Runway star) Robert Best.
Holmes’ keen eye as a commentator of mood and manner was inspired from an early age. The Washington D.C. native grew up immersed in creativity and self-expression encouraged by his mother, a fashion model and artist, and father, a prominent architect. As a youth, Holmes’ studies in art, music and literature were accompanied by topical dinner table conversations with the family fostering an independent and inquisitive voice.
Attending the Corcoran School of Art and Parsons School of Design, Holmes studied the fine arts, painting and fashion illustration, leading eventually to fashion design. In 1984, Holmes graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) with a BFA.
For 12 years he honed his design skills with New York fashion industry icons including Arnold Scaasi, the late Frank Masandrea and Albert Nipon, to name a few. In 1992 he transitioned to Los Angeles joining Lanz of California as Principal Director. A wealth of glowing fashion magazine editorials established Holmes as a prominent name in the industry having contributed to the rebirth of the traditional fashion house. From 1994 to 1996, Holmes served as a Divisional Design Director for Carol Little before launching Jim Holmes, Inc., his signature line of attendant/occasion dresses that debuted to rave review in Fall 1996.
In 1997 Holmes joined Mattel, Inc. eventually becoming a Principal Design Director for America’s first supermodel … Barbie. Flexing his muscles further he assumed creative direction for various Mattel photography projects. Throughout his tenure, his primary focus has been fashions and the Barbie — Fashion Fever brand, with the occasional stint on celebrity girl brands such as Mary Kate and Ashley Olson and Raven Simone. Today, Holmes continues as a creative force at Mattel while also developing several books as well as a line of men’s shaving products under the label DomeBoy.
Holmes happily resides at his fashionable West Hollywood pie de terre that he shares with his Abyssinians “Binky” and “Homer.”
jch [at] shvingsfrommyhead [dot] com
Shavings From My Head