When the rebooted “Queer Eye” premiered in 2018, Jonathan Van Ness became an overnight household name. As the show’s resident hair and grooming expert, Van Ness became an audience favorite for his joyful personality and ability to help “Queer Eye” participants feel like their best selves through hair. In 2021, Van Ness launched his namesake hair-care brand JVN, with the line entering Sephora that same year.
The JVN brand is at a turning point this year. After its original parent company, Amyris, declared bankruptcy in 2023, JVN was acquired by Windsong Global. Along with Pipette, the brand is now part of the Belle Brands umbrella. Amid an explosion of celebrity hair-care brands joining the market in recent months, JVN remains a unique proposition in making Van Ness’s real-world professional expertise as a stylist available to his broad fan base.
But Van Ness’s impact goes far beyond hair. Van Ness has become a positive voice in the LGBTQ+ community as he has spoken about his experience living with HIV, which he was diagnosed with at the age of 25, come out as nonbinary and encouraged his audience to vote at a pivotal election this year. We’re thrilled to speak with Van Ness about his growing JVN brand at this year’s Glossy Beauty x Wellness Summit.
