From “Respect for Allah” to “Respect to LUAR”: The Stylist Behind Onijah Robinson’s Viral Fashion Era
an interview with Dorian Jihad
So… remember Onijah Robinson? If her name sounds familiar, it’s because she basically was the Internet for a hot minute not too long ago. Onijah first went viral after flying from New York to Pakistan to meet a man she met online only to be ghosted upon arrival. What followed was a surreal, slow-burning saga: she ended up stranded, taken in by a charity organization, then disappeared again in Dubai. At one point, it seemed like she had vanished entirely. There were theories, TikTok detectives, memes, prayers. I covered her disappearance here a few weeks back.
Well, plot twist: Onijah is not only alive and well she’s married now and back home in New York City on a nonstop press tour. But here’s what caught my attention: since her return, something curious has been happening. A very intentional fashion glow-up. Slowly but surely, Onijah has been stepping out in carefully curated looks, evolving her image from viral mystery to full-fledged fashion girlie. And then boom she broke the fashion Internet.
Last week, Onijah popped out in a head-to-toe LUAR look complete with signature Luar Ana bag remixing her now-iconic phrase: “Respect for Allah, Respect for the Law” to “Respect to LUAR.” It was internet gold and suddenly, Onijah wasn’t just back. She was arriving. It was genius-level marketing.
That moment, as good as it was, didn’t come out of nowhere. Behind Onijah’s transformation is stylist Dorian Jihad, a Newark native who’s been hustling in fashion for years but never quite got the recognition he deserved until now. The way he tells it, this was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment: the right person, the right timing, and the right outfit, all coming together in a way that sent his career into orbit.
I sat down with Dorian to talk about how he got his start, the DM that connected him to Onijah, the high-pressure reality of styling someone with an unpredictable digital spotlight, and what’s next for both of them.
LP (Louis Pisano): Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you got started as a stylist?
DJ (Dorian Jihad): I’m from Newark, New Jersey. I actually went to a trade high school where I studied fashion careers. I started off designing, but I hated it. It was too much work, too time-consuming, and way too detail-oriented. I knew I wanted to stay in fashion, but that wasn’t it for me.
My teacher introduced me to other parts of the industry, she took me to trade shows, taught me about buying and selling, and eventually showed me what wardrobe styling was. From there, I never looked back.
LP: Who were your earliest style icons or influences?
DJ: So I watched this show House of Style that had a guy named Atiba Newsome, he was one of the stylists at Bad Boy Records back in the day, and then he obviously grew in his own right, as a stylist. That was the first person that I ever saw that did wardrobe styling. It was running some time when I was in high school, and I saw that on the show and from there, that's when I knew that's what I wanted to do. And then, like, obviously, I learned about Misa Hilton because I was so in love with the whole Bad Boys era of fashion. And to find out those were two of the main stylists, of course, including June Ambrose but it was more so Misa for me.
LP: What was the first styling job that made you feel like you’d “made it”?
DJ: Wow. I’ve worked with a lot of people, but the first moment that really stood out was when I styled Sukihana and it’s funny, I also styled Woah Vicky for New York Fashion Week.
Before that, I’d mostly worked with NBA players, but it wasn't nobody that was like, quote, unquote pop icons or pop relevant. It wasn't nobody that really put my name where I wanted it to be. Working with Sukihana opened up a lot of doors, she has a large active fan base, and they kind of blew my brand up.
LP: How did you and Onijah first connect?
DJ: So a little backstory: when it comes to my career, I’ve always marketed myself. I’ve never interned or assisted, I just know how to strike when the iron’s hot.
I saw a post of Onijah on my Explore page. She was back in New York, and I was reading the comments. Everyone was saying, “She needs a stylist!” So I DMed her. She had about 5,000 followers at the time. She told me to email her manager, and I did. He called me that same night. I sent my press kit, and he said he’d love to meet and work with me. That’s how it started.
LP: Okay, because I was going to ask, was that first look when she stepped out of the car in New York yours?
DJ: Oh no, that wasn’t me. That was before I got involved.
LP: What were the early conversations like? Was there a clear vision from the start?
DJ: I pitched them the idea of doing something with Disrupshion Magazine. They’re based in New York but have distribution all over the U.S. I was the first person to offer a magazine feature, and I offered to style her for it.
So I knew I wanted to do something high fashion, obviously, but still keep her covered in her garment. I literally went for a high fashion look and still something that's respectful to the Islamic culture, something that covers her up and something that makes her feel beautiful. I wanted to showcase her in a way that nobody else has thought of yet.
LP: Okay, you have to tell me about the Luar moment everyone’s talking about.
DJ: Oh wow, yeah. So Luar actually DMed me. I don’t know if you saw the viral look, she wore a black leather coat with a black embroidered face veil. They DMed me saying hey, we love this look. We’d love to connect with you guys at the office sometime. So I gave them my contact information, and from there, we set it up.
That same day, we had already styled her for a BET segment, she was in an all-black outfit with high-waisted pants and gold buttons. We just took off the fur she was wearing and headed to the Luar office. They gifted her the bag, the sunglasses, and asked her to try on the boots. She loved them. They had a bunch of looks available, but I picked that one.
LP: It was such a major moment.
DJ: My page went crazy. I had to turn off my notifications, especially after The Shade Room posted it. Once it hits The Shade Room, you know it’s real.
LP: When you’re styling someone who’s constantly being watched online, what kind of pressure comes with that?
DJ: Okay, so for me, I think from the mindset of the commenters, like, what if I was just somebody in the comment section, what would I want to see and what can I say negatively about it? Because a lot of people, that's what they live for to do on the internet, a lot of people love to be negative, unfortunately, so I try to cover all of the bases.
It's a lot of anxiety for me a lot of times. That’s why I turn off my comments. I didn’t even read The Shade Room comments for like two days—I was scared they were tearing me apart. There’s no room for error when you’re styling someone who’s going viral.
And when I style someone like that, I want it to be a long-term relationship. I don’t want to create one amazing look, and then hypothetically, they go get another stylist who styles them in a weaker look, or worse, they just post something they put together themselves, and people think I did it. The same way you just asked me did I do that first look that got out of the car? That happens all the time. People will DM me, like, “I hope you didn’t do this look.” And I’m like, What the hell.
LP: Especially now that her image and yours are starting to become intertwined. What’s next for the two of you, fashion-wise?
DJ: Her magazine cover drops on April 25th. We’re doing a launch party in New York City. The Neighborhood Talk is co-hosting it, along with Disrupshion Magazine and True Hair, that’s the hair brand used by Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Cardi B. So all three of us are partnering on doing this magazine release party.
And after that? More fashion. A lot of brands have reached out, I can’t say too much, but it’s brands that have been around for 60, 70, 80 years. So if Luar was a big moment, just know what’s coming is going to be iconic.
LP: It only takes that first one to get your foot in the door, and then everybody comes
DJ: Honestly, it’s wild. I’ve worked with over 50 celebrities from Young Thug to Fivo Foreign whether it was in marketing or styling. But I never got this much attention. It’s crazy to me that it was Onijah, this lady, who really took my career over the top, like, off the charts. You know what I mean? I always say, where I was two weeks ago, that’s somewhere I used to dream about being. But I was stuck, feeling like I needed something new. I kept thinking, “I need something new, I need something new.” And then, out of nowhere, I got it.
LP: Well, congratulations on everything. Your styling on Onijah is fantastic, I’m glad she has someone in her corner pulling her together.
Follow Dorian here
and Onijah here
Absolutely love Luar
An Icon she is! Respect to the law