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style
personas. People started to understand their power,”
says Cary Leitzes, who spent the ’90s as photog raphy
director for the biggest glossy fashion magazines in New
York. “People saw that it was the same few faces behind
this whole stable of celebrities. They were the puppet-
eers, in a way, creating style itself.” (Buzzy womens wear
designer Brandon Maxwell, for example, got his big
break as Lady Gaga’s fashion director in 2012 and just
a few short years later presented his eponymous ready-
to-wear line at New York Fashion Week.) “Some stylists
have taken to an online presence and become influen-
cers themselves,” says Corbin-Murray, adding that she
misses the days when aspirational editorials were more
highly regarded than filtered influencer posts. Roach,
however, sees a huge benefit to lifting the veil and invit-
ing viewers to peek behind the curtain of an industry
that was built on a habit of exclusion. “If you look at
the landscape of stylists in Hollywood, there are only
three or four other black people at the level at which
I’m working,” he says. “Is it a question of talent? I really
believe it’s a question of opportunity, so I’m trying to use
my social platform to help more people who look like
me end up where I am.”
Indeed, after years of snooze-inducing mermaid
dresses and blandly pretty nude numbers—likely donned
out of a paralyzing desire to avoid criticism—celeb rities
have realized that fashion and red-carpet appearances
are viable platforms for discourse. Welch, who is as
likely to post a glossy selfie as she is to share stories
about the importance of gun control, was responsible
for many of the all-black outfits worn by celebs to the
2018 Golden Globes in a coordinated protest against
inequality and sexism. She also dressed Ellis Ross largely
in pieces by designers of colour when the actress hosted
the American Music Awards in 2018.
Corbin-Murray, who is passionate about sustainable
fashion, agrees that responsibilities have shifted. When
her client Gemma Chan, now a fashion darling, wasAll of a sudden,
“you saw these
celeb stylists
developing their
own personas.
People started
to understand
their power.”
- CARY LEITZES
2005
Million Dollar Baby
Best Actress Oscar
winner Hilary Swank
was reportedly going to
wear another designer’s
dress before a stylist
put her in this unforget-
table backless Guy
Laroche number.2012
Angelina Jolie’s high-slit
velvet Atelier Versace
Oscars gown—picked
by Jen Rade—made her
right leg the subject of
countless memes.prepping for her first major awards season, the stylist
had two goals: to cement the beautiful British actor of
Chinese heritage, who is “game for a bold fashion mo-
ment,” as one to watch and to help convey Chan’s mes-
sage to the masses. “Gemma is highly articulate about her
activism, and her wardrobe choices reflect that.” On the
promotional whirlwind tour for box-office smash Crazy
Rich Asians, Chan opted for garments created by design-
ers of Asian descent, such as a tartan dress by PrabalPHOTOGRAPHY,^ GETTY^