Law Roach, the legendary stylist and self-proclaimed “image architect,” sits down with Harper’s BAZAAR to trace his rise from humble Chicago roots to styling the world’s biggest stars (while carrying a Birkin, of course!) in this episode of "The Good Buy." From Zendaya’s fearless red carpet moments to Céline Dion’s deeply personal transformation, Law pulls back the curtain on the stories that transformed clothing into cultural moments. With nearly two decades of experience shaping fashion narratives, he reveals how style becomes a form of healing, how trauma and heritage influence our wardrobe choices, and why real confidence always begins from within. Blending his razor-sharp wit with heartfelt insight, Law proves that true style transcends trends and labels—it’s about owning your identity and turning fashion into bold self-expression.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Lynette Nylander.
00:02And I'm Leah Chernikoff, and this is Harper's Bazaars' The Goodbye.
00:05Where we invite celebrities, designers, models and tastemakers to talk shop.
00:10What they buy, where they got it, and why it matters.
00:15What's going on with you?
00:16What's going on with you fashion-wise?
00:19Fashion-wise?
00:21I'm...
00:22I think I'm in a bit of a, like, a shoe re-evaluation.
00:27Okay.
00:28Shopping-wise.
00:29Okay.
00:29I am thinking towards spring and summer a little.
00:32I hate dressing for summer.
00:34I find it the hardest season to dress for.
00:37I hate being too hot.
00:39I hate wearing summer dresses.
00:41Anyway, I'm like, a white shoe, that's a good spring.
00:45Something to make me look forward to.
00:46And so I purchased the classic Repetto style, the ZZ, which is like a little white jazz shoe
00:52that Samira Nassar, our editor-in-chief, she owns and is always singing their praises.
00:58So I bought them on the RealReal.
01:01And I've been trying to work them into my rotation.
01:06Yeah, they make me feel very springy.
01:09Well, Lynette, what are you thinking of?
01:11Um, you know what?
01:13Much in the white shoe category, actually.
01:17I recently acquired a pair of boots from an amazing design duo called All In.
01:25They're out of Paris.
01:27And they've kind of, for a kind of new generation design house, have already had a hit kind of
01:37staple thing in these boots that you might have seen with this eyelet kind of grommet
01:42detailing.
01:42And again, a kind of in the know, if you know, you know thing that has really taken off their
01:48finalists in this year's LVMH prize.
01:51And I own the black eyelet boots, but they have a variation of them in white that are flat.
01:57And I just went for it.
01:59I, white shoes is a real, that's hard.
02:03Um, I just, I'm just not clean enough by any stretch of the imagination.
02:08Also, New York is not clean enough.
02:10New York is not clean enough.
02:11But still, we, we do it anyway.
02:14Yeah.
02:14Because a white shoe is, is great.
02:16It's great.
02:17And it's really graphic.
02:18And I like the clean line of it.
02:19Oh, well, I'm excited to see them.
02:21Yeah.
02:25Today on The Goodbye, we have a guest that we really, we have been waiting for.
02:31Why?
02:32Because he's an icon maker known for creating the indelible fashion imagery we associate
02:37with Celine Dion, Naomi Campbell, and of course, Zendaya.
02:41In fact, he is not just one of the world's leading stylists.
02:45He is an image architect, and that is trademarked.
02:48He is also an author.
02:50His book, How to Build a Fashion Icon, Notes on Confidence from the World's Only Image Architects
02:55came out last year.
02:56And now he is the newest judge on Project Runway, which is in its 21st season.
03:02And what's amazing about our guest is that his career arc is truly singular.
03:06He's rewritten what it means to navigate this industry on your own terms.
03:11He has not only created some of the most memorable fashion moments in recent history, but he also
03:16has a distinct and highly cultivated personal style.
03:20He is a vintage expert, and we can't wait to get into all of it.
03:24Please welcome, Laura Roach.
03:26Yay, Laura Roach!
03:28I mean, I'm like, what do I do when you say all those things?
03:31I'm just sitting here just like...
03:33I know, I know, sorry.
03:34We just like had to keep going and keep going because there's so much to talk about.
03:38Oh, wow.
03:39Thank you so much.
03:39Thank you for such a beautiful introduction.
03:41I want to talk about shopping philosophies as it pertains to a stylist because there's
03:45two ways that you shop.
03:47You shop for a client, and then you have your personal life and what you shop for.
03:51How do you go about, like, when you're shopping, like, what are some things that you have
03:54in your head of, like, how you're going to get to the right place?
03:57Um, for myself?
03:58Yeah, let's start with you.
03:59So, for myself, it's...
04:01First of all, we all know clothes are expensive.
04:02Yeah.
04:03Um, so I like to...
04:05I like to shop for myself and buy things that I think are art or, like, worthy to be cherished,
04:13whether I wear them or not, in, like, current and contemporary fashion.
04:18Yeah.
04:18But vintage, you know, I'll spend anything on a piece, especially if it's something that
04:23I remember when I was younger that I wanted that I couldn't afford.
04:26So that's been my mission.
04:28I have kind of, like, this almost map of all these things that I saw and tried on, like,
04:32when I was a teenager and that I hunt for and search for for years and years and years.
04:38And when I get it, I'm just like, uh, I got it.
04:40You know, it becomes a grail.
04:42We got to talk about what some of those things are.
04:44Yeah.
04:44Because I know you've got pieces.
04:47Yeah.
04:47Can you name a couple of them?
04:48What did you check off your list?
04:50What's still on it?
04:50Okay.
04:51So one thing is I collect Tom Ford Gucci because, for me, the 90s and that era is when I was
04:58really introduced to luxury, you know, via Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown.
05:03And so Tom Ford Gucci was, and I'm from Chicago, and back then the Gucci store was this little
05:10boutique on 600 North Michigan.
05:14And I remember just going in there and trying on things.
05:16And, you know, back then, I don't think that a young black boy was ever kind of welcomed
05:22into these places.
05:24And so that's another reason why I collect those things, to show myself that, you know,
05:30that I've been able to achieve and I am a part of that world.
05:35Yeah.
05:36I gave Tommy Hilfiger his Icon Award at the British Fashion Awards.
05:41And I went off script for a minute just to say, like, it's such a full circle moment for
05:46me to be giving him this award because I literally, I used to risk it all for a pair of Tommy overalls.
05:52Yep.
05:52You know what I mean?
05:53Like, I used to, we used to go to, like, Marshall Fields was a big department store in Chicago.
05:56Yeah, of course.
05:56And we used to steal Tommy.
05:58And because it's like, we just, we have it.
06:01And, you know, and it was like, but we had to be fly because clothes in my community and
06:06the way I grew up was also a point of survival, right?
06:10If you had fly clothes and you dressed well, then you became popular.
06:15And, you know, for me, you know, me being gay, my last name Roach, I've always been very
06:19feminine, but I can outdress anybody, you know, it's like Rihanna say, but you won't
06:24be my outfit.
06:25So me being, you know, fly and well-dressed became a survival mechanism.
06:33And so in order to survive, we did whatever we had to do to get those clothes.
06:37Yeah.
06:37And it's just such a beautiful, for me, a beautiful testament of, like, manifestation,
06:43right?
06:44It's like I manifested myself into this world.
06:47Yeah.
06:47You know, one of my first jobs was Zendaya.
06:49She went to an event and I went and put this Dolce & Gabbana dress on my credit card.
06:53And she was so young.
06:54I was like, no perfume, no deodorant.
06:56You can't spill anything.
06:57Like, this $9,000 dress has to go back.
07:01And I remember the first time sitting with Domenico and telling him that story.
07:05I'm like, listen, you know, this is a full circle moment because we did some things for
07:11your clothes.
07:11So, yeah, Tom Ford Gucci.
07:12And there was one jacket and it was reversible, this silk bomber.
07:17And it had, like, Kama Sutra scenes embroidered into it.
07:22And it was, like, part of that collection, that famous campaign when the guy's kind of,
07:25like, pulling down the woman's panty.
07:27And it's, like, the G.
07:28Yeah, with the shaved in the pubic hair.
07:30Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:31So it was part of that collection.
07:32And I searched for that jacket for so long.
07:35And it was so expensive.
07:37And I found one for a moderate price last year on eBay, actually.
07:44Moderate.
07:44Amazing.
07:44And we love, like, loving that you, like, will go onto the Ebays.
07:48Oh, no, for sure.
07:49Like, I think I almost know every vintage dealer around the world.
07:53And eBay, Grail, the real, real, like, that's my, that is my auctions.
07:57That is my crack.
07:59Do you have alerts set up?
08:00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:00I do have alerts set up on all those things.
08:02And then I just stay up at night and it's, like, my only vice.
08:05Yeah, 100%.
08:06So sorry, you just have vintage fashion.
08:10That's my vice.
08:11If the biggest thing is that you love to get your kicks from shopping, I think that
08:17in this world, that's a great vice to have.
08:19Yeah, it's the safest, right?
08:20It's the safest.
08:21Yeah.
08:21It's the safest.
08:22Absolutely.
08:23Yeah, I'm not hurting anyone, but my bank account.
08:25You've got your bank account.
08:25Right, exactly.
08:26And I also say I'm shopping for my estate sale.
08:30Wow, that's a big statement.
08:32Yeah, you say, when is that?
08:33Yeah.
08:33Whenever I die.
08:34Yeah, like, to all the, but, like, that's a, in a way, I interpret that as you talking about
08:39legacy.
08:39Yeah, absolutely.
08:40And about these clothes and the things you choose to buy and your purchasing power being
08:44a part of your legacy and what you want your story to be about.
08:49Absolutely.
08:50And the clothes will play a huge part of my story.
08:52As it did with Andre, I'm fortunate enough to own a bunch of his things from the auction
08:58of his estate.
08:59And prior to that, I've always said that the way I curate the things that I purchase and
09:05hold on to and take care of and love and cherish will be part of my estate sale.
09:10And when I'm no longer here, hopefully people will, you know, want and revere and want to
09:17make some of my things part of their legacy as well.
09:20Yeah.
09:21That was amazing to watch as part of that estate sale.
09:24Andre Leontali, of course, for everyone listening to this on audio, is a legendary editor.
09:31But his archive, which was auctioned off when he was gone, had things that were, they were
09:36invaluable.
09:37You couldn't make those things anymore.
09:39They were given to him by the fashion greats.
09:41I think he's one of the, like, great collectors of our century.
09:45Oh, absolutely.
09:46Yeah.
09:46Absolutely.
09:47And, you know, just a young black boy coming into this industry, he was, like, the one to
09:52look at.
09:53He was, you know, almost like the only one we had.
09:56Yeah.
09:56And, you know, we did learn a lot about pizzazz and finesse and the way to speak about clothes
10:03and how to deliver it with passion, you know.
10:06And also, it made you want to learn more at the end of the day.
10:10100%.
10:11We're going to talk about what you're wearing today.
10:12Yes.
10:13So, let's go.
10:14H to T.
10:15Yep.
10:15And I know you've got a little friend to introduce.
10:17Oh, yeah.
10:18Oh, okay.
10:18Surprise guest.
10:19Yeah, yeah.
10:20So, I mean, I just, I walked in with her.
10:22Oh, with her.
10:23So, this is one of my bad habits.
10:25This is, um.
10:26Is it a bad habit?
10:27It is.
10:28It's a really bad habit.
10:29This is a Kelly Pouchette and Croc.
10:32Yeah.
10:33Gold hardware.
10:34The color is blue electric.
10:36And it is actually my favorite MS color.
10:38And just a little, a light little something for the daytime.
10:40Should we also disclose she came in a Birkin?
10:44Yeah.
10:45I mean, the Birkins tend to be pregnant a lot.
10:50So, they have, you know, a little baby.
10:52So, you're kind of like, this is kind of like the wallet, you know.
10:54This goes to evening, right?
10:56So, if I have the big one and I'm invited to dinner or something, then, you know, I just
10:59kind of pop her out and now she's the evening.
11:02See, look how practical.
11:03I'm really, really excited to have you on also because this is someone I can attest to.
11:08Like, yeah, Hermes, you know, Pouchette, all this stuff.
11:12You will be in the streets.
11:13You will be at the samples.
11:15You know, I assume you do not have to go to a sample cell if you don't want to.
11:18You go there for the love of fashion.
11:20I do.
11:20You don't, you're not ashamed of a bargain.
11:22No.
11:23You were in the rails.
11:24Yes.
11:26Let's talk about that.
11:27Yes, there was actually just a venture sale hosted by someone and I went.
11:33I went midday because I was kind of busy early in the day.
11:36I went and it was like from 12 to 6 and I got there at 2 and I stayed until 6.30 and I waited.
11:42You know, I knew it was a one-day thing so I was like, there's a chance they're going to be a half off.
11:46Yeah.
11:46And I took one of my friends.
11:48She went earlier in the day and she came back.
11:51She's like, oh, I bought this really cool coat.
11:52I was like, okay, come back with me.
11:54And I had a spot and I watched people, you know, and people were coming up and saying hello.
11:59And I was giving people recommendations like, no, you should get that.
12:02No, you shouldn't get that.
12:03And I kept, as they were cleaning out the dressing room, I had the staff bring me everything that was coming out the dressing room, had me a stash.
12:10Yeah, let me take a first pass.
12:12We cleaned up.
12:13And my friend who only had bought one thing earlier, she left out with 10.
12:17And then she got it at half price and she was like, there is really a formula to it.
12:22I'm like, no, I am.
12:23Yeah, you have to trust.
12:24This is my thing.
12:25I don't have a boyfriend.
12:26I don't have a dog.
12:27I don't have any kids.
12:28But I do have a lot of Chanel.
12:31Oh.
12:31So it makes up for it all.
12:33Look into the camera and say that.
12:37That's what we're talking about.
12:39This, put it on the t-shirt.
12:40You can see it on the socials.
12:42Yeah.
12:42That's fabulous.
12:43I want to talk about, you know, on the goodbye, we always break down people's buys and what means a lot to them.
12:48You might have already said it.
12:50It might be this Hermes Pochette.
12:51But what was your first buy that made you feel like, okay, I have made it.
12:56I'm in the game.
12:57I'm collecting.
12:58It was definitely the first bag.
12:59And the first one I bought in Paris when I was with Celine was an Hermes Hack, which is considered the men's Birkin.
13:06It's a travel bag.
13:08And, you know, it's really not practical to walk in the street.
13:12And I remember taking myself out to dinner and sitting in a chair.
13:15It's probably, that picture's probably on my Instagram page somewhere.
13:17Sitting in on the chair across from me and just, like, being so proud of myself because that was, you know, my hard work was starting to pay off because, you know, I'm not from, you know, a well-to-do family.
13:29Like, you know, everything I have, I really worked hard for it.
13:32And so that was, like, that one thing, you know, that just, like, I have an Hermes bag.
13:37And, you know, I went to the store and they took me into the special room and they poured out the white gloves.
13:43And, you know, they offered me champagne and I was there for two hours trying to make a decision.
13:48And it's part of the experience of luxury also is why we buy these things.
13:54And it does make you feel, you know, a sense of pride.
13:58And it's not about the stuff, right?
14:00People always think it's about the stuff.
14:02It's not about the stuff.
14:03It's about the ability to acquire the stuff if you choose to, right?
14:09That's what the real, it's not being like, oh, I'm buying it.
14:12I'm buying it because, you know, it's, I want to show it off and I want people to look at me in some way.
14:17No, I'm buying it because I don't have to check my bank account the next day or worry about if my mortgage is going to get paid from buying the stuff because I know I worked my ass off to be able to do it.
14:29So that's what I think the real message is.
14:32Yeah, totally.
14:33We said H2T and then we got stopped at the crochet.
14:37Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:37Take us through the rack.
14:39So the shirt is Valentino, Pia Palo, though.
14:43This was part of the Succedo collection.
14:45The pants are this really cool design I'm obsessed with, head manor.
14:49I love them.
14:50I love.
14:51And it's like this kind of like faux waistband, like a boxer brief kind of hanging out of it.
14:57And the boots are just vintage $40 eBay.
15:00There you go.
15:00And so, and yeah.
15:02The high and the low.
15:03The high and the low.
15:03And eBay, $40.
15:04We love it.
15:05Yeah.
15:06Let's talk about your relationship to brands because you spoke about Pia Palo and Valentino.
15:11And I know you had such a great relationship with him and that house when he was there.
15:17And I imagine a lot of your relationships are cultivated through some of your clients and the people that you star.
15:25Talk to me about that because you were someone who loved fashion and now you're at the table.
15:32They're trying to camber to you and your taste and who you have access to.
15:36Well, to think about it, a lot of my relationships started before, like I had a relationship with Valentino before Zendaya went to Valentino.
15:48So, I have always made it my business to be at the right places and introducing myself and really being able to speak the conversation of fashion with people.
16:01I think, you know, I am from where I'm from and I have a regional dialect and I speak a certain type of way.
16:09And once I found out that that made me different and people could see and hear the authenticity in the way I speak and that becomes attractive in a certain type of way.
16:20So, it's like you have this boy who, you know, who could be considered, you know, to some people to be a little ghetto, but I can sit down and have a conversation about the history of fashion and even your brand with you.
16:31And so, it kind of like, oh shit, you know, where did he come from?
16:35And so, once I was able to start to go to the shows and go to Paris, a lot of my relationships were just happening organically through the dinners and after parties.
16:45And, you know, a lot of times the deals I made, you know, at hotel calls, you know what I mean?
16:51Like at night, you know, over, you know.
16:53It's where it goes down.
16:54You know what I mean?
16:55So, it was those things.
16:56And then, and I especially was Zendaya, I was always really careful because once she became, started to become Zendaya, then it was like everybody wanted a piece of it.
17:07And so, I was always really protective of that because everybody knows the story.
17:11Like in the beginning, it was, no one was interested.
17:14So, not that we had a grudge, but it was always kind of like, there's so many beautiful clothes in the world that we don't have to cater to your way of doing things or your way of thinking and we can figure it out.
17:25And so, when she started to grow, my relationship started to grow, I felt that it was really important to align her with brands that I had a relationship with and I felt comfortable with.
17:37Yeah.
17:38Right?
17:38So, because we didn't ever want to go into something and it felt really transactional.
17:43Yeah.
17:44We wanted to go places where it felt like we could be a part of the family and vice versa.
17:48Yeah.
17:49And support who wanted to support when maybe she wasn't as well known and maybe it was more of a risk.
17:56Like, I think that a lot of the time I always talk about like supporting people with your dollar.
18:01Like, it's the same kind of thing.
18:03It's the same kind of relationship in kind of reverse in that, you know, she has now has everyone in the world wants to dress her and you have access to that.
18:14But you should support people who wanted it way back when.
18:17We're very loyal.
18:19We are very loyal and it is not who made the dress that she's – it's always the best dress on the record is going to win no matter who made it, you know.
18:29And that has always been our philosophy and we'll always stick by that.
18:33And, I mean, of course, now she's, you know, in contracts and she's contracted to wear certain, you know, brands to certain things.
18:39But other than that, you know, you'll see her in vintage or you'll see her in like a small designer and from wherever that you've never heard of before.
18:47And, you know, and it's also – it's just like, again, what you said earlier, it's all about legacy.
18:52And they become part of our legacy and us a part of theirs.
18:56And it's, you know, it's just – and it also just feels good, you know, to give somebody a piece of such a huge platform.
19:04Yeah.
19:04And I want to just touch on that because something I found really fascinating is that you talk about buying.
19:12You don't just loan.
19:13You will go and spend.
19:15You will go and spend.
19:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:16Especially for vintage, right?
19:18Yeah, we buy.
19:18Yeah, yeah.
19:19We buy because I started my career selling vintage.
19:24Yes.
19:25And what's happened, you know, and I'm definitely not going to try to take full credit for it because there were, you know, I think people really wearing vintage,
19:33I would say, Chloe Sevigny and, you know, even Kim Kardashian and people who have been wearing vintage on the red carpets and to events.
19:42But I think the way we do it and the way we storytell has really taken vintage dressing on the red carpet to a whole entirely different level.
19:50Totally.
19:50And what that has done is created this ecosystem of young people who have started to, you know, start selling vintage and archive.
20:01And, you know, those people are small businesses.
20:03And what do we look like to people of privilege, right, at this point, to go to someone who is a small business and say, just let me borrow this dress that, you know what I mean, and then alter this dress.
20:19And it's just not fair to me.
20:22I just don't think it's fair.
20:23And I think they get just as much publicity and news coverage when she wears it.
20:31And it makes the pie even sweeter if they actually made a profit from it as well.
20:36You know, there's a lot of stores, vintage dealers that have become world recognized and other celebrities are wearing them because, you know, we simply, you know, I bought a dress.
20:47Yeah, and it's not even about, like, the support, like, the Mugler suit comes to mind because it's just the most, that was the best red carpet fashion look of recent memory.
21:01Come on.
21:02Like, the fact she can fit, the fact that you even had the genius to pull it, the fact they gave it to you, it was the perfect star alignment.
21:09And the person who built it was with you, right, to fit her?
21:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:14Incredible.
21:14And I, of course, no one can buy it.
21:17It's one of one.
21:18Yeah.
21:18But if we could have, we would have bought it.
21:22Let the record show that if he could, he would.
21:25Mugler, do what it do.
21:27I think that, though, no one can buy it, but what it does to normalize and excite people about looking back at the amazing history of fashion, like that Mugler show.
21:40There was a Mugler show in the Brooklyn Museum that I think was the year, maybe a year before, two years before that amazing runway look.
21:49And just, I, as a fashion fan, I was blown away.
21:52I think I know a lot.
21:53I know nothing compared to, like, what really goes on in his archives.
21:57And I think it's people like you and moments like that that get people to really look and learn and educate yourself.
22:04You know, we're all students in this.
22:07Absolutely.
22:07And it's fun.
22:09You know, and it's fun.
22:10And another thing I think about when it comes to ventures and archival, we are, as this industry, we are constantly, constantly talking about sustainability.
22:18And there's nothing more sustainable than to just wear something somebody's already worn, and especially if it's a history to it, you know.
22:28And it's just the easiest way, you know, because now I opened a business called School of Style, and I'm trying to find and nurture the next me, right, the next image architect.
22:42I'm trying to pass on everything I learned, all my skill sets, you know, and my structure and the way I, my infrastructure and everything about how I built my business.
22:54I'm trying to pass that on.
22:56And that part, educating yourself and knowing as much about this industry is one of the fundamental keys of what we're trying to do there.
23:06And also to make it easier for people to break into the styling business.
23:10It's, you know, it's easier if you're in New York or L.A. or Paris or London, right, because the industry is there.
23:16But what about, what if you're in Iowa or if you're in, you know, Greenland or, you know, a small town in India outside of Mumbai?
23:25You know, like, how do you get to get this type of knowledge?
23:29And so School of Style was really important for me to build out to help those people, right?
23:36So, yeah, I think we need to definitely delve into more of your personal style.
23:44I want to transition and talk about something that you may have regretted.
23:49Is there anything that you buy or you bought that you're like, hmm, that was a, that was a rare miss?
23:56I will tell you there is one look, but I don't really regret it because I feel like style is, style should be polarizing and it should, you should be able to make mistakes.
24:07I say that all the time.
24:08You know, you didn't get it right one day, but you wore it with intention, right?
24:13And it's all about, and it's all about confidence, right?
24:16Like, so my, my look for the CFDA Awards, um, not last year, but I think the, the year before last was kooky.
24:24Oh, I'm desperate to see it.
24:26What was it?
24:27So I wore a luar, which I love, I love him so much.
24:30And it is crazy.
24:34Yeah, but.
24:35No, it's crazy.
24:36Yeah, but.
24:36It's crazy.
24:36It's, it's crazy.
24:38So it was like, it was like a jumpsuit, but it was like a pants.
24:40So like, I had like my underwear exposed and I had, so I was like, I was feeling like risque.
24:45I'm like, I want to just go for it.
24:47And luar is so, such a, you know, his, his clothes could be avant-garde in a way.
24:52Yes.
24:52Um, mixed with street wear.
24:54And so I just, I don't know.
24:54I wanted to take a chance and just do something.
24:56I had this big, you know, my natural hair and all that.
24:59And so it was just like, whatever.
25:00And, and they tore me apart on the internet and I don't really get a lot of bad, um, comments or whatever on Instagram or social media or whatever.
25:10And so they tore me apart on social media, but it was like, I'm like, you know, at least they were talking.
25:15They were talking about me.
25:16Yeah.
25:16You know, and I tell my clients that all the time.
25:18And so I'm like, what's good for the goose has to be good for the gander.
25:21Right.
25:21So, you know, I just took it, but it was, I don't regret it, but it was like.
25:26It was polarizing.
25:27If I had to go back, I would have changed a few things.
25:29Okay.
25:29I would say.
25:30Well, that's always, you know, hindsight's 20, 20.
25:32And also I completely agree.
25:34It's like, try some stuff out.
25:35At least you, yeah, at least people are talking.
25:37At least it gets a conversation going and, you know, you'll always remember CFDA 2023.
25:44It was.
25:45There you go.
25:46Yeah.
25:47What is your repeat buy?
25:49What do you buy in the multiples?
25:51Um, so in my book, I talk about having a power piece and that's something that you go to that, you know, you look good in and it makes you feel confident.
26:02It makes you feel comfortable.
26:03And so for me, I constantly, constantly buy white button down shirts, like in all variations.
26:10But the ones I buy the most are like inexpensive, some from Amazon, some from like, I go to the big and tall store and get like 4X and do all type of things.
26:20But when I put on a clean, beautiful, crisp white shirt, I just feel styled.
26:24I feel expensive.
26:25I feel confident.
26:26I feel put together.
26:27I feel it can go in any situation, you know, from daytime to night.
26:32And you just always look, you can roll the sleeves, pop the collar.
26:35Like, the big ones, sometimes I wear them backwards and, you know, tuck it and have it untucked in the back and unbutton it a little bit, pull it off the shoulder.
26:43It's so many things, but that's my power piece.
26:45Yeah.
26:45And I have, you know, a whole closet just full of white shirts.
26:52Which stores do the best ones or what brands?
26:54I think all brands do really good ones.
26:57But I prefer the cheap ones, to be quite honest.
27:01Why?
27:01Yeah.
27:01Because they're, you don't have to, like this, like I have to wear, this has to be specially dry cleaned, you know, like the feathers, you know, I like to really live in clothes.
27:13You know, this is a special one and it's like from one of PP's last collection.
27:17So it means a lot to me.
27:18So I probably won't wear this as much, but the ones from, you know, the big and tall store that costs $39, you know, I can wear them.
27:28I can wash them myself.
27:29I don't necessarily have to dry clean them.
27:30You know, it's just like, it's about, you know, cherishing and taking care of, but then also having things that you know you can live in.
27:39So I don't really, and I don't really have a favorite, I don't really have favorite brands or stores or anything like that.
27:44I do have favorite collections that I collect.
27:47Like, you know, I'm a Mugler, a crazed Mugler.
27:52Anytime I find a great men's Mugler piece, I'm buying it.
27:55Anytime I find a great Jean-Paul Gaultier piece, I'm buying it.
28:00And I buy all sizes from 46 to 52.
28:03Like, I'm buying it.
28:04Whether I can, I was just like, I can fit it one day or I'll figure it out.
28:06Like you said, you'll figure it out.
28:07You know, Tom Ford Gucci, I'm buying it.
28:10I don't care what the price is.
28:11If I seen it when I was in high school or I remember a campaign or Mario Testino, all that, I'm buying it.
28:20But contemporary clothes, you know, I bought a nice amount of Loewe for Jonathan Anderson, but also Jonathan became a friend, you know.
28:28And so they give me clothes too, but I'm also a consumer.
28:31Like, I like the activity and the action of going in and buying things and spending the money that I earned.
28:35And I also think about it like I like spending money with people I like shopping with, you know.
28:41I'm a huge client at Dover, you know.
28:45Actually, I just ordered my first Comme des Garcons runway piece, you know, from Dover.
28:50Yeah, that's it?
28:51Yeah.
28:51So it's, you know, and also like I like the relationship with the people that sell me clothes.
28:59I do too.
28:59Yeah.
29:00It's important and you not only cultivate trust, but you have somebody in the room who hopefully you know is not just there for the dollar, who's there to really help you look and feel your best.
29:12Right.
29:12Like, they go above and beyond when I'm looking for something.
29:15I have a great story.
29:16So when I also was working for Celine Dion, I worked with a personal shopper in Neiman Marcus in L.A.
29:23I've been working with her for years.
29:24Her name is Marissa.
29:25She's incredible.
29:26And I used to buy so much for Celine, something that we really needed for some event, didn't make it.
29:34The shipping department forgot to ship it.
29:36They put it on a private jet.
29:38Wow.
29:39And got it to Vegas.
29:40Amazing.
29:41You know, so it was like she had my back, you know, and that made me feel good.
29:46And also they respected the amount of money that I was spending there, my money, Celine's money.
29:51I mean, it's all sale.
29:52They want your money.
29:54Like, let's not, you know, let's not just say this because they love me that much.
29:57But, you know, they'll come in.
29:59If I'm going to Paris and I'm shopping for Paris, they'll come and bring a rail of clothes and let me shop for my house.
30:04So, you know, it's this relationship.
30:09Yeah.
30:09You know, and it makes you feel good.
30:10And before I was a stylist, I was a bartender.
30:13So I lived off the kindness of other people.
30:15Yeah.
30:15I lived off tips, you know, and it's like, you know, we're helping each other in this great fiduciary relationship where it's, you know, and it's reciprocated and it just feels good.
30:25Yeah.
30:25I wanted to ask how you advise your clients or even, you know, generally in your book, how you advise people to find that power piece.
30:35So there's a few exercises in the book.
30:38And one is just to, as much as you time, go to the store and just grab a bunch of stuff.
30:43You know, grab the things that you love, right?
30:46That's easy for you.
30:48Grab the things that you like, that you kind of second guessing yourself.
30:52And also grab the things that you hate.
30:54You know what I mean?
30:55Like grab the colors that you don't think you look good in.
30:58Grab the shapes that you don't think fit your body right.
31:01You know, a lot of times, you know, a lot of times we have so much trauma, especially women from your mother.
31:05It's like your mama told you that you don't look good in it because she didn't think she looked good in it.
31:09So it's like you also have to break those curses, right?
31:12Yeah.
31:12And just try stuff on.
31:13And I say, you know, if you like it, you try it on.
31:17If you try it on and you love it, you buy it.
31:19And if you buy it, you live in it, right?
31:22And so that's just the exercise.
31:23You have to push yourself.
31:25And I did that with my clients and fittings.
31:27Like we'll have a rail and it'll be everything that I know they'll love.
31:31And then at the end of the fitting, there'll be a rail that we'll try on.
31:34I call it the shits and giggles rail, right?
31:36So it's kind of like you trying this on.
31:38Like I'm not going to like that a lot.
31:40I'm like, okay, for shits and giggles, let's just try it on.
31:42And a lot of times because they thought they didn't look good in green or yellow or this color might wash them out, that ended up being the dress.
31:51And then it also changed their perception of the way that they look at themselves in certain things.
31:55So styling is mostly psychology, really.
32:00I want to just touch on that because you famously reinvented Selena at a time where she was going through a personal and kind of professional transformation in terms of her style.
32:14And, you know, what you did was so transformative and clearly so empowering to her.
32:20It was a person that's so beloved, looking and feeling their best and so cool.
32:27Was she open to that kind of, well, clearly she was open to that shift.
32:31And talk a little bit about that process.
32:33I was supposed to do her street style.
32:35And this was before street style had a name.
32:36So I think I invented street style, really.
32:39Yes, Laura Roach invented street style.
32:41You know, and so I was, they was like, okay, we want you to do her day-to-day wardrobe.
32:45And so for Celine, getting dressed in the morning is a thing, right?
32:51Going to bed at night is a thing.
32:52She talked about a little bit of her documentary.
32:54Well, on a TV show, I think, when she says she goes to bed in these silk pajamas or like a silk, you know, gown.
33:03Everything about getting dressed is a process to her.
33:07A ritual.
33:07It's a ritual.
33:08It's just, it's part of who she is as a woman.
33:10And she taught me so much.
33:13And one of my, and I'll answer your question, but one of my fondest memories and what sticks out to me the most is the way she puts on her stockings.
33:23Like, she sticks her legs out and she points her toe like almost like a dancer.
33:28And she meticulously rolls it down to the very end.
33:33And then she lifts her leg.
33:34I mean, it's the most beautiful, magical, choreographed, sexy thing I had ever saw when I, you know, as a boy.
33:44I mean, to me, I feel like when I'm around Celine, I'm a boy, right?
33:48Not because of age, but just the way she makes me feel.
33:51Like, I literally sit on the floor beside her while she does her makeup.
33:56You know, it's this, watching this, this, this kind of thing that almost doesn't exist anymore.
34:02But yeah, so I got hired to do that.
34:04And so then once we started having fittings, I'm like, oh, you're not just the queen of sequins and buglebees.
34:12Like, you're cool, you know?
34:14And she had like, it's like mountains, like a whole thing of pools, tear sheets that she had to collect over the years.
34:24And she was really a student of fashion and really could sit here and have a conversation about collections and all type of things.
34:31And so I started to feel the personality.
34:34And I think that the Celine that we had always saw was the Celine that had been kind of manufactured in a way when it came to her style.
34:42It was very lady.
34:43It was very ensemble.
34:44You know, it was very like a scarf.
34:46And when we started to play, I was like, oh, okay.
34:51So I went out and I redid my entire pool.
34:54And so then I brought in like Off White and Vetements and, you know, and all these things.
34:58And, you know, Balenciaga, I mean, Demna had just went to Balenciaga.
35:02So I started to grab, she was actually the first celebrity to wear Demna's Balenciaga.
35:07And so it was, so once I figured out who she was, I'm like, oh, you know, it's time to let this out.
35:14And, you know, and she was grieving the death of her husband and she needed something.
35:21And the clothes became that something.
35:23And then it just kind of like, it took off because what happened is I disrupted everyone's idea of who Celine Dion was.
35:32And also how old she was because, you know, we thought she was 70.
35:37You know what I mean?
35:37It's like, so my mission became to not just to show her as this very well-dressed woman and a stylish woman who could wear streetwear and also couture.
35:48But somebody who was young, you know what I mean, and cool and knew about fashion and was a risk taker.
35:57Yeah.
35:57You know, you've worked with Zendaya for so long.
36:00It's harder to discern a before and after, but that was like so marked.
36:05And she was such a beloved cultural figure.
36:07Yeah.
36:07And to pull that off and have everyone just embrace it because she looked so happy.
36:13Yeah.
36:14Yo, it was.
36:15It's an amazing achievement.
36:16And her walking out of that hotel every day and like greeting her fans and like all the paparazzis.
36:20So that's why I say I started street style because it didn't, for me, it was never really that big before.
36:28Yeah.
36:28But that became a thing.
36:29Like every, it was a fashion show every time she walked out.
36:31Yeah.
36:32And she would come out in a full couture look that she paid for.
36:35Like she wasn't even borrowing clothes when I started working with her.
36:38Like I would call to borrow clothes and people were like, you know, they would never let us do that.
36:45Sales would never because she spent so much money.
36:47And I was like, well, if you don't loan me clothes now that I'm shopping for, I just won't shop with you anymore.
36:52So I kind of bullied people into it because they, because there was no way for them to get the return on investment with press because prior to that, she didn't do that.
37:02Yeah.
37:03Those type of things.
37:04Yeah.
37:04So I was creating this, you know, this atmosphere of her being photographed.
37:08And then people were like, of course we'll lend you clothes.
37:11And then Celine being Celine, once she wore it, she's like, oh, I just want to buy that for my archive.
37:16Right.
37:17Like this is all going to work out.
37:18And then that taught me a bad habit.
37:20Now I do the same thing.
37:21If I do borrow something, I'm like, I want it.
37:24But most of the time now I just kind of like don't send it back.
37:26And, you know.
37:27It's all good.
37:28Yeah.
37:29So we need to talk about your dream buy.
37:33Yeah.
37:33Which is the thing that you want, you covet, you hope to acquire.
37:39What's that?
37:41Oh, that's a good question.
37:46I don't think I have it.
37:48I don't think I have one, to be quite honest.
37:50You have the dream buy?
37:50But you have this encyclopedic knowledge of all these things.
37:54Yeah.
37:54The top for you.
37:55Gucci, the, is it like, is there like that jacket?
37:58Is there anything else like that out there?
37:59A Mugler?
38:00You know, I'm thinking, to be quite honest, all my Grail pieces I think I found.
38:04I love this.
38:05Oh my God.
38:06And now I'm buying just to kind of like complete collections almost.
38:10But not in a way where I'm like searching like, oh, I need the jacket to, the pants to look for from spring, summer 2020.
38:17I mean, spring, summer, 04, Tom Ford's last collection at Gucci.
38:21Like, you know, I'm buying it if I find it.
38:23But there's nothing I'm just like, I have to, like not off the top of my head that I have to have.
38:28So, yes, but only because you, you did that work already.
38:32Yeah, I've been doing that work.
38:33Yeah, it's like, all right, one last quick question.
38:36What is your latest good buy?
38:38What is something that you bought yourself for you that you think is great?
38:42Recently, I bought just wore it the other day.
38:44I wore this Tom Ford Gucci Python track suit.
38:49Oh, amazing.
38:50All Python track suit with the matching cowboy boots.
38:53And it was just like, I am a child of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown.
38:56Like, so Python and exotics and all those things just like are in my DNA.
39:02You know, it's just part of what I think luxury is.
39:06And it's vintage.
39:06Yeah, it's vintage.
39:07And when we think about those amazing, you know, icons of the 90s where there'd be, yeah, Foxy, Mary J, Lil' Kim.
39:14Like, all of them, that's, you know, that was the style.
39:17No, seriously, that is where, I mean, I could recite so many lyrics, you know,
39:23but they're talking about Doce & Gabbana and Gucci.
39:26I remember, and Versace is like, that was our introduction into luxury, you know.
39:31And, you know, I hung out with all girls and, you know, and those girls were dating guys
39:37and, you know, they were going and getting a Gucci bag or, you know what I mean?
39:41It was like, that was our world.
39:43And that's what we, that's literally what we learned about luxury.
39:47Yeah.
39:48And that's the currency.
39:49And thank God for those women.
39:50They like, those images still stand at us.
39:52I mean, Foxy Brown and Dior, and John Galliano's Dior, like, even before we knew who John Galliano was,
39:58we knew Dior because of Foxy Brown, you know.
40:00And so, yeah, I credit a lot of who I am to those female rappers of that day.
40:06And if you look back at those videos, like, those girls were...
40:10Amazing.
40:10There's a little Kim lyric, why spend mine when I can spend yours.
40:13Yeah.
40:14I think about that all the time.
40:17Laura Roach, thank you so much for being a guest on this week's episode of The Goodbye.
40:22This was Harper's Bazaars, The Goodbye.
40:24Goodbye.
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