Law Roach and the Politics of Celebrity Style

March 22, 2023 9:18 AM

Superstar celebrity stylist Law Roach unexpectedly announced his retirement via Instagram right after the Oscars, then sat down for a long interview about celebrity styling and the white world of Hollywood gatekeepers.

Fashion analysts Tom & Lorenzo discuss Law Roach on their podcast, and their own personal experiences with the sort of thing he talks about in the interview.

posted by theatro (20 comments total)

Just glad that the rumor of his retirement was not a result of a bad relationship with Zendaya. The two of them collaborating together has been a joy to watch the last few years!

Style Icons!!!
posted by Fizz at 9:30 AM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

He is probably the first celebrity stylist I was ever really aware of by name, and I think he does amazing work. I hope he finds new and ever increasing success in all the things he's doing next.

Last year's Hollywood Reporter power stylist list had some amazing photos of him.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:54 AM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

This was really inetresting. I know nothing about this world - learned a lot.
posted by latkes at 10:36 AM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Vibe Check, a podcast I enjoy with Sam Sanders (he left NPR for this and another) spent quite a bit of time discussing this today. I knew nothing about it, still know very little, but thanks for linking the article because I hadn't tracked it down yet.
posted by hippybear at 10:50 AM on March 22, 2023

Oh, that's just incredible all through. We give so much credit to the actors and musicians who see that their fame-business is killing them. I really really want him to be happy and I'm completely in awe that he was able to visualize and execute what would get him there.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 10:57 AM on March 22, 2023

I've been waiting to see this turn up on Metafilter and hoping for some good discussion. I know very little about the celebrity styling world, but I've really enjoyed the work Roach has done with Zendaya and when he was working with Anya Taylor-Joy. So this has been really interesting, if a bit depressing, to watch and try to figure out what's going on.

I rarely listen to the TLo podcasts but I may have to make an exception for this one. (I had already read the interview.)
posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:54 AM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thank you for this. If you like this energy and want more of it I recommend The Nap Ministry.
posted by panhopticon at 12:11 PM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

I loved listening to TLo's podcast about this. I used to refer to institutions or subcultures that were cliquey as "high school" but more and more I'm thinking most professional cultures have some kind of cliquish toxicity. Maybe people just can't help themselves.
posted by Kurichina at 12:13 PM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Interesting--thanks for sharing this!

"...everything that could bring me joy has been suppressed because of the work." I hope that changes.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:18 PM on March 22, 2023

THR has named him top stylist for two years running. The link above from May 2021 and in the article he says: there’s a system in Hollywood where new talent and those girls are funneled through the same group of people, … I always call them the same five white women. That’s just the system. When somebody comes into Hollywood, and they’re building that team, you have the manager, the publicist and the agent [making] the [same five] recommendations on stylists, hair, makeup.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:40 PM on March 22, 2023

Thanks for posting this—I meant to check out the article but spaced it so it was good to read the whole thing. I’d wondered why he’d stopped styling Anya Taylor-Joy and while this doesn’t outright explain it, it definitely gives you enough of a picture of what things are like that you can fill in the blanks. The part about his nephew’s death is heartbreaking. I hope he finds comfort in his new future endeavors.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:09 PM on March 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I really commend him for recognizing that his work was killing him and taking a step back. I've been staggered over the past several years by the number of Black creative folk who I admired from childhood that have died from natural causes at terribly young ages. I'm sure the relentless stress of the hustle has been a contributor for many. Let Law Roach die peacefully in his sleep at 83, you know?
posted by praemunire at 4:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

Am I the only one whose first thought was "The whole internet loves Law Roach, a lovely roach that studies for the bar!"?

Ok, just me then.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

I hope Law finds peace, and I hope Megan Thee Stallion finds another great stylist (Law has said he would continue working with Zendaya).
posted by ellieBOA at 3:40 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

What Fashion Loses As Law Roach Retires [Refinery29]

And an archive link for the Cut interview.
posted by ellieBOA at 4:52 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

No, Joakim Ziegler, I think there was at least one other person whose only response to the post and the interesting and thoughtful links people have been sharing was "HURP HURP FUNNY NAME". But I think those comment(s) got deleted.
posted by theatro at 8:07 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

I found this a good explanation for why I will see a new white actress who magically gets the big labels dressing her when she's in a mild hit and then get on big magazine covers. I didn't see that happen for Nia Long or Parminder Nagra, for example in the mid 1990s-2000s they way it did for Leelee Sobieski, Kate Hudson, Keira Knightley, etc.


"If we use the Oscars as an example, right? So every year, the industry knows the girls that’s gonna have a movie that’s gonna be in the running, right? Those girls, when they come in, like especially when it’s their first film and they’re new or whatever, they come and they’re automatically introduced to one of the ten. To be a stylist at my level, you have to be able to work with one of those type of girls. That doesn’t happen for Black stylists."

Fashion is a brutal business that mimics the worst of Hollywood culture.
posted by Freecola at 9:06 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the Refinery link, it even has Zendaya making an economic argument for Roach's skills. She needed to change her image and gatekeepers paid attention when she was styled by him.

Here's what Zendaya, who just got a big pay raise for her work on (award winning) Euphoria this year, said about economics and fashion:

"In an episode of Issa Rae's 'A Sip' interview series back in 2021, the multi-hyphenate opened up about what it had been like trying to break out of the Disney box she’d been placed in and what it took to get people to take her seriously. “What helped me create an avenue and lane of my own outside of Disney Channel was fashion,” Zendaya states clearly. “Me and Law [Roach] would show up at stuff I had no business being at just so I could get the look.” "

It is easy to dismiss fashion as something silly, but it has always been a critical part of branding for celebs. I can't imagine a young woman who dresses like Adam Sandler on the red carpet excelling or being taken seriously. It would scare agents, managers, and producers.
posted by Freecola at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I can't imagine a young woman who dresses like Adam Sandler on the red carpet excelling or being taken seriously.

Billie Eilish kind of tried, but even she's been allowing herself to be styled more lately. Good for her if that's what she wants, but too bad if she was forced into it by the celebrity clout economy, I guess.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 1:39 PM on March 23, 2023

Law went on EmRata’s podcast and talked about Zendaya’s reaction. (link to short clip in an Instagram reel)
posted by ellieBOA at 6:33 AM on March 25, 2023