Who is Law Roach, Chanel's recent projects + how to write for fashion magazines

plus the updated list of fashion jobs and internships

Nov 11, 2022

This is the Inside Fashion newsletter brought to you by Glam Observer that covers each week the behind-the-scenes of fashion, industry news, career advice, profiles to follow, jobs and more!

Glam Observer is wrapping Holiday gifts for you…

November is a very special month for me. It’s my birthday, which I celebrated in Paris by the way and took the occasion to meet with some luxury fashion companies while I was there. This month also marks the 2nd anniversary of my book Your Fashion Dream Plan. Plus, Black Friday and Christmas are coming…all the reasons that make me want to celebrate with you 💖

Join the waitlist now to be the first to find out about the special surprises I am preparing for you!

The CFDA 2022 Fashion Awards winners are…

This Monday, November 7, New York City hosted the CFDA 2022 Fashion Awards, marking the CFDA’s 60th anniversary. The CFDA stands for “Council of Fashion Designers of America”. It is a non-profit association originally founded by Eleanor Lambert in 1962 to raise funds for charity and industry initiatives. You can read more about the role of the CFDA in the fashion industry here.

The annual Fashion Awards are meant to recognise and celebrate the top talent of the fashion industry. This year, Natasha Lyonne hosted the ceremony, which was presented in partnership with Amazon Fashion, while Joseph Altuzarra, Gabriela Hearst, Aurora James, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough served as co-hosts.

The announced winners are:

American Womenswear Designer of the Year: Catherine Holstein for Khaite
American Menswear Designer of the Year: Emily Bode Aujla for Bode
American Accessory Designer of the Year: Raul Lopez for Luar
American Emerging Designer of the Year: Elena Velez
Board of Trustee's Award: Virgil Abloh
Fashion Icon: Lenny Kravitz
Positive Social Influence Award: Slaysians from The House of Slay featuring Prabal Gurung, Laura Kim, Phillip Lim, Tina Leung and Ezra William
Founder's Award in Honor of Eleanor Lambert: Andrew Bolton
Amazon Innovation Award: Kim Kardashian, Emma Grede and Jens Grede of Skims
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Laurie Lynn Stark and Richard Stark of Chrome Hearts
Media Award in Honore of Eugenia Sheppard: Patti Wilson
Environmental Sustainability Award: The United Nations (to be accepted by Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General)
Special Anniversary Award: Jeffrey Banks
Stylist Award: Law Roach

American Fashion's Finest – Stilo Style Diary Magazine

Who is Law Roach? 6 fun facts about one of the top celebrity stylists

If you follow Zendaya and Céline Dion, you are probably wondering who curates their beautiful looks that we see on the red carpet so often. The person behind this is Law Roach - a famous stylist who works with Hollywood stars and some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, including Bella Hadid, Kerry Washington, Tom Holland, Demi Lovato, Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra, Ariana Grande, and many more.

This is how his story starts. Law Roach was born and raised in the South Side of Chicago in an unstable family with his younger 5 siblings, so he spent most of his time with his grandmother. During trips to thrift stores with his grandma, Roach began collecting clothes and accessories in his car. One day, a friend opened Roach’s trunk and offered to buy some of his pieces, which encouraged Law Roach to open a vintage shop called “Deliciously Vintage Chicago”. He was quickly discovered when Kanye West entered the store in 2009, drawing a lot of paparazzi and industry insiders from LA and Hollywood. This is where Law Roach started from, and actually, did you know he is among the popular stylists who didn’t study fashion? He supposedly studied Psychology at Chicago State University, and shares that “I didn’t grow up reading fashion magazines; my first runway show was actually at church. It was a visual smorgasbord of colors, fabrics, hats, gloves and heels, and I thought it was incredible.” His story is inspiring because he is now known for working with the top fashion houses and styling major red-carpet clients even though he never ever studied fashion. That’s something always encouraging to hear when we are at the beginning of our career in fashion ;)

But the person who really put Law Roach on the map is Zendaya. The two met in 2011 at his former store, Deliciously Vintage, when Zendaya was 14 years old and was a Disney Channel star. She needed a dress for the premiere of the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary. That’s when Law Roach became her stylist. What’s curious is that at the start, he said that he was trying to get Zendaya noticed, as “Nobody wanted to dress her when she wasn’t known, so I would put her in things that other people had already worn.” This earned her exposure in the celebrity weeklies’ “Who Wore It Better” columns and, soon enough, “people started to know her name”. He accompanied Zendaya for the 2019 Met Gala for the first time, despite creating multiple looks over the years for this event.
Law Roach is also credited for Celine Dion’s fashion comeback when the two worked together for Paris Couture Fashion Week in 2017. He styled her with a sweatshirt with blue jeans and a pair of gold Gucci heels, which received a lot of attention from the press.

Despite styling some of the most fashionable celebrities, Law Roach doesn't consider himself a celebrity stylist, and prefers the title 'image architect'. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, he explained it like this: "What I do is similar to what an architect does. […] The surveying, building a blueprint, sourcing materials, all that. But I'm doing it with clothes, jewelry, hair and makeup".
Law Roach is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry. In 2020, he teamed up with Chicago-based non-profit Rebuild the Hood on The fLAWless Fundraiser to financially support Black-owned fashion and beauty businesses. In addition, he became the first African American stylist to cover the annual The Hollywood Reporter’s Stylist & Stars issue of May 2021 along with Zendaya and Anna-Taylor Joy, which recognized Law Roach as one of 2021’s most powerful stylists.
What else is Law Roach known for? Well, for starters, he was one of the judges for cycle 23 of America’s Next Top Model, alongside Ashley Graham, Rita Ora and Drew Elliott. Then among more recent accomplishments, we can highlight the fact that last year alone, he styled 32 different covers and ad campaigns for Valentino and Bulgari, among others. In June of this year, he collaborated with Hervé Léger for the Resort 2023 collection. He was also contributing West Coast editor of British Vogue and judge on the hit HBO Max ballroom competition show, Legendary.

Are you inspired by Law Roach’s journey as a stylist as much as we are? If you want to learn about how to become a stylist without any fashion education the Law Roach way, read our latest article on Glam Observer ;)

What's happening in the industry this week?💚

Will Kering acquire Tom Ford?

The French luxury giant Kering is considering buying Tom Ford and a deal is expected to be reached soon. Kering is considered to be a front-runner, as a deal with this company could be strategic given its expertise in high-end fashion and accessories. According to the Wall Street Journal, Estée Lauder is another company interested in purchasing the brand - particularly Tom Ford’s beauty business - with which it has a longstanding licensing deal. It is said that this deal could have been worth $3 billion or more and could represent Estée Lauder’s largest-ever acquisition, but this amount has come down, given the brand’s unfavorable market environment and underwhelming results.

Adidas Originals collaborates with Sporty & Rich

Adidas Originals has partnered with Los Angeles-based brand Sporty & Rich for an apparel and footwear collection that launches on November 22. For this collaboration, Sporty & Rich’s founder Emily Oberg was inspired by the Adidas campaigns in the 80s. She updated the Adidas Firebird tracksuit with metal details and embroidery, which comes in 2 versions: green with white and white with collegiate burgundy accents, both made from Adidas’ Beckenbauer Pique fabric and Sporty&Rich’s print on the inside. Some of the footwear pieces Emily Oberg created include a burgundy version of the Campus 80s, a white and green makeover of the Samba OG, and a white and collegiate burgundy colorway of the Stan Smith.

New CEOs appointed at Adidas and Levi’s

Adidas recently named Bjørn Gulden as its new CEO starting January 1st of 2023, who actually was the brand’s senior vice president of apparel and accessories from 1992 to 1999. The Norwegian-born executive has just stepped down from his role as CEO at Puma that he held since 2013, and it is said his leadership contributed to Puma’s most recent annual sales increasing 32 percent to 6.8 billion euros and profits rising to 557 million euros, marking the brand’s all-time strongest results.

On the other hand, the US denim giant Levi Strauss & Co has announced that Kohl’s chief executive Michelle Gass will succeed Chip Bergh as the company’s new CEO within the next 18 months. Until then, she will assume as Levi Strauss’ new president as of January 2; she will be responsible for leading the brand’s global digital and commercial operations. Michelle Gass is credited for having led Kohl’s transformation strategy and growing its digital business annual growth rate to more than $6 billion.

Mytheresa launches a “China Designer Program”

“The China Designer Program” is Mytheresa’s new initiative in China that has the goal to forge closer ties with China’s fashion industry and boost consumer awareness at a time when interest in local labels is growing. In fact, Mytheresa’s programme is the first to focus on Chinese talent. The 4 designers selected for the initiative’s debut are Didu, Jacques Wei, Susan Fang and Xu Zhi, who will each design an exclusive capsule collection for Mytheresa to be sold on the website, featured in The New York Times’ T Magazine China and presented at Shanghai and Paris fashion weeks next year. Mytheresa is also committing to using items from their mainline collections for at least 3 seasons. The designers will also receive mentorship from designer Ye Mingzi, The New York Times’ T Magazine China editor-in-chief Feng Chuxuan, stylist and influencer Fil Xiaobai, and Mytheresa vice president of buying Tiffany Hsu.

For information, Mytheresa first entered China in 2016, launching a Mandarin-language website. Then in March of this year, the company launched a Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com, followed by the opening of an office in Shanghai and the arrival of a new president for the Chinese and Asia Pacific regions, Steven Xu, to spearhead growth in the market.

Chanel organized a Replica of its Cruise 2023 collection in Miami

Over last week, Chanel showed its most recent Cruise 2023 collection on Miami Beach - the same one that was presented in Monte Carlo in May of this year. The luxury brand organized 2 shows: one in the afternoon exclusively for clients, and one in the early evening for a mix of clients, press and VIPs. The Cruise 2023 was inspired by Formula 1, as well as the coastal lifestyle in Monaco - a theme that worked well in Miami.

These “Replicas” of Resort collections have been a thing for Chanel in the past few years. Chanel did one over the summer in Florence for Métiers d'art 2022 (originally shown at its 19M atelier in Paris in December), last year in Dubai for Cruise 2021 (originally shown in Provence) and in Bangkok for Cruise 2018 (originally shown in Paris).

Chanel 2023 Métiers d'Art show will take place in Dakar

Followed by the Cruise 2023 Replica show in Miami, Chanel is planning to present its latest Métiers d’Art collection in Dakar, Senegal, on December 6 of this year. The idea was born in a conversation between Pharell Williams, Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel’s now-fashion director Bruno Pavlovsky, who discussed several years ago in Japan about the possibility of building Chanel’s presence in Africa. This event marks the first time Chanel has set a runway show in Africa, as the luxury French fashion house historically hasn't had a presence anywhere on the continent except for South Africa.

The Métiers d’Art show will be followed by a three-day event that Pavlovsky and Williams refer to as a "festival" that will bring together friends of the house and local creatives across music, film and art, and will include a program that connects Chanel’s 19M atelier in Paris with artisans, students and more.

Fashion Career Tip of the Week

Want to write for fashion magazines?

You are just on time for our latest article, in which we explain everything you need to know about one of the most popular and glamorous careers in the fashion industry:

What are the different fashion writing jobs that you can do even at the beginning of your career
The most needed skills to be a successful writer
A step-by-step plan how to get a job or an internship at a fashion magazine

And so much more tips! So make sure to check them out and prepare for an exciting career at your favorite fashion publication (there is an open position in London btw, check out below!)

Nice things 💖

Shakira and Burna Boy are the faces of the Burberry’s Christmas campaign The Night Before, launched this Wednesday, which is described as “a celebration of the excitement and anticipation of festive preparations”.

What to listen to this week 🎙️

This week, how about getting some fashion career inspiration from the Glam Observer Podcast?

In my latest podcast episode, I am sharing some career advice about the 3 things that worked personally for me to land 3 luxury internships at Santoni, Fendi and Alexander McQueen even though I studied management engineering and had ZERO experience in fashion.

As usually, you can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I hope my story motivates you to use the strategies I am sharing to land YOUR dream job and kick-off your career in fashion.