Andrew Garfield and Janelle Monáe also toast their tastemakers in THR’s annual list, which celebrates megawatt glamour (J. Lo’s 3 wedding gowns), sustainability (thank you, Cate Blanchett) and drama on and off the red carpet (farewell, Law Roach, for now).
Rewear, repeat, three-peat … The verbiage summing up what’s new on the red carpet in the past year happens to center on what’s old, or at least previously worn. Sustainability and vintage were at the forefront of Hollywood fashion throughout awards season.
THR‘s Stylist of the Year Elizabeth Stewart worked with Tár best actress nominee Cate Blanchett to create a red carpet campaign with the smallest environmental footprint possible. “The theme is Cate’s closet and celebrating it,” says Stewart, “and being as conscious as possible of the impact our choices can have.” Law Roach, who made worldwide headlines when he announced his retirement from styling March 14, outfitted Zendaya in internet-shattering 2002 Versace for the NAACP Image Awards. Also trending? A return to megawatt glamour, as evidenced by both Anne Hathaway with stylist Erin Walsh and Gucci glamazon Jodie Turner-Smith, who turned the Venice International Film Festival canals into her own catwalk, courtesy of stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald. THR presents a return to its full list, unranked and alphabetized, of the 25 Most Powerful Stylists in Hollywood.
Sandra Amador
“A lot of our inspiration came from images of Serge Gainsbourg and Paul Newman,” says Amador of Austin Butler’s Elvis press looks, which included mixing old with new pieces. Gucci blazers, vintage jeans, Cuban-heeled boots, pleated trousers, Cartier timepieces and vintage leather jackets, often sourced from Topanga Canyon’s vintage mecca Melet Mercantile, all helped to cement the Oscar-nominated actor’s status as a modern prince of seamless, eclectic style. “Austin loves vintage,” says the Los Angeles-based stylist, who also works with Lady Gaga. One unexpected standout on the red carpet was a custom burgundy Gucci suit at the SAG Awards that was reminiscent of one Presley himself wore for NBC’s Elvis 1968 Comeback Special. Recalls Amador: “It was bolder than what we would normally go with, but when incorporated into a three-piece suit, it felt authentic to Austin’s aesthetic.”
Jennifer Austin
Leave it to Angela Bassett and her longtime stylist to debunk the fashion myth that black is the only elegant hue. The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Oscar nominee makes everything from canary yellow to fuchsia regal. “Jennifer wanted to create a story of us exploring different colors and silhouettes on the carpet, from lilac tulip sleeves to a dreamy yellow and the magnificent ultra-violet Moschino gown designed by Jeremy Scott” for the Oscars, says Bassett. “Each look was so beautiful and different for me, and honestly, they’re all favorites.” Austin, a Los Angeles native who started working with Bassett in 2013, explains: “I want to change the perception of what women of a particular age should look like and to create a new narrative in fashion, especially on the carpet. I dress the spirit and energy of Angela, not her age.” Perhaps most dazzling of all was the silver sequin Pamella Roland halter gown that Bassett wore to accept her Golden Globe, a historic victory as the first performer to win a Globe in an acting category for a Marvel film. Says the designer, “Angela was the epitome of Hollywood royalty and glamour that evening.”
Warren Alfie Baker
“It was a great fashion moment that still felt wearable,” says Baker of Under the Banner of Heaven actor Andrew Garfield’s Gucci floral-embellished velvet suit at the LACMA Art + Film gala, one of his daring but never forced stylistic choices. “It had an elevated vintage feel without being too much.” The Los Angeles-based stylist, who got his start modeling and working in fashion PR, says his favorite look was Garfield’s all-white Zegna tuxedo, sans bow tie, at the Emmys. “It was a color we hadn’t done before, and it just felt effortlessly cool,” says Baker. When it comes to double-breasted suit jackets — a Garfield staple — Baker says the style exudes timeless confidence when done right. “There’s no getting away from an image of a well-tailored, beautiful-looking double-breasted suit on a handsome man,” says Baker, who also has dressed Matt Bomer (Ralph Lauren Purple Label at the Golden Globes) and Glen Powell (Brunello Cucinelli at the Critics Choice Awards) in the classic style. And Garfield has come to enjoy the styling process with Baker: “He wants the person to have space to come through and be expressed. And we aren’t precious about any of it. It’s loose and fun and creative, and it’s a rare lucky connection.”
Wayman Bannerman & Micah McDonald
British actress and Gucci ambassador Jodie Turner-Smith turned the Venice International Film Festival into her own fashion show, with the styling duo calling in pieces from the Italian house, plus Harbison and Balmain in September. “Jodie is extremely fearless when it comes to her style,” says Bannerman, who loved her multicolored Christopher John Rogers corset and ball gown skirt at the amfAR gala. Another wow moment was Turner-Smith at the Bardo premiere in a paint-splattered Christopher John Rogers gown, which the actress calls her “crayon-colored showstopper.” Says McDonald, who notes that he and Bannerman (who count Tessa Thompson, Keke Palmer and Thuso Mbedu among their clients) have been working with her for the past 18 months: “It felt different from what you’d usually see in Venice. It was a Black designer. There was the modernity of the vibrant paintbrush print, and we layered it with Bulgari jewelry for next-level Hollywood glamour.” Another favorite for Turner-Smith, who co-stars with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2, out March 31: “I simply cannot leave off the blue Harbison that I wore to see The Whale. I felt like a dream in it!”
Jason Bolden
The Los Angeles-based stylist continued his winning streak with actor turned director Michael B. Jordan, most recently for a whirlwind of international press around Creed III. “Sidney Poitier was a reference,” says Bolden, who culled Ralph Lauren, Chanel and Gucci pieces. “We zeroed in on how easy and relaxed Mr. Poitier’s fashion choices have always been, with a modern sensibility for Michael.” No doubt Poitier would have approved of Jordan’s layered white T-shirt and tailored Louis Vuitton coat on the streets of Paris and an easy Versace cardigan and undershirt in New York City, both in line with the movie legend’s knack for nonchalant layering. One of Bolden’s favorites was an updated Prada tux with Tiffany & Co. accents for the London premiere. “I used two Schlumberger Bird on a Rock brooches to signify the father-daughter bond that Creed illustrates so beautifully. As a dad, that was important to me,” notes Bolden, who repeated the same Tiffany’s brooch motif in different colored precious stones for the presenter’s Oscar look. When he’s not dressing clients like Jordan, Yara Shahidi, Trevor Noah and Cynthia Erivo for the red carpet, the veteran stylist keeps Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s fashion game strong. “Ayesha is a secret wild fashionista with an insane closet and amazing personal style. She’s tomboy chic, but in the blink of an eye, she’s comfortably rocking a couture gown,” says Bolden, who met the Golden State Warriors point guard’s wife on a shoot for her magazine, Sweet July. “Steph has a quintessential ’90s ease when it comes to fashion,” adds the stylist. “Some of his best moments are when it isn’t a fashion moment — it’s just him being relaxed.”
Kollin Carter
Cardi B and her stylist won the Grammys with a sculptural Gaurav Gupta gown. The rapper made a splash when she hit the carpet at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena in a full-length version of the Indian designer’s cobalt blue couture runway look — originally a minidress — topped with Messika diamonds. “Her custom look was made and flown to Los Angeles from India all within a matter of three days,” Gupta says. “When the Grammys looks started coming out on social media, we were all eagerly waiting for Cardi to electrify the red carpet with that gorgeous electric blue.” The music artist later paid tribute to Paco Rabanne, who died in February, in an archival chain-mail top and skirt with a metal mesh hood, Tiffany & Co. jewels and metallic Jimmy Choo platforms while presenting the award for best rap album.
Rebecca Corbin-Murray
Don’t Worry Darling‘s Florence Pugh out-dressed and outshone the media frenzy surrounding casting shake-ups and Spitgate for the film’s hotly anticipated Venice premiere. Pugh skipped daytime press at the festival but later breezed in from the set of Dune: Part Two dressed in all-purple Valentino — a now-iconic video of Pugh sipping an Aperol spritz on Instagram was posted by Corbin-Murray — only to be outdone by herself later that evening in Pierpaolo Piccioli’s glitter-printed tulle Valentino dress, proving that, for the star, the only drama worth pointing to was her couture. “We first saw the gown coming down the Spanish Steps in Rome at the Valentino Haute Couture show and fell in love with it. It captured the magic and atmosphere of the city,” says Corbin-Murray. The London-based stylist, who also outfits Lily James (notably in Versace metal-mesh), Bridgerton‘s Simone Ashley and Gemma Chan, had several major Valentino moments with Pugh, including a sheer pink tulle ball gown for the Italian house’s show in Rome that went viral with an ultra-revealing top. “When you push boundaries, it will draw attention, and Florence doesn’t shy away from making a statement,” says Corbin-Murray, who has been working with Pugh for five years. All bets are on a certain new Valentino brand ambassador being announced at any moment.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/best-celebrity-stylists-2023-1235360354/