Law Roach is this generation’s best red-carpet look generator. Most famously known as Zendaya’s stylist, he has single-handedly turned the Gen Z actor into a bona fide fashion icon. He’s also the reason this week’s Oscars carpet was so major, having styled Euphoria star Hunter Schafer in an ââAnn Demeulemeester’s fall/ winter 2023 runway piece and chart-topping rapper Megan Thee Stallion in couture newcomer brand Bach Mai.
As a regular judge on HBO’s Legendary series and the first African-American stylist to be featured on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter’s Stylist & Stars Issue, the celebrity stylist has become an A-lister in his own right. So, many fashion fans and insiders were surprised on Tuesday night when Roach told his 1.2 million Instagram followers that he was “retired” — especially considering the famed Met Gala red carpet is only two months away.
“My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years,” he captioned the post. “Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not! The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.”
The shock announcement was met with an outpouring of disbelief. Naomi Campbell commented, “Law I won’t let you !!!! We don’t quit ... strived too hard.” British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful reminded Roach, “You will always have a home @britishvogue”. While popular fashion commentary Instagram account Up Next Designer wrote, “You hold up the industry, Law! Please don’t go anywhere.”
Then, in a shock twist, Law turned up at the Boss fashion show last night, not on the FROW, but walking the runway. Chatting backstage to Vogue US about this surprising new pivot, he said pointedly: “I am excited and nervous. And deeply grateful. I’m grateful that the Boss team sees me as more than just someone who dresses all these amazing celebrities.”
The 44-year-old trailblazer got his big break after founding the now-defunct Deliciously Vintage boutique. In 2009, Kanye West happened across the future star’s Chicago store and co-signed his clothing curation and window styling displays. This led to the then 14-year-old Zendaya visiting the store in need of an outfit for the premiere of the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary. The rest is history, and they’ve been inseparable fashion friends ever since.
Now the self-professed “image architect” is the go-to for the style set, including Keke Palmer, Hunter Schafer, Celine Dion, Kerry Washington, Tom Holland, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Lil Durk and, of course, Zendaya. The latter of whom he even famously dressed as the “fairy godmother” when she wore a Cinderella-inspired gown at the 2019 Met Gala. This was in an ode to their groundbreaking fashion partnership.
Having styled 10 celebrities for the Met Gala and 32 different covers plus ad campaigns for Valentino and Bulgari in 2021 alone, it was only right that last year he received the inaugural stylist award for American Fashion at the 2022 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards. He also made his design debut, creating a collaboration in partnership with Hervé Leger.
“More than anything, I am a storyteller,” said Roach about his career in a 2021 interview. “Zendaya and I enjoy creating a character for her on the red carpet. We also believe that the only way to truly change someone’s life is financially. So if she wears a dress by a South African designer and it sells out, you’ve made all the difference.”
Fashion sleuths understandably started searching for any clues as to why the legendary stylist is retiring when he is arguably at the top of his game. Many arrived at a viral clip that’s been circulating online in which Roach is visibly upset that he’s been booted off the front row at the Louis Vuitton A/W 2023 show. In the video, newly appointed Louis Vuitton ambassador Zendaya tells Roach, “oh there’s a seat right here” while pointing behind her. There are rumours that Roach left the venue before the collection’s debut.
“He should be in the front row. He’s carrying the industry on his back when his peers ( a term used loosely) are flopping left and right giving us expensive Fashion Nova-esque looks. If he left, I don’t blame him one bit,” wrote one Twitter user on his front-row snub.
TikTok commentators have pointed out that the seat placing could be a power move by LMVH, the conglomerate which owns Louis Vuitton and has recently signed Zendaya — especially as they sat Zendaya next to Delphine Arnault, the vice president of Louis Vuitton, instead. Many are speculating that Roach was cut out of the deal, and will no longer work as intimately with his fashion protégé — as was the case when his other client, Anya Taylor-Joy, signed with another one of LMVH’s brands, Dior, in 2021.
Another video of Roach talking about the poor treatment he’d faced in the industry has also come to light. “You can’t talk to me any kind of way,” he said. “You can’t treat me any kind of way… I owe nobody shit in this industry. So I’ll walk away from all that.”
Some even questioned whether Roach’s retirement announcement was an early April Fools joke, but his chat to Vogue yesterday made it clear that the stylist is being sincere about his frustrations towards his place in fashion industry. “I’m not saying I’m retiring from fashion,” he told Vogue. “I love fashion. I love the businesses, and I love being creative. What I’m retiring from is the celebrity styling part of it: the being in service and at service of other people. That’s what I’m retiring from, yeah.”
He also took to Twitter yesterday to clarify that the decision was in no way Zendaya’s fault. “So y’all really think I’m breaking up with Z..... we are forever!” he tweeted, adding later: “She’s literally my little sister and it’s real love not fake industry love.”
But Zendaya is with Louis Vuitton now, and everyone is still waiting with baited breath to see what will happen to the scene’s most beloved fashion duo — especially as Zendaya prepares for her high-profile Dune 2 press run later this year.
Here’s hoping this turns out to be a much-needed break, rather than a definitive exit for the fashion industry’s brightest star.
