Behind Every Celeb's Red Carpet Triumph Is a Great Stylist
Angelina Jolie. Charlize Theron. Michelle Williams. From the gowns, jewels, and all-over glamor, these Hollywood A-listers are picture perfect. But the red-carpet-perfect looks don't come naturally.
"Anyone who thinks these girls are dressing themselves is seriously deluded. The truth about Hollywood is that you can buy taste," Janice Min, editor of The Hollywood Reporter, told "Good Morning America."
Celebrities are paying big bucks to stylist to have a camera-ready look that will be buzzed about long after it's shown on the red carpet.
"I dare you to name any friend of yours who saw 'My Week With Marilyn', the movie Michelle Williams was nominated for the Oscars, but every single one of your friends knows exactly what she was wearing at the Oscars, that it was that gorgeous coral gown by Louis Vuitton," Min said. "It was a big style moment. That's what got her in the weekly magazines, that what got her on TV shows, that's what got her more air time in the pre-show before the Oscars, that's where the fashion completely trumped the acting."
Kate Young, the stylist responsible for Williams' stunning Oscar look, nabbed the top spot in the Reporter's list of the 25 most powerful stylists in Hollywood. Young also dressed a pregnant Natalie Portman for last year's Oscars.
The other stylists on the Reporter's list have dressed some of Hollywood's hottest actresses, including Sofia Vergara, Rooney Mara, Octavia Butler and, yes, Angelina Jolie. Remember that black velvet dress with the thigh-high split that stole the show and spawned a Twitter feed for Jolie's right leg?
That stylist, Jen Rade is number six on the list.
"I wouldn't say they can make or break a career, but they almost can," Min said of a stylist's importance. "A stylist, some people think it's frivolous … but if you are an actress, it's the best investment you can make here. You know you can get a lot of critical attention for a great acting role, but where are you really going to get your attention? You're going to get it on the red carpet."
Of course, not all of that attention is good. Some stars make headlines for all the wrong reasons. A stylist faces the challenge of being daring enough to get attention without going so far that the client ends up a fashion disaster.
"If you are a stylist you want your clients to be talked about - in all the right ways. And my God, you will be fired the next day if your client is being talked about in the wrong way," Min said.
Stylists perform a valuable service. Theron appreciates her stylist, Leslie Fremar.
"Leslie knows my body. I have big shoulders, I don't have a small waist, so we stay clean and classic and not very fussy," Theron told the Reporter about her stylist, who is number two on the list.
Min said Fremar put Theron in "an unbelievable" pink Dior gown at the Golden Globes.
"You know, Charlize kind of has this very classy princess thing going on the red carpet and that is because of her stylist," Min said.
She added that "every memorable look that you have seen in this past red carpet season" was created by a stylist.
Here's the complete list of the Hollywood Reporter's second annual ranking of the most powerful stylists:
Kate Young
Leslie Fremar
Petra Flannery
Elizabeth Stewart
Kemal Harris and Karla Welch
Jen Rade
Ryan Hastings
Samantha McMillen
Deb Waknin
Christina Ehrlich
Jeanne Yang
L'Wren Scott
Ron Zangardi and Mariel Haenn
Elizabeth Saltzman
Cher Coulter
Leith Clark
Jessica Paster
Penny Lovell
Wendi and Nicole Ferreira
Brad Goreski
Nicole Chavez
Johnny Wujek
George Kotsiopoulos
Arianne Phillips
Ilaria Urbanti
