‘She’s not on our calendar’
In a rather explosive reveal of sorts, Zendaya’s longtime stylist Law Roach listed 5 pioneering global luxury fashion houses that refused to dress her up before stardom struck. While tables have turned, the fashion world is divided in opinion…
What goes around certainly comes around — at least when stardom strikes. While myriad facets of the 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival continue to garner global attention, one of the highlight controversies of the past week has got to be a recent explosive reveal by Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach on “The Cutting Room Floor” podcast. Roach had no qualms about admitting that the American actresssinger clearly wasn’t a designer’s darling when she was still making it. “I would write the big five. I would write Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and Dior, and they would all say, ‘No, try again next year. She’s too green. She’s not on our calendar’,” Roach said during the interview. While letting bygones be bygones is a way of life, especially in showbiz, the stylist maintained that the 27-year-old star continues to not let such episodes slide. “I still have the receipts,” he continued on the podcast, adding, “By the time she got to [the cover of] American Vogue [in 2017], she still had never worn any of those designers (on red carpets). She still hasn’t.” While the pattern of designers and stylists changing their favourites based on a public personality’s fame isn’t new, we dig deeper into the practice — how does a fashion label navigate tricky situations like this and whether it’s even fair?
I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT A CELEBRITY'S TRUE VALUE LIES IN WHAT THEY REPRESENT, NOT JUST THEIR POPULARITY. WE OFTEN COLLABORATE WITH INFLUENCERS FROM DIVERSE FIELDS, WHO'RE PROBABLY NOT AS FAMOUS AS AN A-LISTER, TO DEMONSTRATE OUR SUPPORT FOR THEIR MISSIONS AND CAUSES. FOR US, IT’S ABOUT ALIGNING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO SHARE OUR VALUES, REGARDLESS OF THEIR FAME OR FOLLOWING.”
IT’S THE DESIGNER’S CHOICE TO SAY ‘NO’
Approaching a celebrity purely on the basis of their stardom is likely to backfire, so the ideal way to go about it is being crystal clear about the energy of your brand and choosing faces with personalities that align with that, believes ace Indian designer Raghavendra Rathore. “I’ve always believed that a celebrity’s true value lies in what they represent, not just their popularity. We often collaborate with influencers from diverse fields, who’re probably not as famous as an A-lister, to demonstrate our support for their missions and causes.
— RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE, fashion designer