Every year, many of us who love fashion look to The Hollywood Reporter and their annual list of the most influential stylists from that year.
Stylists are oftentimes, in my opinion, the unsung heroes of celebrities: They work with them to curate a personable style; they shop and/or source items for everything, from a charity event to the red carpet of the Oscars; they have to be impeccable with their styling and have the most discerning eye. And yet, we often don’t think about the stylists behind some of the greatest looks we see — even though we actually should.
This year, the 2019 Stars of Style issue had some surprises for me. For starters, the title of Hollywood’s most powerful stylist went to Tom Eerebout and Sandra Amador, who individuals who you may not have heard of, but you certainly know their work. Oh, and I’d like to point out that they’ve NEVER been on the Power Stylists list before.
These two have been the masterminds behind dressing Lady Gaga, who has had quite the year of red carpets, show premieres, and acceptance speeches. And while Gaga has always had her pulse on designers and the brands that many would scoff at (but would later call cool), I’m happy to see her entering this phase in her artistry where meat dresses are swapped out with Valentino, and costume-looking accessories are replaced with Tiffany & Co. diamonds.
But how do people even get on this list?
Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the work of a stylist is evaluated over awards season. This immediately made me think, then, of all the stylists who we consistently interact with on social media, but who would have been out of the running because they may dress celebrities who aren’t actors, per se. Of course, as is with everything in Hollywood, there are big factors that go into this game.
“The weightiest factors are star power, style and social media — whose A-list clients are driving the conversation in the $2.4 trillion fashion industry, and whose looks are consistently topping best-dressed lists,” said THR.
While some could feel that this isn’t…fair (it seemingly feels like you already have to have power and influence to even shine), it makes sense. For me, I want to see more stylists of color having access to celebrities and building out their portfolios with large and diverse body of works. However, there were some other surprises on the list that definitely made me smile. I was happy to see a few more diverse stylists on the list this year, rounding out a clientele who, arguably, is full of Black folk.
Below, I’ve listed out the 25 stylists, and if you’re a fashion geek or just love a good slay, I HIGHLY urge you to research and study each one of these people.
