Law Roach is a name that has become synonymous with Hollywood glamour and red carpet fashion. With a client list that included the likes of Zendaya, Celine Dion, and Ariana Grande, Roach was at the top of his game as a stylist to the stars. However, to the surprise of many, he announced his resignation from the industry in 2020, leaving many wondering why. In this article, we explore the reasons behind Roach’s decision to leave at the peak of his career and what his departure means for the fashion industry.
Law Roach, the self-proclaimed “image architect” behind the looks of many famous stars, recently announced his retirement. Despite his lack of name recognition for the general public, Roach’s impact on the fashion industry has been tremendous. From his work as a stylist for Céline Dion to transforming Zendaya into a red-carpet star, Roach has a formidable legacy.
Roach was the first Black stylist to appear on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter’s annual “most powerful stylists” issue in 2017. He has been a judge on numerous TV shows including America’s Next Top Model and Legendary, an HBO voguing competition. In November 2020, Roach won the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s first-ever stylist award.
However, in a recent interview with the Cut, Roach cited the industry’s racism and nepotism as leading to his retirement. He stated, “I haven’t been happy, honestly, in a really long time … I can’t say that I didn’t do that without suffering. And I think as Black people in this country, it’s embedded in us to suffer, right?”
Despite his retirement from styling, Roach plans to remain active in the fashion scene. He intends to focus on his own style and become more of a public figure. Roach is not the first stylist to transition from a celebrity stylist to a celebrity in their own right.
One of the most notable examples is Rachel Zoe, who was responsible for the fashion styles of celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan in the early 2000s. Rachel Zoe was so closely associated with her clients’ aesthetics that she began to get photographed regularly at events. She then landed her own reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project, and quit styling others to pursue her own business ventures.
The arrival of Instagram in 2010 led to a transformative shift for stylists in the fashion industry. Stylists who had previously worked behind the scenes could use social media to provide access to their celebrity clients in a way that had not previously been possible. As a result, they were able to rapidly increase their followers and monetize their work.
Roach is already in an excellent position to explore new options because of his social media presence and relationships with fashion houses and editors. He has more than one million followers on Instagram and has already started his new fashion career by walking the runway with Naomi Campbell for a Boss fashion show in Miami.
Overall, Roach’s retirement is a significant opportunity for him to shift his focus and start a new chapter in his career. It will be interesting to see how he leverages his existing relationships and talent to create even more influential work in the fashion industry.
In conclusion, Law Roach’s decision to leave his thriving career as a stylist to the stars was a bold move. While it may seem counterintuitive to walk away from a profession that brought him immense success and skyrocketed him to fame, Roach’s desire for personal growth and creativity ultimately led him in a new direction. His decision serves as a reminder that success is not always measured by external validation or financial gain, but rather by a sense of fulfillment in our chosen pursuits. Whatever the future holds for Law Roach, one thing is clear: his talent, passion, and fearlessness will continue to inspire and shape the fashion industry for years to come.
