They’ve been lurking away and are now emerging from behind the scenes and into the spotlight, becoming celebrities themselves. It is becoming clear that a stylist can work wonders for a celebrity’s career, bringing them out of obscurity and positioning them in the growing line of celebrity style icons. Does the personal stylist actually improve a celebrity’s reputation and public appeal, or do they just provide a stylish screen for them to hide behind?
As much as we look up to these celebrities and gossip about their fashion triumphs and faux-pas, there is often no real connection and we are left wondering whether they are actually responsible for their enviable looks or whether they have just been dressed up like a child’s doll.
Someone that gives off this vibe to me is Cheryl Cole. She is styled by Victoria Adcock, celebrity stylist and a regular contributor to Numero magazine. While she is always immaculately stunning, it’s difficult to distinguish where Victoria ends and Cheryl begins. Looking back on Cheryl’s style, she has made quite a transition, ditching tracksuits and crop tops in favour of shift dresses and sky high heels – under the instruction of Victoria. She is a shining example of how styling can re-invent a celebrity and portray an image that the public will react to. This then poses the question of whether she is really worthy of her style icon status.
A series of tabloid scandals involving her marriage painted the picture of a beautiful yet broken Cheryl and earned her a place in the nation’s hearts. This then led to a position on the judging panel of reality show X Factor and ultimately resulted in extensive media exposure. This exposure called for a wardrobe makeover and the new big haired, tanned and glamorous Cheryl was unveiled. It is fair to say that this change of image has resulted in some major career breakthroughs, and it has certainly caused her to be taken seriously within the fashion industry. With a British Vogue cover and an endorsement deal with L’oreal under her belt she seems unstoppable, but I just don’t buy it. Good styling has obviously done her many favours, but I can’t help but think that she has carefully moulded into this person we know and love. The same down to earth girl with the Geordie charm is still underneath it all, but it just doesn’t correlate with the size zero figure and extravagant designer dresses.
Stylists have the ability to create a character for a celebrity, one that entertains the public and gains their adoration. However, these characters make it impossible for us to see the real person behind the fashionable facade. While we all remember Lady Gaga bursting onto the scene last year with her dramatic make-up and leotards, she has recently transformed into this elusive figure that continuously shocks her audience through fashion. The eagerly anticipated video for her new song Telephone provides us with almost 10 minutes of Gaga as a conniving murderess and presents a series of outrageous outfits, one in particular involving some strategically placed caution tape. Much like her icons David Bowie and Madonna, she constantly reinvents herself and enthrals audiences with her theatrical performances. Lady Gaga has also gained the recognition and support of many fashion designers, who now beg her to wear their designs, placing her firmly within the fashion industry.
While most people are unable to understand Gaga’s seemingly strange personality and her desire to wear telephones and Coke cans in her hair, I recognise it as making a statement and trying to retain a private life by living through this unpredictable character. With some valuable styling from Nicola Formichetti, the creative director of Dazed and Confused magazine, Gaga has managed to enhance her career significantly. Her music is catchy and she is an undeniably talented singer and musician, but I don’t believe that she would have achieved her icon status without a brilliant stylist behind her. The creative input of Formichetti has created this mysterious air around Gaga and let’s face it, whether you’re a fan or not you can’t help but wonder what she’s going to do next.
We live in a society that takes great pleasure in mocking less stylish celebrities and praising those that get it right, so it is no surprise to me that most celebrities turn to stylists to boost their public appeal. As the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie, Nicole Richie was already known for being a regular on the LA club scene, but her friendship with Paris Hilton and appearance on the reality show The Simple Life presented her to the public. Whilst being the more outspoken and mischievous one, Nicole appeared to be slightly overweight and very misguided in her fashion choices. She enlisted the help of celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and stepped back into the spotlight, carrying a lot less weight, but oozing with style.
Zoe is notorious for producing an army of size zero, fake tanned celebrities with sunglasses and hairstyles bigger than their bodies, and Richie endured rumours of anorexia after her collaboration with Zoe. However, she is now considered a style icon and owns her own jewellery line, House of Harlow. It appears that the anorexic headlines back in 2006 brought Nicole back into the spotlight, and that her new found sense of style has given her a purpose in the celebrity world. Most socialites seem to be famous through association and Nicole is no exception, but yet she is still part of the A-list. The decision to hire a stylist has been integral to Nicole’s success and has essentially provided her with a career as she has become accepted in fashion circles.
It’s easy to forget that there are still some celebrities out there that do opt to style themselves and still manage to be considered style icons without the assistance of a celebrity stylist.
Top of this list is the ultra-stylish Kate Moss. She was single-handedly responsible for the outbreak of skinny jeans and ballet flats in the summer of 2005, and has since been a walking advertisement for any upcoming trend. In 2007 we were able to emulate her style ourselves as the Kate Moss line for Topshop was unveiled and she became the queen of the high street, as well as the catwalk. As a prominent figure in the fashion industry since the 1990s Kate has secured her place as a style icon. Having an eye for style could be down to her years of being styled by world-famous stylists and being in the habit of having to look immaculate at all times as a supermodel.
It’s rare to come across an interview with Kate and she never makes public appearances. However, she is a regular fixture in the tabloids where details about her love life, drug use, and party girl behaviour are put in front of us, leaving us to create our own perceptions of what she is really like. Perhaps Kate’s way of communicating to her fans and expressing her personality is through her style, and it seems to work. Being a style icon keeps her in the public eye in a way that she feels comfortable exposing herself. It seems ironic that a supermodel that has had no problems with posing naked in the past is shy around her fans, but fashion has created her and is where she feels comfortable.
American actress and model, Chloe Sevigny is known for her impeccable sense of style, something that earned her an internship at Sassy magazine when she moved to New York at the age of 18. She has since branched out to act in movies and television series’ and has established herself in fashion circles. Part of Chloe’s appeal is that she doesn’t need to rely on a stylist to create her eccentric style. She is also quite the chameleon, being able to work the geek chic look by day, and turn into a Hollywood starlet by night. She knows how to emphasise her best assets, choosing extremely high hem-lines to show off her endless legs, and often goes for particularly quirky footwear to perfect her look.
Chloe has created her own fashion line for Manhattan company Opening Ceremony, and has previously been the face of the Chloe brand and a muse to Michael Kors, cementing her place within the fashion industry. It’s refreshing that she has paved the way for herself using her own style initiative, which is a rarity these days. She is also a popular actress, meaning that she probably doesn’t need her icon status to draw attention to herself. However, I personally haven’t seen any of her films, but could recite a summary of her signature style off the top of my head. Not having a stylist allows her to express her individual style, but being such a reputable stylish persona could distract from any serious acting roles that she undertakes. There is no doubt that she is successful, but I wonder whether her involvement in fashion could have provided her with these opportunities.
Much like Cheryl Cole, actress Kirsten Dunst has gone through a major transformation during the course of her career. However, she seems to have gone the opposite way to Cheryl, changing from the cute all-American girl, to a grungy wild child. This is reflected in her scruffy-meets-vintage style. A visit to rehab and a string of rock star lovers has contributed to the public’s perception of her, which consists of mixed reviews. Many tabloids and style bloggers have ridiculed Dunst for her often dishevelled appearance, while some advise readers on how to ‘get her look’ and praise her for her laid-back approach to fashion. Refusing to employ a personal stylist, Kirsten is considered to be a style icon with her thrown together looks, and never fails to make an impact.
Kirsten’s style is very identifiable and it is admirable that she chooses to style herself and retain her personality within her clothes. To me, this means that she is worthy of her style icon status as she dresses as she pleases despite the critics, however this could have adverse effects on her career. Kirsten has enjoyed a long and triumphant acting career, carrying her through her childhood and into her 20s, but this drastic change in her style could distract from her acting career and cause people to stop taking her seriously as an actress.
Personal stylists can provide a character for a celebrity to hide behind, which leaves us wondering who they really are. However, it has become clear to me that the celebrities without stylists tend to do this for themselves, the only difference is that they create their own individual style to hid behind. While I agree that the styled celebrities do look great the majority of the time, I believe that any celebrity that rejects stylists and uses their own creativity is worthy of the style icon label. I also think that they would probably still be famous and likeable without this label, but living in the day and age that we do, all celebrities are put under pressure to look flawless and are scrutinised by society if they fail to do so.
We are now being forced to recognise how influential stylists can be, and how they are responsible for a lot more than handing clothes to our idols. While the concept of these stylists gaining celebrity status off the backs of their famous clients may irritate some people, there’s no denying that they have a profound impact on the success of a celebrity’s career. I’m sure that some celebrities have a say in the outfits they wear, but next time you ‘steal a celebrity’s style’ remember that behind most stylish celebrities is a styling mastermind that has carefully pieced together that image.
0 comments:
Post a Comment