If you’re wondering whether famed celebrity stylist (or “image architect”) Law Roach is still retired following the announcement he made seemingly out of the blue last March, the answer is kind of…not really. “My agent forced me not to be retired anymore because so many amazing people are asking to work with me,” he tells W over the phone. It’s a good problem to have. And there’s no doubt things have changed—if only slightly—for Roach since his “retirement.” The stylist can now be choosier. “I’ll do a couple of special projects and then I’ll go away for hopefully a long time,” he says. Until Zendaya makes another movie, of course.
Since the beginning of the year, Roach has been on a nonstop, whirlwind tour. He dressed his original muse, Zendaya, for two major press cycles, and styled his other favorite client, Celine Dion, for a Grammys appearance and Vogue France’s cover. Now, he’s joining Julia Fox as the judge of E!’s new design competition show, OMG Fashun, which asks contestants to turn trash into couture treasure to be worn on one of Fox’s famous pap walks. This isn’t the first time Roach has sat on a judging panel—fans will remember his tenure on two cycles of America’s Next Top Model as well as his Simon Cowell-esque critiques on Max’s Legendary. Roach remains aggressively honest on OMG, but there’s an added bit of lightness and fun in his interactions with Fox on the show’s Mr.-Rogers-meets-Park-Slope-brownstone set. Below, Roach speaks on his love affair with white Louboutin pumps and provides some unsettling news regarding Zendaya’s Met Gala dress.
How would you describe OMG Fashun to someone who hasn’t watched it yet?
It’s fun. It’s lighthearted. It’s very camp, which I enjoy. To me, it’s RuPaul’s Drag Race meets Project Runway.
What made you want to sign on for the show in the first place?
I heard the premise was about highlighting emerging designers as well as sustainability The show, of course, takes it to another level, but I’ve been preaching the message of sustainability through archive and vintage on the red carpet for years now. So it lined up with some of my core values.
Then, production mentioned Julia Fox was involved, and if there’s anyone who talks the talk and also walks the walk, it’s Julia. Her whole ethos is wearing emerging designers and upcycling. And she actually asked for me, which I thought was incredible, because I only knew her in passing. We met at a couple of events and I think her stylist, [Briana Andalore], is brilliant.
What was it like to work with Julia?
Julia doesn’t take herself too seriously. You go to work with someone you really haven’t been in intimate spaces or a working environment with and you’re like, “We could really love each other, or really hate each other.” And we actually got along from the first day. We were just all over each other. So that made it fun. I was able to poke fun at her. She poked fun at me. We would be on the floor dying laughing in between takes.
I assume you styled yourself for the show. How was that experience different than styling a client?
It was a bit nerve-racking. Julia encouraged me to play with the wardrobe and makeup a more, which I had never really done before. So I just tried a bunch of stuff. There’s one look that was a little risqué for me. But I thought, “Let’s just go for it.”
I started out a bit more demure compared to Julia, and by episode three I was encouraged by the things Julia and [Andalore] were pulling out. And it ended up being so much fun. If people like it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t. Whatever. I was happy doing it.
Tell me about your judging style. Has it evolved at all since Legendary?
I’m always the tough-love judge on anything I do—that’s where I tend to land. But this show is just so much more lighthearted. So I curated my style of judging to fit what was needed for the show, while still being myself. The reads and quick comebacks are who I am.
Let’s talk about the Challengers press tour. Are you happy with how everything turned out?
I’m extremely happy. And [Zendaya] now has the number-one movie in the country, so the small part I played in the movie’s success is very rewarding for me. I was there for my sister and my muse. But there were a lot of clothes, and some days she didn’t feel like putting all of them on, so I had to push a little bit. But I think the outcome was amazing.
Do you have a favorite look from the tour?
The Venus and Serena Williams Carolina Herrera moment was a beautiful tribute to two women who actually changed the face of tennis. The Althea Gibson tribute, too, because without Althea, there probably wouldn’t have been a Venus and Serena. As far as pure fashion moments, my favorite is the Thom Browne in London. The braid, the bow in the hair, and that gown were all amazing. We like to be literal sometimes with the looks. That dress was covered in tennis rackets, and if you hear that without seeing it, it sounds ridiculous. But when you see it and know the story, it’s just ridiculously beautiful.
You provided a history of fashion, but also a history of tennis through fashion.
Yeah, I’m crazy and I want to stay up and do research and call designers in the middle of the night and ask them to make me dresses a week before a premiere. I called Thom Browne’s team like, “Hey, can you make me a dress?” And they were like, “When do you need it?” I was like, “Oh, in about nine days.” They were like, “Law…” But they made it happen, and that look was incredible.
I also wanted to ask you about the white Louboutin pumps Zendaya is always wearing. Why do you continuously return to those?
The white Louboutin So Kate style has played a huge role in our whole career. That actually started with the first Spider-Man movie. I think she wore that same shoe the entire press tour. It’s just become a staple.
It was slightly inspired by Kerry Washington. I think Olivia Pope wore the white pump a couple of times in Scandal and Kerry wore it while doing press, so we adapted that from her. The white Louboutin So Kate is the third partner in this relationship. So we have our own throuple: it’s me, Zendaya, and the white So Kate.
Of course, the Met Gala is coming up, and Zendaya is a cohost. Is there anything you can say about her look?
As of two days ago, we didn’t have a dress. We had some ideas for a dress, but we didn’t have a dress confirmed. And that has been keeping me up at night. But I can say that as of last night, we finally have a dress. It was stressful, but we got a dress a week before the Met Gala, the biggest fashion event in the world. It’s in pieces, but they’re getting sewn together.
You haven’t attended the Met with Zendaya since 2019. How are you feeling, going into Monday night?
Her fans and people who follow my work have been dreaming about us coming back—and they got their wish. I just hope everybody is excited and I hope I can be excited once I actually see this completed dress. Nobody believes me that we don’t have a finished dress since she got the call to be a cohost months ago, but Dune and Challengers were my priority. The Met Gala took a backseat to all those other things, and then I looked up and it was two weeks away from the Met and I had nothing! But the universe will always protect and provide, so I’m counting on that.
The first two episodes of OMG Fashun premiere on E! on May 6th, followed by two new episodes every Monday.