25 Most Powerful Celebrity Stylists of 2012
Every actress worth her weight in Swarovski crystal knows: An agent procures the best roles, her publicist promotes them. But the real magic happens behind the scenes, where the right stylist can turn a star into watercooler Topic A (hey, Angelina’s right leg, hope you sent stylist Jen Rade flowers). But it’s not just buzz that Hollywood’s loveliest ladies seek: A stylist can help cinch a magazine cover, win their client beauty and fashion contracts or even an actress’ next role.
25. Ilaria Urbanti: A former retail buyer and current co-owner of L.A.’s hip boutique Confederacy, Urbinati also has styled the second season of Showtime’s The L Word. Her looks made splashes for The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev, who wore a red Donna Karan hourglass gown to the Emmys that propelled her from CW teen star to fashion plate, and Bradley Cooper, who cut a sharp figure at the Oscars in a navy shawl-lapel Tom Ford tux (his mustache got less favorable reviews). “A perfect fit. Strong color or structure. The wow factor” — these are on Urbinati’s checklist, and for this power-list newcomer, they’re absolutely getting done.
Clients: Nina Dobrev, Krysten Ritter, Bradley Cooper, Armie Hammer, Chris Evans, Joel Edgerton
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24. Arianne Phillips: Phillips focuses most of her attention on her A-list client, who directed the Wallis Simpson biopic W.E., for which the stylist designed the costumes and landed a best costume design Oscar nomination. (She also was nominated for best costume design for 2006’s Walk the Line.). For Phillips, her greatest style moment was a baby-blue Vionnet gown with red-beaded butterfly embellishments that the singer-director wore to the W.E. screening at the Venice Film Festival. “At the last minute, I had her wear these great red-glitter Miu Miu sunglasses, which added fun energy to the beautifully glamorous dress,” says Phillips. Another hit was Madonna’s fitted-bodice Reem Acra gown with a deep-green embroidered skirt, which she wore to the Globes with black leather gloves and a diamond-cross pendant. Phillips developed her sense of the theatrical from “working in New York as an assistant, during which time I met Lenny Kravitz through mutual friends,” she says. “He was recording his first album, so I started styling him.” One of Phillips’ more thrilling experiences was dominating a news cycle for putting Courtney Love in a “homeless” dress from the Dior couture 2000 collection: “I took one look at that dress on the runway and knew only Courtney could pull off deconstructed rock ’n’ roll couture. It was a great moment because the collection was so controversial.” Phillips is designing Madonna’s 2012 world tour costumes.
Client: Madonna
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23. George Kotsiopoulos: Kotsiopoulos styles nearly as many red-carpet moments as he commentates on as one of four regular critics on E!’s Fashion Police. His styling highlights include dressing supporting actress Oscar nominee Albert Nobbs’ McTeer in a custom draped garnet chiffon David Meister Signature evening gown for the Oscars and putting British blonde beauty Eve, who starred in She’s Out of My League and next appears in Men in Black III and the Star Trek sequel, in a ’70s vintage YSL animal print one-shoulder gown at the 2012 Art of Elysium gala. At his first styling job assisting Elizabeth Stewart (No. 4), Kotsiopoulos witnessed Freida Pinto’s Slumdog Millionaire breakout moment, when she wore an electric-blue, beaded one-shouldered John Galliano to the Oscars. It made an impression — he still prefers red-carpet surprises, and gives high marks to Paltrow’s caped crusader Tom Ford ensemble at the Oscars, and to Theron’s flapper look at the Globes, which he pronounces “unique and styled incredibly.” Ultimately, however, Kotsiopoulos’ attitude toward his day job is irreverent: “It is shows like Fashion Police that make actresses scared to take risks, but who really cares what we say about you?”
Clients: Janet McTeer, Alice Eve
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22. Johnny Wujek: "Crazy chic” is one way to describe Wujek’s sensibility. The stylist has carved out an unexpected niche contrasting radical hair colors with high-fashion labels, from Perry’s rock ’n’ roll blue ’do topping a lighter blue, delicately beaded Elie Saab couture gown at the Grammys, to Minaj’s pink hair setting off an emerald silk taffeta Oscar de la Renta ball gown at the AMAs. Wujek has developed great relationships with Miu Miu, Yves Saint Laurent, Viktor & Rolf, Balmain and Roland Mouret but is equally enthusiastic about promoting an unusual item, like the CuteCircuit pale-pink-and-white light-up dress worn by Perry at last year’s Met Costume Institute gala.“It made the cover of Women’s Wear Daily the next morning, which was exciting,” says Wujek, who worked as an intern on the 2003 indie feature Wonderland and assisted styling on commercials and music videos. The stylist, with his brand of surprising glamour, never takes away from his clients’ kooky personas — only enhances them.
Clients: Katy Perry, Kate Mara, Nicki Minaj
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21. Nicole Chavez: Chavez began her career working in the wardrobe department of The O.C., where she met loyal client Bilson (Hart of Dixie), for whom she later helped craft a girly hipster look. “We shared a very similar love for fashion,” says Chavez, who recalls dressing her young clients in Derek Lam and Brian Reyes, who were up-and-coming designers eight years ago. “New talent breeds new talent. Rachel introduced me to Kristen Bell, and that was when I really felt legitimate,” she says. Recent hits for the stylist: Bilson stepping out in a silver Chanel dress with metallic floral applique and a cool cropped motorcycle jacket for a pre-Oscar dinner hosted by the label, and Bell wearing a red lace Valentino top with a matching leather skirt at the People’s Choice Awards. Chavez’s favorite look this year was Heigl’s red Herve L. Leroux dress at January’s One for the Money premiere in New York. Says Chavez, who was then very pregnant (she and her husband, UTA agent Kevin Volchok, welcomed son Zev on Feb. 6
“I was just hoping I wasn’t going to go into labor in the middle of the press tour.”
Clients: Rachel Bilson, Kristen Bell, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Katherine Heigl
hollywoodreporter via metrictons @ livejournal.com
