Top Hollywood stylist Law Roach’s retirement has shocked the fashion world.

Roach, who is responsible for Zendaya’s style transformation, took to Instagram this week to reveal he was leaving the industry, writing: “The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me.”

But his retirement has also shone the spotlight on the men and women who dress the A-list for the red carpet and beyond.

Here are five of the most powerful stylists in Hollywood.

Jason Bolden

Clients: Michael B Jordan, Serena Williams, Alicia Keys, Angelina Jolie

Missouri native Bolden dressed Michael B Jordan in Louis Vuitton and Vanessa Hudgens in vintage Chanel for this year’s Academy Awards, as well as styling Yara Shahidi, Dwyane Wade, Sabrina Carpenter, DeWanda Wise and Trevor Noah for the after-parties.

Starting out as a pre-med student at Northwestern University, he transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago, breaking into styling when long-time friend, actress Gabrielle Union, asked him to help her dress for 2011’s Art Basel.

“She’s like, ‘Just find me something from your store to wear. Just bring it,’” Bolden told Fashionista. “It was a friend moment and I put her in this vintage Lanvin and it just went crazy.”

The star of 2019 Netflix show, Styling Hollywood, Bolden differs from his peers by eschewing rails of clothes for a minimalist approach: “If we’re doing the Oscars,” he told Vogue, “there’s probably going to be three options.”

Stand-out style moment: Michael B Jordan wearing Louis Vuitton and Tiffany brooches to present at this year’s Oscars

Karla Welch

Clients: Olivia Wilde, Ana de Armas, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Katy Perry, Karlie Kloss

Welch has fashion in her blood, getting her start by working at her father’s menswear store in British Columbia, Canada.

Landing actress and director Olivia Wilde as her first client, she now counts some of Hollywood’s most eclectic dressers among her clientele, as well as running her own label, XKarla.

A favourite of the Biebers, she designed more than 60 pieces for Justin’s 2012-2013 Believe World Tour, and has collaborated on a T-shirt line with the singer, who told Vogue: “Karla and I have always pushed boundaries together.”

Welch told W of her styling process: “You get to know someone, what sort of direction they want to go in, and you go from there.

“I just really think about them and think about what we are trying to say, and then we figure out how to articulate that through clothing.”

Stand-out style moment: Putting Justin Bieber in a Celine suit and Nike trainers to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in June 2021

Andrew Mukamal

Clients: Zoe Kravitz, Lily-Rose Depp, Kaia Gerber, Channing Tatum

The New York stylist is renowned for the cool energy he brings to his A-list clients’ looks. His longest collaboration is with actress Zoe Kravitz, whom he dressed for her 2019 wedding to Karl Glusman and in Saint Laurent and Oscar de la Renta for last year’s The Batman press tour.

“Zoe’s red carpet style is always changing,” he told Vogue. “We often look at classic pillars of style, things that we both love, and try to modernise or elevate them to a new place.”

Mukamal is also responsible for putting Billie Eilish in Rick Owens for the 2022 Grammys, and is the visionary behind many of model Kaia Gerber’s street-style looks, also dressing her for her first Met Gala in 2021.

Stand-out style moment: Zoe Kravitz’s velvet cat-head dress by Oscar de la Renta for The Batman press tour

Kate Young

Clients: Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Dakota Johnson, Sienna Miller

One of Hollywood’s most sought-after stylists, New Yorker Young has topped The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Stylists list three times.

Recently dressing Australian actress Margot Robbie in Alaia for the Babylon premiere, Young is responsible for selecting the red carpet looks for an array of stars, including Jennifer Lawrence and Selena Gomez, whom she has worked with regularly since 2014, telling the publication: “Every look with Selena tends to go viral.”

For this year’s Oscars, Young dressed best actress nominee Michelle Williams in Chanel couture and Tiffany jewels, and put Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner in sheer black Louis Vuitton for the Vanity Fair after-party.

“Kate is very collaborative,” Gomez told Vogue. “We usually start with a phone conversation or a FaceTime and she always asks me what I am thinking and how I want to feel for the particular event.”

Stand-out style moment: Dakota Johnson in a crystal, fringed Gucci dress for the Lost Daughter premiere at the 2021 Venice Film Festival

Jamie Mizrahi

Clients: Adele, Nicole Richie, Riley Keough, Suki Waterhouse

The stylist, who lives in Los Angeles, counts supermodels, singers, actresses and Hollywood royalty among her many clients. Having worked with British singer Adele for years, Mizrahi was tasked with styling the star’s press tour for her 30 album in 2021, personally selecting the 1940s and ’50s-inspired looks.

“I think it’s really important to think of the person before you think of yourself,” she told Fashionista. “It’s a collaboration. I’m not dressing Ashley Benson like I’m dressing Riley Keough; I’m not dressing Riley Keough like I’m dressing Suki Waterhouse.”

After starting her career at Vogue, Mizrahi moved from New York to LA where she landed Eva Mendes as her first client, dressing her for the 2013 Place Beyond the Pines press tour.

Soon, she was styling Katy Perry and Britney Spears, as well as co-founding beauty company Violet Grey and shapewear line Kit Undergarments.

Stand-out style moment: Adele in custom Armani at the 2022 Brit Awards

Updated: March 17, 2023, 4:08 AM