Even if you don't know Roach's face, you've seen his work — whether you've picked up a fashion magazine in recent years or filled your Instagram with A-list stars. Think of Zendaya's 2015 Oscar outfit, a delicate white satin Vivian Westwood dress offset by a barrage of brunette braids, the reaction to which sparked conversations about discrimination against black hair, or the slate gray Ariana Grande wore at the 2020 Les My Awards, the 20-foot-wide Gimbardistal-Valley tulle dress, or the vintage Bob McKee wedding dress Anya Taylorjoy wore at the premiere of Emma the same year. These timeless looks, to name a few, are the work of Chicago-born stylist Roach, who discovered a knack for designing fashion moments that break the noise of a typical red carpet.
Zendaya attends the Oscars in Los Angeles
Roach received the Council of Fashion Designers' first-ever Stylist of the Year award Monday night, his second major professional honor in two months. At the end of September he was shortlisted for the TIME100 Next list, a list of emerging leaders shaping their respective industries. Last year, Roach made history by becoming the first black "most capable stylist" to top The Hollywood Reporter's annual rankings, a title he received again in 2022.
"I'm a little nervous, I think it's too close to me," he said in a telephone interview before the CFDA awards ceremony. "I live in a bubble and my work is basically the most important. So I don't think I really have enough time to really understand how big these things are. Always, 'Oh, I appreciate it. I'm humble, sincere, but I have to go to work.
Anya Taylor attended the Los Angeles premiere
This diligence can be traced back to Roach's humble beginnings in retail. After selling second-hand items from his car to friends, he opened an antique shop in Chicago Halstead, delicious vintage. In 2009, Kanye West stumbled upon a visit to TMZ to make store coverage landing, after which he first came into contact with styling as a profession. "We started getting all these calls from stylists, all over the world. New York, Los Angeles, London or Paris. I was impressed by so many people having this job.
Soon after, he devoted himself to the strategy of bluffing and assertiveness. "It's really just pretending until you make it," he said. "That's what I say when I meet people. I would say, 'I'm a stylist. Today, there is no fake it. Roach now has more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram and has a team of six assistants in the US and Europe to help manage his strong client roster, which includes Grande, Taylor-Joy, Bella Hadid, Megan West Stallion, Keck Palmer and, of course, Zendaya.
Roach and Zendaya attend Valentino Spring/Summer 2023 womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week on October 2
His career is intrinsically linked to the Emmy-winning actor, who affectionately calls him "annoying sister." The two met when Zendaya was 14, in the first season of her Disney show "Shake It." It was through their creative relationship that Roach says he began his real work, learning the everyday realities of celebrity looks. "I worked very hard to figure out the ins and outs of being a stylist because I really didn't have a mentor and I was never anyone's assistant or intern.
Roach, the only stylist Zendaya has worked with, made history in 2021 as the youngest recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Idol Award. "We grew up together, we built our careers together," Roach said. "We're still working together now, and if we wanted to, we could work together for the next 30 years." In a way, we've become a blueprint for the relationship between people who want talent and stylists, and that's a beautiful thing.
Together they built a fashion empire. Among the numerous Metropolitan Museum of Art charity ball looks in New York, including Joan of Arc-inspired looks, custom Versace dresses and chain mail themed around the 2018 event's "Celestial," and disruptive red carpet moments such as the pink Tom Ford chrome breastplate worn at the 2020 Critics' Choice Awards, the duo's clothing combination was both bold and successful.
To create Zendaya's Dune press conference costume, Roach relied entirely on her narration of the film. "All her clothes were inspired by the movies, but I didn't see it until Venice. So it's just her very descriptive words," he said. According to Roach, Zendaya chose the headline leather body-fitting dress she wore at the Venice Film Festival premiere two years ago at the Fall/Winter 2020 ready-to-wear fair in Paris. "When that series walked by, she just said "this is very dune" and I reached out to Olivier and his team.
Ariana Grande attends the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards
While fleeting, the right viral moment can make a powerful impact, a social media trend that Roach is often able to capitalize on. In 2016, his client Celine Dion wore a street-style snapshot of the sophisticated Titanic-themed Vetements hoodie, reviving the singer's costume relevance overnight. (Dion's song "My Heart Will Go On" is the main soundtrack for James Cameron's 1997 film.) She is now widely regarded as a playful fashion mainstay.
"I think I'm definitely a benefactor of social media," Roach said, though he insists that virality is not something he consciously considers. "Sometimes we think you're only as good as you were last time," he added. "There's a mental pressure to (not only) succeed, but to stay successful and relevant and do something that attracts new people who want to work with you... It's not just about finding the prettiest clothes.
Zendaya walks the red carpet ahead of the premiere of "Dune" at the Venice Film Festival
While his work is easy to see him leaving behind the scenes, Roach himself has become a celebrity himself. He served as a judge on the reboot of "America's Next Next Supermodel" and is currently a judge on the HBO Max show "Legends," and his criticism and commentary is just that. (HBO and HBO Max are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company.)
Many may find the limelight intimidating, but Roach's obligation to improve fashion representation is greater. "For someone who looks like me, I don't have any reference point for where I'm coming from," he said. "I'm a poor black boy from the South Side of Chicago, so now where I'm from a little black boy can say, 'Well, the law has become a success.'"
With awards starting to pile up and much of Hollywood being speed-dialed, a natural question could be who is at the top of Roach's red carpet wish list? Aside from a quick lament about never being able to dress Prince, the powerhouse's answer was decidedly simple: "I wake up every morning grateful that I still have a job."