Styling — the business and art of dressing people, be they actors, TV stars, models or anyone with enough money to spend on wardrobe aid — is a changing business. Where in the past the focus may have been on the avant- garde and the exceptional (remember Lady Gaga’s meat dress in 2010), today celebrities are as likely to make an appearance in a tracksuit and Timberland boots. As the trend for relatable, street-led styles has crept on to the catwalk, so a more utilitarian wearable style has arrived on the red carpet and beyond: the new mood is one of uncompromising realness, stripped of artifice and irrespective of price tags.
Arguably, this change is down to social media, where huge audiences look to platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat to observe a star’s style offstage as much as their appearance on it. Where a celebrity might once have enthralled with a single red-carpet ensemble, today it’s their daily wardrobe that is subject to constant scrutiny.
It’s perhaps ironic then that the new focus on “natural” style, the sense that an individual has crafted their look instinctively, is increasingly the work of another. And while we may not be familiar with the names of these super-stylists, we’re all feeling their influence.