Law Roach Comes Home to Chicago to Launch the Hervé Léger x Law Roach Collection at Neiman Marcus Michigan Avenue

Law Roach is a Chicagoan at heart. The top celebrity stylist and image architect has earned many accolades in his career — from styling Hollywood stars like Zendaya and Celine Dion, to being the first African American stylist to cover the annual The Hollywood Reporter’s Stylist & Star issue, and most recently, receiving the inaugural CFDA Stylist Award — it is safe to assume that Roach has made it. But along with having all this recognition and fame, coming home to Chicago to launch his Hervé Léger x Law Roach collaboration at Neiman Marcus Michigan Avenue was something deeply personal, humbling, and somewhat of a full circle for Roach.

“When I was growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Neiman Marcus and all the luxury stores on Michigan Avenue were unattainable for me,” he said.  “I couldn’t imagine myself setting foot at such a luxurious store, let alone being featured in it.  … So when they wanted me to launch my Hervé Léger collab in a New York or Los Angeles store, I said, ‘No, it has to be Chicago.’ I wanted to show all the young kids on the South Side of Chicago who may feel that these dreams are impossible, that in fact they are. It happened to me!”

Indeed it did.

“We are delighted to welcome Law back to his hometown of Chicago for the launch of his collection at Neiman Marcus,” said Jodi Kahn, Vice President of Luxury Fashion, Neiman Marcus.“We continue to be impressed by Law’s ability to push fashion forward both on the red carpet and off. We believe our customers will love Law’s creative direction and interpretation of the brand’s iconic styles.”

The Hervé Léger x Law Roach Resort 2022 collection includes 25 women’s ready-to-wear pieces, all inspired from Hervé Léger’s DNA with Roach’s special touch: Resurrecting elements of the brand’s iconic archive including classic stripes, ribbon embroidery and fabric mixing.

I caught up with Roach during the launch event at Neiman Marcus Michigan Avenue to talk his Hervé collab, recent CFDA award, personal style and much more. He is soft-spoken, honest, kind, and — you guessed it — impeccably dressed.  Read on.

FashionFiles: Congratulations for receiving the first ever CFDA Stylist Award. It is such a huge honer. How do you feel?

Law Roach: I still feel overwhelmed in a way. To get such an honor but also to be the first. I still feel goosebumps. I brought it to Chicago. Joy is probably the best word to describe it. I feel joy.

FF: It takes a very special kind of person to be able to make other people look good. How did you decide to take on this career?

LW: I really didn’t choose this life. I think the life kind of chose me. Fashion has always been something I was in love with and intrigued by, but during the time I grew up in Chicago we didn’t know fashion was a viable career. You could be a fashion designer but not too much else. So when the Internet exploded and the world became a smaller place you start to see that you can do more. You start to see people do the things that you would hope to do one day.

FF: Let’s talk about how your collaboration with Hervé Léger came about? You are known for your love of the archives, is this what inspired the collab?

LW: Hervé is an iconic brand, that’s undeniable. We all lived through the era where the Hervé bandage dress was the dress. They have a new creative director, who has revitalized the brand and I am a fan of his work. He created this dress that I ended up using for one of my clients, and the dress did really well in retail. [Editor’s Note: The client was Tiffany Haddish and Roach styled her in the Hervé Léger Ruffle Cutout Mini Dress, which went viral and sold out immediately.] After that they reached out wondering if I would do a small capsule collection with the brand. And I said, ‘Absolutely!’ For me to work side by side with a house that is so iconic, so known, I was very flattered.

Part of the collection is based on archives, the classic bandage dress, the striped bandage dress, that was the Supermodels’ dress. So yes, I got a chance to see the archives and touch some of the old clothes and have a real conversation about the linage of the brand.

FF: Did you put your own twist onto the bandage dress?

LW: I did add the striped gloves. But I wanted to do something that truly payed homage to the archives.

FF: You are a fashion icon in your own right. Talk to us about your own style inspirations.

LW: I am always evolving my personal style, and I think that happens the more experiences you have, the more you travel and the more you see other things. I am just a sponge, you know. I am a sponge when it comes to my career but I am also a sponge when it comes to learning new things for myself. I don’t always get it right; I make fashion mistakes all the time, but I am OK with that. So yeah, for me [style] is just ever-evolving and I go through stages.

FF: Who is your style icon?

LW: I have a few actually: Grace Jones, Cher, and Prince.

FF: In addition to being an image architect, you are a judge on HBO’s “Legendary,” and most recently you joined British Vogue as a contributor and West Coast editor. How do you do it all?

LW: [Laughs] You know, I still love the job. I love the experiences, and the more experiences the better. When I got the British Vogue position I felt a great deal of responsibility to have that title behind my name. Editorial is something that I started doing more recently with celebrities and I love it just as much. If I had the opportunity I am going to do it all.

FF: So what’s next?

LW: I am really hoping to have some type of big collaboration with Target or one of those retailers. I really want to do something that I am able to touch the masses. Inasmuch as my Hervé collab is very niche it is still a higher price point. I want to do something where everyone can have a small piece of me or my brand. A little something that everybody can take home. Hopefully that will happen soon.

FF. What is your advice to all young kids inspired by you, who want to follow your path?

Two things: Believe in yourself and learn everything about the job you want to do.

The Hervé Léger  x Law Roach Resort 2022 collection and experience is now available at Neiman Marcus Michigan Avenue store in Chicago, 737 N. Michigan Ave.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.