A Candid Hour With Marcellas Reynolds, Part 2

We continue our chat with stylist extraordinaire and TV personality Marcellas Reynolds in Part 2 of our Trendsetters interview, where we talk about fall trends, pinch me moments and what’s in store for Mr. Reynolds in the future. (Be sure to read Part 1 of our candid conversation as well!)

It’s hard to believe but fall is almost here. Let’s talk about fall trends.

This fall particularly is a continuation of things that were really good from spring and from last winter. So you’re going to see color blocking done in ways that are wittier like artful ways. I think you’re going to see a real return of luxury… it’s not going to be about trends it’s going to be about quality. Like really beautiful cashmere oversized sweaters, bold shapes, oversized coats. Pair a big shape with something that’s small, and juxtaposing those shapes. But at the core of it, it’s really good, solid design. It’s not trendy, it’s not neon, it’s not the crop top. And I think accessories are going to be something that’s really big. All of my clients want statement jewelry again, they want a good purse. My male clients are looking at watches, they want really good, important watches. And they want precision cut — I’ve never had so many clients buying Tom Ford suits in my life.

And right now, a trend that I’m seeing, especially with my male clients, is the return of classic menswear, like a three piece suit. Guys want to throw their blazer open and have a vest under the blazer. They want to take off the blazer and have a vest under it. I’m not a vest boy, but I have respect for it. Menswear, I feel, always drags like a season or two behind womenswear. So you’re going to see a lot of guys in floral shirts, that two seasons ago wouldn’t have touched that. You’re going to see a lot more of that sort of primary colors with red, green, white worn with black.

And for women?

I think for women, the whole floral thing is going to continue, it’s still going to be about prints, it’s still going to be about artfully mixing prints. So you’ll see florals mixed with plaids, you’ll see plaids mixed with polka dots.

So if you can choose staples for fall, what would they be?

A really amazing coat, in camel or grey, that’s a big coat, that’s maybe a bit oversized that you would normally go for.  And take that coat and don’t be afraid to buy a big leather belt to bring it in, to create shape. So you’ll wear it big one day, and next day you’ll wear it with a belt to bring it in. The next day you’ll pull it in really tight and don’t button it and maybe even wear it as a dress. So get the big statement coat, but get it in a classic color, get camel, get gray, don’t be afraid of black.

Statement jewelry. Not that crazy color not that plastic thing that we have been going through for a while. Something with really big crystals.

Something like a Lanvin?

Yes, one of those big, beautiful overdone jewel-encrusted bracelets, jewel-encrusted necklaces. It’s not about wearing something once anymore, it’s about wearing it all the time because it’s personal to you and it resonates with you. So don’t be afraid to wear it over and over again because it’s you and you feel great in it. And it works with a white shirt, it works with a turtle neck. Get a turtleneck! The turtleneck has reemerged as a layering piece. You can wear it with a suit,  throw a big beautiful piece of jewelry under it and a high-waisted skirt, and you are ready! It’s also about trousers again. All my women clients went from wanting the shortest skirt possible, to wanting really good trousers.

So where would you send your clients shopping this season? 

I’m sending all my girls to Wolford, I want them to get really cool tights that have texture. This fall I want to see a lot of mixing textures, so it’s not just about the wool skirt but, the wool skirt with a great pair of tweed tights, worn with a cool pair of low boots.

Maybe some leather?

Definitely there’s some leather mixed in! Mohair sweater with a black leather skirt, with a pair of textured tights. It’s all about stuff that makes people want to touch you. ‘Oh, I love your sweater! Oh, I love the texture of your tights!’ That just brings interest to other areas as well. I’m tired of the booty, I’m tired of the decolletage, so I want to see girls wearing tights and color on the leg. Keep it sexy, even if it’s a pair of hoes with the seam up the back. That’s sexy and interesting.

Are we going to see you in New York for Fashion Week?

I will probably be there covering it for Good Day LA, but right now I just started working for Celeb TV here (in Chicago). They’re trying to expand and make it a little more fashion-y because it’s going national. It’s always been national, in a way, but it’s more national in thinking. So it’s not just entertainment anymore, we just did a whole bunch of fashion stuff.

What else are you working on?

Celeb TV,  I’m really excited about. In LA I just shot a pilot for a TLC show that I hope gets picked up. I just signed a deal with a new production company and we’ll be pitching straight forward fashion shows. I also do Good Day Chicago whenever I’m in town, I do Good Day LA in LA of course. I’m already thinking about Award Season — it’s already August, and the first one is in September. So I will be in LA covering award season like I did last year for Good Day LA, a little bit for E!.

What was your pinch me moment? 

I have been blessed to have so many ‘pinch me’ moments and it pisses people off [laughs]! I ended up doing Big Brother and I ended up doing it twice, that’s the thing that brought me to LA. I was the first gay guy on that show. Big Brother didn’t resonate as much for me as it did the fans, because I had had so many other ‘pinch me’ moments in other ways. When I was a model I opened Ralph Lauren and it was a fluke that I got it, because Tyson for some reason dropped out and I happened to be in New York. My booker was like, ‘You look like Tyson and fit the clothes,’ and I ended up opening and closing the show. And from that show, I ended up doing and closing Nautica that season. So that was a ‘pinch me’ moment to be in that opening Ralph Lauren. That rush I’ll never forget. Another incredible moment was working with Sharon Stone in LA, and going to her house for the first time. That was so crazy! I think she’s the last of Hollywood royalty.

That’s incredible! Do you have a good Sharon Stone story for us? 

I go to Sharon Stone’s house, I get past security, her house manager ushers us in and I’m in her house! There’s a picture of her with the Dali Lama, there’s all her art…It’s all very surreal. She kept us waiting a little bit, and the more she kept us waiting the more nervous we got. Eventually, she came downstairs in her yoga pants and messy hair. She was the nicest person, and she was so easy to work with and so drama-free. There’s a lot of drama around her, it’s because you’re dealing with the publicist, the agents… But when I dealt with her, it was amazing. She is smart, funny and easy.

There was this moment that I would love to share with you. Part of her character research was what underwear would the woman she’d play wear? Those details are very important because they informed her of her character, and she uses that to immerse herself in the character. So my visit to her house becomes about underwear very quickly: So we want cheap stuff? Do we want expensive stuff? So I’m sitting there with my assistant, and Sharon Stone Indian style on the floor with like 20 grand worth of underwear in the middle of us. And Sharon pops off her shirt, pops on a bra, her and Candace (my assistant) are sitting there talking about boob size and bras, and it just dawns on me –I am the envy of every man in the world right now.

 

All photos via Marcellas Reynolds Instagram