Celebrity stylist Law Roach may have shocked the fashion world on Tuesday with news of his retirement, but he isn’t resting on his laurels. On Wednesday, the man who helped make Zendaya a red carpet icon made his modeling debut at Boss’ fashion show in Miami.
Roach may be leaving his life as a celebrity stylist behind, but he’s certainly not done with fashion. With the internet spending the last two days speculating on his vague post, before hitting the runway, the Legendary judge explained the real reason he decided to retire in an interview with Vogue.
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“When I made that decision…I stepped back and looked at my life and realized I don’t have anything but that career. I don’t want that to be the legacy…what I plan on doing is other things,” Roach said. “Like what I’m doing today with Boss. I also plan on teaching. I want to be more involved with people who look like me who want to figure out how to have the opportunity to do things that I’ve done, right? I want that to be my legacy, a legacy that I really helped change people’s lives—and not just the celebrities’ by putting them in the best dress, you know?”
In the Instagram post announcing his retirement, Law wrote, “My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not! The politics , the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.”
That last line led to a lot of speculation on who he was talking about. Is it the styling industry as a whole or specific clients? Either way, the message left a lot of room for the internet to interpret whatever way it wanted. Social media did what it always does and found someone to blame. People examined that video of him and Zendaya at the Louis Vuitton show like it was the Area 51 alien footage. Though, I doubt it will do much to slow down the internet, Law did clear up a few things about his career.
“I’m not saying I’m retiring from fashion. I love fashion. I love the businesses, and I love being creative,” he said. “What I’m retiring from is the celebrity styling part of it: the being in service and at service of other people. That’s what I’m retiring from.”
It turns out it really is just about the award-winning stylist’s desire to take care of himself. While we may not be in the position that Roach is financially or career-wise, it’s certainly a lesson we can all learn. Sometimes you just need to recognize when it’s time to take stock and actually enjoy the life you’ve worked so hard at.
“I was doing this just to relieve some pressure for myself, right? I was riding in the car and I made a decision,” Roach explained. “I said: ‘You know what, I’ve done everything I wanted to do in this career. I’ve received all the awards, the accolades, I’ve changed people’s lives…And I just feel like, I’ve had enough, you know?’ So that Instagram post wasn’t a PR stunt. It was really me giving myself the grace to say: ‘It’s okay. You can do something else.’”
Though he’s most well-known for his fabulous work with Zendaya. Roach has also styled Kerry Washington, Megan Thee Stallion and Venus Williams. He actually just styled Meg in a gorgeous custom Bach Mai Black strapless gown for the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.
Law Roach has established himself as one of the most creatively interesting voices in fashion. If he plans to add teaching and mentoring to his resume, it will only help to make the industry more inclusive and expansive.
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