Stylists and emerging designers brace for the Hollywood strike’s impact

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Luxury fashion shines on the red carpet, but the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has turned Hollywood actors into picketers, rather than film promoters. As brands figure out alternative ways to fill the attention void left by the sudden drop off in celebrity appearances, the industry’s ancillary workers, including professional stylists, makeup artists and hairdressers, have found themselves in precarious work positions reminiscent of the recent Covid shutdowns. And emerging designers without the benefits of deep brand pockets are looking for new ways to break through the noise. Brooke Pace, founder of Alta Moda Communications in Los Angeles, says she began telling her dozen luxury-brand clients — including Fendi, Dundas, Moschino, Giambattista Valli, David Yurman and Bally — in the spring that the Venice Film Festival was likely to be a rout for fashion. Many actors are also writers and were striking before SAG-AFTRA struck last week. “By June, the writing was on the wall,” says Pace. Some of her non-LA-based clients were less clued-in to the Hollywood labour furore and expressed surprise when she advised, “Let’s not invest in a dress that’s probably not going to be worn.” An established fashion stylist based in Los Angeles says the impacts of the strikes began about six weeks ago, in an industry already under pressure after Netflix had cut styling rates to about $750 from $1,000 to $1,500 per day. The stylist estimated they’ve already had 25 to 30 events cancelled for three clients, largely built around summer movies. As the summer blockbuster film premieres marched toward strike deadlines, Barbie and Mission: Impossible – Fallout mostly slid through, but Oppenheimer’s publicity tour was halted mid-stride. “At least we got the London premiere,” Pace says. The film’s entire cast left the theatre midway through the film’s screening. The magnitude of the economic impact is also apparent at Comicon, which began Thursday in San Diego and is one of Hollywood stylists’ biggest summer events. Marvel, Disney, Netflix and HBO pulled out of events. That means that as many as 200 stars won’t be making their expected appearances, and won’t need the services of their fashion stylist, hair, makeup, nail and publicity team — as many as six people per star appearance. Per the strike terms, SAG-AFTRA members cannot participate in promoting their projects, which includes attending premieres and walking red carpets. They can attend commercial events — brand parties, for instance — not tied to film promotions. While some fear the perception of doing so is unsavoury, a talent business manager in Los Angeles said they’ve told their clients they should honour contractual obligations that don’t break strike rules, or risk breaching those brand contracts. With so many jobs affected by the strike, where will new work come from? Stylist Kate Young, whose clients include leading names like Scarlett Johansson and Dakota Johnson, says brands have an opportunity to accelerate and amplify their relationships with actors off the red carpet, via ambassadorships and fashion show appearances. That can mean anything from social media campaigns and branded in-person activations and events. “When [actors] go to a fashion show, that’s not promoting a movie. I suspect every fashion show in fall is going to look like the Oscars,” Young says. Pace has directed her clients toward smaller-scale events, such as an upcoming Unicef charity gala in San Tropez. The pandemic was a rehearsal for seismic shifts, and she quickly re-focused her clients onto concert tours including Taylor Swift’s and Beyonce’s. She’s looking at celebrity birthdays and weddings such as actor Dylan Sprouse’s recent nuptials, for which he was dressed by Canali. “You can do a small event that’s more impactful than an Oscar placement,” Pace says. “There’s too much emphasis placed on these large-scale events like Cannes and Venice.” The film industry is a large contributor to the US economy. A recent report by The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) found that the arts and cultural industries grew by 13.7 per cent from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, the US arts economy represented 4.4 per cent of GDP (over $1 trillion). “This affects such a large portion of the economy, even beyond fashion and film,” Sophia Chacon, a content creator, assistant stylist and actor. “Culture in the US is very heavily focused on celebrities and that’s because we as consumers give them the platform. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. It’s a really pivotal moment right now in history for the film industry.” In part due to the pandemic practice, Pace says brands are likely to simply shift strategic focus and be fine. She is more concerned about fashion industry workers such as hair and makeup artists, nail artists, craft services and drivers who can’t shift as easily as brands. With such vast ripple effects, some stylists are furloughing their first and second assistants, and talking of shifting to private client work, to work with musical artists, or work in commercials during a strike that looks likely to extend well into the fall. Chacon says the impact of the strikes are likely to affect those in lower paid jobs more acutely. “[These workers] are all losing a lump sum of their income, which comes from these promotional tours, these editorials, promotional articles in magazines, these red carpet events, tours and festivals,” she argues. “They employ and drive so much higher paying jobs for these workers. It really puts a large percentage of people in the fashion industry at a halt.” A setback for celebrity stylists As the focus shifts to non-movie related events like fashion weeks, work is likely to drop significantly. This is a time when stylists should be working closely with their clients as they gear up for the Venice Film Festival, but they say the strikes are somewhat reminiscent of the pandemic, where work came to a complete halt. “I had a schedule that was very full [over the next month] and it’s now all been erased. It’s gone. Actors are not allowed to do any press events and that’s what I do,” says stylist Young. Fashion stylist Maeve Reilly, who has worked with a number of celebrities including Megan Fox, Lori Harvey and Hailey Bieber, shared the same sentiment. “[As] we saw in the pandemic, we can find alternative ways to continue to be creative,” she says. “A lot of my [clients] work with brands in their everyday life so there are still opportunities just in different capacities than red carpet.” This includes working with brands through other projects such as advertising campaigns, consulting projects and dressing actors for other large events such as fashion shows. However, red carpet events are still an important revenue stream for stylists. “Red carpets and premieres are seen by such a large audience they create a very impactful moment for brands and the industry at large,” Reilly adds. “Unfortunately, with all the uncertainty in regards to how long it will go on for, this has essentially put my work as a stylist on pause until further notice.” Without a clear end date in sight, stylists are uncertain when business will return to normal as the Toronto Film Festival is set to kick off towards the end of Venice Film Festival, on 7 September, and a similar situation is likely to unfold there. “Part of me is like, a month off would be nice, but if it is three or six months, I definitely have to find a way to keep busy,” says Young. “How am I going to fill my time? How am I still going to work? At a pace that feels good if there isn’t any press and if there aren’t any award shows.” The impact on emerging designers For young designers who are finding their feet in the industry, red carpet events act as an avenue to build brand awareness and grow their businesses. “Dressing celebrities and actors for their red carpet appearances allows us an impactful avenue to communicate our brand’s values as well as helping to increase our visibility and credibility,” says Vietnamese-American couture designer Bach Mai. “Building brand awareness and recognition is so important for us at this stage as we continue to develop and grow… With reduced opportunities, it certainly will be a challenging situation for what is already a very competitive atmosphere.” Mai says these strikes have forced him to rethink his strategy — including strengthening his relationship with clients and leveraging his social media platforms. “Fashion and the movie industry do work closely together when it comes to marketing and press for the red carpet events and premieres, not only will [the strikes] impact exposures,” says couture designer Robert Wun, “but also that bond of creative language between the two industries, which are not only brands, designers and the actors, also involve the stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists and the atelier tailors, who specialise in celebrity custom-making and alteration.” Red carpet events are as important as fashion week for many emerging designers. For Sally LaPointe, creative director of women’s ready-to-wear brand LaPointe, red carpet events are an opportunity to showcase new pieces and secure new clients. “Dressing celebrities has been an important way to promote our collections,” says LaPointe, she notes that the brand has since gone on to dress leading actors including Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Chastain and Zendaya. “The benefits are immense for our brand. From our inception 13 years ago, celebrity dressing has been a pinnacle of our brand strategy as Lady Gaga wore one of our first collections, which helped put us on the map.” Demi-couture designer Ellie Misner says she has received requests to create wedding dresses and custom black tie looks off the back of red carpets. “It will be a huge shame but I don't believe there won’t ever be celebrities on red carpets again, it might just take a moment to come back,” she says. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. 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