Expect The Unexpected | Thursday March 23rd, 2023 | Tiasia Newman
On Tuesday March 14, 2023 "The Image Architect" Law Roach announced his unexpected retirement from the fashion business. Law took to IG with this post "My cup is empty...thank you to everyone who've supported me over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I'm so grateful for you all. If the business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it is not!The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win...I'm out".
It comes as a surprise to some but many could have predicted the outcome. Fans along with industry professionals have attributed his graceful bow out to Zendaya's new ambassadorship with Louis Vuitton. Roach was recently snubbed at the LV show when they failed to reserve front row seating for him alongside his muse. Law left the production before the collection was presented.
The South Side Chicago Native came on the scene in 2009 as a vintage broker. His store Deliciously Vintage Harlem brought in Kanye West and the rest is fashion married to black history at its finest. For the last 20 years Roach has been teaching the culture the Laws Of Luxury.
Law was a standing judge on America's Next Top Model in 2016. He would later return to our tv screen as a judge on HBO Max's hit show Legendary alongside Megan The Stallion. Roach was proving that his influence over the fashion industry could and would not be dismissed.
In 2017 Law was the first African American to grace the cover of Hollywood Reporter's Stylist And Star issue accompanied by Celine Dion and Zendaya. For the next couple of years he made the industry choke every chance he got. Whether it was his client or the man himself everything he sent out the door gave more fever than a covid patient. From Chance The Rapper to Khalani, Roach was shaping the style and aesthetic of a generation whose focus was thought to merely be the music the artist released by those who didn't know any better.
In 2021 Law made history every chance he got. He received a Gem Award for Jewelry Style. Later that year he would style 10 celebrities for Anna Wintour's coveted Met Gala, an honor I'm not sure many others in his profession have been given. 2022 brought him more decorations for his vintage china cabinet as he was again awarded, this time by the CFDA with the Inaugural Stylist Award Of American Fashion. Yes all these gifts were in fact well earned, but obviously not everything was draped in chiffon and trimmed in sequin.
I was personally affected by the statement that Law released due to my own affiliation with fashion as a stylist. More concerning were the words he chose to use and the order in which he put them. It seemed to be a statement of defeat by those who clearly meant him harm. The amount of vulnerability he displayed gave me immediate pause. This feeling was truly fleeting after spending a few moments in thought. Law Roach is the fashion industry. Whether he works or not his energy is entwined with the definition of the art of styling.
I'm sure we will at least see him walk a few runways and on a number of magazine covers telling his story about himself as himself for himself. Remember Darling the show must go on and in good fashion
With Love Mutha
Edge, Elegance and Creativity...weather it be designing pieces or words, the work speaks for itself! Giving her take on compelling topics Mutha doesn't play!
Tiasia Newman
コメント