The One Popular Trend Erin Walsh Would Never Try On Her Clients

If going viral is the goal, then any skilled stylist can make their clients’ looks become Internet sensations, especially if they’re controversial. After all, social media feeds are inundated with outfits that enjoy their 15 minutes of infamy. Very few image-makers, however, can shape the contours of fashion pop culture with a singularly chic outfit. One such image architect is celebrity stylist Erin Walsh, whose clientele includes some of Hollywood’s most in-vogue, like Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

With nearly two decades of experience under her belt, Walsh is behind some of the most resounding outfits in fashion history. She’s even credited for Gomez’s style renaissance, aka the Emilia Pérez actor’s sartorial blossoming after they started working together in June of 2023.

One of Walsh’s most recent viral moments reconfigured the way the fashion industry approaches high-low dressing. Back in May of this year, Hathaway attended a Bulgari event in Italy dressed in a stunning white poplin dress. The chic look blew everyone’s minds even more when they learned that the dress wasn’t from a luxury house, but from Gap — and with only a $125 price tag.

“I was really looking for a Roman Holiday moment in Rome, and I wanted something that felt surprising with high jewelry,” Walsh tells Bustle of the look, which quickly sold out after Hathaway’s appearance made headlines. So the stylist commissioned Zac Posen, Gap’s creative director, to design a sleek number. She zhuzhed it up with a lot of Bulgari sparklers.

Of the overwhelmingly positive response, Walsh says it was “really, really surprising and wonderful.” The stylist adds, “It felt very iconic. With these kind of moments, to get those results, it just felt very special.”

Though mixing luxury couture with more accessible brands isn’t unheard of, it’s far from a red carpet staple — especially with A-listers who have access to gowns with four- to five-figure price tags. It’s a styling technique Walsh is aiming to do more of, especially now that she’s partnered with Old Navy for the holidays. “I love surprising people,” she says. “That’s one of the most fun things — to be able to say, ‘Oh! This is Old Navy,’ at a crazy price point. It’s very gratifying.”

Below, Walsh talks about Gomez’s superpower, her career beginnings at Vogue, and the one trend that’s been *very* popular throughout 2024 that she would never try on her clients.

Could you briefly talk about your career trajectory, from your Vogue job till today?

When I left Vogue as a fashion assistant, the freelance styling industry didn’t really exist, especially in the celebrity world, the way it does now. The attention to detail and the image curation value has really skyrocketed since then.

“When people love a celeb’s style renaissance, that’s more about that person sharing their true self with the world via style. It’s like a portal to magic.”

Back then, I was pretty itchy to get started on my own after making a portfolio of a lot of test shoots, just reaching out to a lot of people. I got started by working on spec shoots with publicists for actors who needed content for any projects. From that, I met some of my first clients, like Kristen Wiig and Kerry Washington. I just worked my butt off and got started.

What skills did you learn at your magazine job that you still utilize today?

When I was working at Vogue — because that was the very early aughts, Devil Wears Prada magazine heyday — it was a boot camp. I had to be able to do all the jobs, not just know clothes. I learned how to produce a shoot and see a bird’s-eye view of all the moving parts, so you can always think ahead to what might go wrong. It’s that managerial and logistical supervision that becomes important because when all the hard stuff is taken care of, that’s when your creative juices can flow and thrive.

You’re credited for both Anne’s and Selena’s style renaissances. Why do you think their new style eras are so widely embraced by their fans?

Trends become fun to play with when you operate from a more joyful place. When people love a celeb’s style renaissance, that’s more about that person sharing their true self with the world via style. It’s like a portal to magic. Clothes can be very magical, and that’s why people respond — because they look at that and that magic somehow feels accessible because it’s authentic.

When you start dressing with integrity, with how you want to feel, and the person you want to be in this world, it’s in alignment with who you are. People respond to that.

I love that you focus on dressing with integrity. How do you bring that out in somebody?

There are lots of tricks and tools. You can play around with color and proportion. You become powerful when you look both at the canvas of your body and the shape, and you assess what you like and don’t like. People make the mistake of trying to use clothing to hide things they don’t like, and that’s not the point. It should highlight what you do love.

We all have shadows. All of us have things that we’re not too thrilled about, physically or not. For people to see that you’re feeling great, and for you to have confidence and to wear clothes confidently, you need to have an awareness of your whole self.

Fashion fans love drawing comparisons between Anne’s looks and her Devil Wears Prada character, Andy Sachs, especially with a sequel in the works. How do you navigate that? Do you consciously avoid dressing Anne like Andy or do you lean into it?

It’s that “art imitates life imitates art” thing. I certainly don’t consciously lean into that, like “Let’s do Andy.” I do think your tendencies are a stew of who you are, what you’ve been exposed to, and what resonates with you. I like to think they happen serendipitously as opposed to being too contrived.

Anne’s viral Gap dress was a high-low slay. How do you approach incorporating accessible brands when styling your clients?

When I was working at Vogue, I learned that when you look at an image, you have to think “I want to be that girl.” For people to be able to feel like that, you want to sense that they feel like they can see themselves in that person because that’s when it resonates. So the high-low of it is incidental. It depends more on the vision versus the price. When you present to the public a variety of options at a variety of price points, that feels special to me because it’s more accessible to more people.

Is that why it’s important for you to also work with more accessible brands?

Absolutely. I first moved to New York City for college, and it’s like not everybody comes to the table with a giant budget, and it shouldn’t be about that anyway. It should be about your creative inclination.

“[Selena’s] not afraid to use her vulnerability to help make other people feel seen. That’s a superpower, and the clothes are a vehicle for that too.”

I look at what Old Navy is doing and the idea that you can bring these polished wild texture combinations and different ways to interpret your day-to-night story. It feels really empowering. I liked seeing these surprising dichotomies. It’s fun for people to rediscover brands that they thought they knew.

As for Selena, since working with you, she pivoted her style to more quiet luxury looks, sometimes reminiscent of Princess Diana. Could you tell us more about her aesthetic now?

Selena is a remarkable human being, and what I love most about her is she uses her platform as a means to make people feel better about themselves. And it’s from a place of complete integrity. She’s not afraid to use her vulnerability to help make other people feel seen. That’s a superpower, and the clothes are a vehicle for that too.

What I’m really loving in her style recently is it feels like icing on the cake; it feels empowered, elegant, and effortless. It feels like it’s a means to let her shine more brightly, so that feels powerful to me.

Awards season is coming up, and Selena is already making waves. What can we expect from her awards-show looks?

We have a long awards season to go. I would say: Buckle up.

What tips do you have for those trying to build capsule wardrobes in terms of when to invest in luxury and otherwise?

You have to try it. Let yourself be surprised. Feel what the options are, and see what resonates with you, because the whole idea with all these pieces is to dress like your best self, to dress like the person you want to be remembered as, dress how you want to be seen, dress how you want to feel.

People make the mistake of thinking “What key pieces do I need?” No. To build them, try them and see what resonates with you. If it tells the story you want to tell, that feels more important to me.

Is there a trend right now that you’ll never try on your clients?

I try not to make hard rules, but I’m not very big on dressing like a harlot, but I don’t think that’s a trend.

Do you mean exposed undies or whale tails?

Yes, and you won’t see me do that on anybody.

What about tips for anyone trying to find their personal style?

Dress with intention. Create an arsenal of pieces that make you feel great and invest in brands that align with the story you want to tell. Look for three words that tell that story and dress like them.