The girls, the gays, and the 365 partygirls of the greater Atlanta area may have reached their peak on Oct. 3. Not only was this fine night the Atlanta stop of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s infamous SWEAT Tour, but celebrity stylist and fashion icon Lawrence Roach (better known as Law Roach) paid a visit to Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus to promote his new book, “How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence From the World’s Only Image Architect.”
Few people can say that what they do for work has a direct impact on how a person feels about themselves. Even fewer can combine the universal and personal in a way that transcends industries, generations, and tastes. It is for this very reason that Law Roach is the only person in this world who can call themselves an Image Architect, a title Roach skillfully earned–and trademarked for himself.
Roach is best known for his styling work with Zendaya, whom he considers his sister and creative partner. He has also worked with musicians like Celine Dion, as well as the F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. It would be easy to assume Roach’s book would read as a memoir recalling his climb to the apex of fashion, or even a simple how-to guide to fashion styling, but what he delivered reads more as a guide to finding yourself, to building your confidence and taste, and learning to recognize that you too may be that b****.
The magic of Roach’s work–what distinguishes him as an Image Architect rather than merely a stylist–is his knack for transformation. He saw Celine Dion’s love for fashion and untapped potential to become a true fashion icon, and he started cooking. He didn’t dress her for what the public eye knew her to be, he dressed her for what he knew she could become. In Roach’s own words, his job was “to change people’s perception of what they thought she was,” and it was with his help that Dion returned to music and performing, looking and feeling the best she had in years.
For Roach, styling is a form of storytelling. Personal styling, specifically, relies on understanding not just your client’s existing narrative but also where they wish to take their story next. Telling someone’s story through the clothes they wear is a deeply personal interaction, and the rapport a stylist builds with their client is crucial. Roach noted that “you have to get to a level of trust before you push someone, not everyone wants to be a fashion girl, some people just want to be pretty.” Knowing how and when to test these boundaries is an essential aspect of Roach’s ability to transform a narrative and turn anyone into an icon.
Trust runs deeper than just stylist and client, it’s also the client’s trust and belief in themselves and their identity that brings them to icon status. At its core, Roach’s book is not about fashion, but about confidence and how to build it. This confidence is what he believes best translates to powerful and impactful personal style. In Roach’s words, “When you have a certain level of confidence, you can wear whatever you want.”
Roach is no stranger to the journey of building confidence and finding yourself, which is something he was unafraid to admit to the SCAD Atlanta audience. Though he considers himself to be 97% of the way to having the “f*** you, f*** what you think, f*** what you think about what I wear, or what I say, who I am, or how I present” attitude, he aims to help readers reach themselves, and he’s put in the hard work to get there.
Roach’s journey with building confidence began at a young age. He recalled this journey and the encouragement he got from his family as a child to the Atlanta audience, stating, “I was born queer, first of all. I’ve always had the same mannerisms, I’ve always been a very feminine boy, and my last name is Roach.” For a young Lawrence Roach, “You had to build confidence because the things that could’ve defeated me are actually the things that helped me excel.” Roach laughed along with the audience at SCAD as he noted that his last name was ripe for less-than-friendly attention from childhood peers, but it was clear that he understood that this uniqueness was vital to his success. Roach shared in his book that as he began to embrace himself at a young age, confidence was “something I knew that I needed to share with others,” and styling became his means of doing just that.
Early in Roach’s book, he defines confidence as: “owning your choices, celebrating your uniqueness, and radiating authenticity.” Equipping readers with exercises in self-discovery and self-love, he helps them find themselves and translate their identity into clothing. Dressing with the approach of an Image Architect, in Roach’s own words, is about delivering “a moment–the boldness and drama of a look complemented by a woman (or anyone, to be honest), who knows their worth.” The confidence Roach oozed was contagious. It was felt in the room as he spoke, and it emanated off of the pages he wrote.
That fine and fateful night in Atlanta, Law Roach bestowed upon an audience of aspiring fashion icons the belief in their ability to be who they are unapologetically and to both reflect and contribute to that confidence through their clothes. As attendees returned to their normal lives, they were set on a mission to find the pieces that make them feel that confidence in their bones, what he refers to as “power pieces.” Roach has given us the tools to find our own power pieces as we find ourselves, each moment of self-reflection and discovery bringing us one step closer to the “f*** you” attitude of a true fashion icon.
Words by Flora Medina
Graphics by Aubrey Lauer