Super Stylist

Her fly on the wall show, The Rachel Zoe Project has been recommissioned for a second series in the States and will be hitting the UK next month and on top of this she has been snapped up to design a clothing line. I would say that it must be pretty great to be Rachel Zoe right now. With a loving hubby, a die for wardrobe and a wonderful lifestyle; she is living the life that many would dream of. As stylist to actresses such as Debra Messing, Jennifer Garner and Joy Bryant, Rachel has become one of the most coveted name in fashion and is now a household name. However, people still get confused about what a stylist actually does. Some people think they just shop all day, pick out clothes and get chummy with the designers but the life of a stylist is a bit more complex than that. This is what journo and author, Tamsin Blanchard has to say about styling in an article about high profile stylist.

"Fashion stylists are the people who decide not so much what we are going to wear, but what we are going to buy. They choose the clothes on the pages of the magazines; they decide that Jennifer Lopez looks great in that Versace dress; they are the ones who select the clothes that will make it on to the runway and into the buyers' order books."

I did a bit of digging around and have come up with a list of five stylists whose work I rate:

William Baker

This is the man who puts Kylie in those sumptuous outfits. However take note because William Baker is far more than a stylist, he is in fact Creative Director to the princess of pop. His previous clients have included Vivienne Westwood where he worked on her flagship store.

Andrea Lieberman

She dresses two of the most stylish women in the world; Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez. She takes responsibility to introducing Ms Stefani to the world of style and I would call that some feat considering how renowned Stefani has become in fashion terms. She was also the very same person who put Jennifer Lopez in that plunging Versace gown which she wore to The Grammys which earned her many column inches. Her other clients are Drew Barrymore and Faith Hill.

Eric Daman

He has been dubbed the male version to Patricia Fields with those amazing outfits that he puts together in Gossip Girl. The story lines might be hotter than hot in GG but it is the fashion that has everyone talking and this is all down to a certain Mr Daman. The former model got his big break when he was discovered by Steven Meisel (as you do) who promptly booked him for a Calvin Klein advert. He then went onto to work as a costume designer on Sex and the City.

Philip Bloch

This is the man who dresses the Hollywood A lister for glitzy events such as The Oscars, The Golden Globes and The Emmys. Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Salma Hayak, Will and Jada Pinkett all have Mr Bloch on speed dial. When he is not mixing with fashionistas Philip is either acting or contributing to various newspapers and magazines.

Christina Ehrlich and Estee Stanley

Their clients include Demi Moore, Jessica Biel, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Ritchie as well as The Olsen twins whose style are admired by young women all over the world. The duo are based in LA and have been working together for over five years. Their usp is putting starlets onto the red carpet and turning them into stars. Christina and Estee recently launched their own line, Ms Davenporte which is stylish and easy to wear items for women.

Funnily enough both Carine Roitfeld, editor of French Vogue and Katie Grand founder Pop magazine and now editor of Love magazine started out as stylists. So it goes to show that stylists rock! Check out this article here that was published in The Observer back in 2002 about stylists for fashion brands. Then there is this article here that features stylists who work in the music industry.