The name alone Law Roach summons some of the strongest fashion images of recent years. We think of the Zendaya retrofuturistic in Mugler vintage at the world premiere of Dune: part two in London, at Naomi Campbell in Cannes in the same dress Chanel with whom she paraded for the first time for the house in 1996, or to the entire cast of Challengers during their promotional tour, which launched the now omnipresent trend tenniscore.
Roach, who says he sees fashion as “armor,” has worked with the cream of It Girls since the late 2000s. In 2006, before leaving his indelible mark in Hollywood, he opened the Deliciously Vintage boutique with Siobhan Strong in Chicago. Today, he abandons the piles of clothes with a first book in the form of a new beginning, the soberly titled How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence From the World’s Only Image Architect (either How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World’s Only Image Architect).
“I wanted to give to the people who supported me and followed my journey, to all those who bought into my thing – I don’t really know what to call it – a piece of me, something tangible, something reliable, and by doing it I had the impression of returning to where I started… that is to say, as close as possible to the people”, he explains about his decision to write a personal development book.
A question of trust
Roach delivers a series of reflections on the crucial role of clothing in building self-confidence. Each chapter contains raw anecdotes that highlight his own experiences, from the unabashed assertion of his personality on the South Side of Chicago to his meeting with the young Zendaya, to whom he will give a taste for audacity in matters of fashion, including the famous Vetements hoodie that he put in the hands of a Céline Dion who until now always looked dressed to the nines.
“Someone like Zendaya says she learned to trust herself with fashion by working with me, Celine Dion says I helped her regain her confidence after her husband passed away. If I could play a small role in giving these women confidence, I hope I can do the same with those who read this book,” he says.
We spoke to Law Roach to mark the book’s US release, he spoke to us about grieving the old version of himself, the importance of giving back and the joy of launching into new adventures.
Vanity Fair : You announced your retirement last year, and I would like to know to what extent this book represents a new phase for you.
In fact, this book is part of the healing process. So much of who I was as a person was based on what I did for a living. When I decided to retire, I completely disappeared for six or seven months. I went through all the stages of grief, I felt like a part of me had disappeared. I experienced guilt. What about all these people who respected me? Would they consider me a quitter? Had I disappointed them? This led me to a small period of depression. I really felt like I was mourning that part of me, and writing a book, having something else to focus on, felt good. And as you said, writing these chapters was a bit like writing the chapters of my new life, I was starting a new book.
It helped me a lot. When I started, everyone wanted an autobiography. I didn’t want that, I wasn’t ready for that. When you’re preparing to write a memoir, it involves being vulnerable and super transparent. I did, but I didn’t know if I was ready to commit to telling the whole story just yet. And again, I wanted to give something useful to people.
My autobiography will also contain some sort of life lessons, of course, especially about all that I have overcome in my career and in my personal life, but with this book, the reader can instantly grasp my advice and apply them by adapting them to your own experience.
You say that you weren’t ready to completely open up, but the book is still very honest, very raw. What gave you the courage to come clean, even if you didn’t want to completely. You show yourself in a very vulnerable light in this book, and while there is probably a lot more to say, as a reader I wanted to tell you.
I thank you for that. It touches me. I wrote this book while remaining authentic. My voice, the way I live my daily life, all of that is reflected in the book. I have always been transparent and honest about my origins and how I built my career and life before Hollywood. So it couldn’t change, because that’s exactly what I am.
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