Is Law Roach retiring because of Zendaya’s new Louis Vuitton contract?

A fashion emergency was called on March 14. Mega celeb stylist Law Roach dropped a bombshell retirement post on his Instagram, writing: “My Cup is empty…thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years.” Whether you’re au fait with fashion or simply stan Zendaya‘s dazzling looks, you’ve likely read Roach’s name within the style pages and captions for the biggest stars in Tinseltown. The 44-year-old has dressed everyone from Anya Taylor-Joy and Kerry Washington to Megan Thee Stallion—but Zendaya was indisputably his biggest client—until now.

The fashionable duo go as far back as the Euphoria star’s Disney days—he even dressed her for Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never premiere when she was just 14—but now they’ve professionally parted ways. While Roach enigmatically wrote that: “The politics, the lies, and false narratives finally got me!” he’s now opened up about his shock exit. Read the latest on Roach’s departure below.

Who is Law Roach?

Law Roach is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stylists (although, he prefers to be know as an “image architect”), known for his sartorial transformation with Zendaya—from Disney darling to queen of the red carpet. Honestly, he gets it right every glam time. Their working relationship goes back to 2011, when they met through a mutual friend while he was working as a personal shopper. At the time, Zendaya was starring on her first season of the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up.

“When she was 14, she didn’t know much about fashion, and we were starting to learn about each other. And I think I had a little bit more say-so in the look,” he shared with Women’s Wear Daily in January 2021. “But now she’s a grown woman. I think she’s grown, not only the way she chooses and collaborates with me, but in everything. She’s a woman now.”

The wardrobe guru has styled Zendaya for magazine covers, red carpets, premieres, and more. Famously, he was behind her conversation-starting 2015 Oscars look which saw the starlet wearing a delicate white satin Vivienne Westwood gown contrasted by a cascade of brunette dreadlocks. Roach has also walked the red carpet with Zendaya, dressed up as her “Fairy Godmother” during her whimsical “Cinderella” moment at the 2019 Met Gala.

Aside from Zendaya, his A-list clientele includes Celine Dion, Ariana Grande, Anya Taylor-Joy, Naomi Campbell, Megan Thee Stallion, Bella Hadid, Keke Palmer, Demi Lovato, Anne Hathaway and Kanye West—who surprisingly gave him his Hollywood start. Back in 2009, the now controversial rapper happened into a vintage store that Roach worked at in South West Chicago with his visit reportedly bringing “the attention of paparazzi and industry insiders from around the world.” After re-ocating to Los Angeles, Roach began styling celebs, eventually becoming a judge on cycle 23 of America’s Next Top Model, as well as the HBO competition show Legendary. Last year, he received the inaugural stylist award at the 2022 CFDA Awards.

How have celebs reacted to the news of his retirement?

On March 14, Law Roach sent shock waves across Hollywood when he rather dramatically announced his retirement. The news comes just days after Roach styled numerous stars for the Oscars after-party, including Hunter Schafer who went viral for her barely-there Ann Demeulemeester set.

To a graphic red sign emblazoned with: “RETIRED”, the stylist wrote in a caption: “My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years.”

“Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all.”

But Roach didn’t stop there. The stylist delivered le fashion tea when he pointedly referenced some backstage drama with: “If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not! The politics, the lies, and false narratives finally got me! You win…I’m out.”

Within nine hours of posting, Roach’s announcement saw more than 156,000 ‘likes’ and 14.9K comments— with many celeb fashion favourites, designers, and stylists flooding the comments section.

“Absolutely not,” Christian Siriano wrote. Meanwhile, fellow celeb stylists Karla Welch and Maeve Reilly simply said: “No”—with Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli writing: “No way.”

“Law I won’t let you!!!! We don’t quit .. strived [too] hard,” supermodel Naomi Campbell also shared.

His style prodigy Zendaya, however, has remained noticeably silent—which may have something to do with her new partnership with Louis Vuitton.

Is Law Roach retiring because of Zendaya?

While speculation has run rife since Law Roach revealed his fashion exit—naturally, Deux Moi (Instagram’s go-to celeb gossip account) has received countless submissions—many people have questioned whether it’s “the Louis Vuitton effect”. In other words, Zendaya’s new contract with the luxury Maison could limit Roach’s creative license. Just a few weeks ago, the pair were seen arriving at the A/W ’23 Louis Vuitton show—Zendaya wearing a head-turning tiger-printed set by LV—yet sitting separately. Zendaya sat front-row with an empty seat next to her, with Roach placed behind her.

However, Roach has since clarified there’s no bad blood between him and Zendaya. He took to Twitter on March 15 writing: “She’s my little sister and it’s real love not the fake industry love.” He also separately shared an adorable GIF of two girls engaging in a clapping game—with text overlay reading: “ME & U MUST NEVA PART.” He captioned the tweet: “Literally me and Zendaya…” Now we know there’s no feud with Zendaya (thank goodness), the question remains as to who the celeb culprit[s] were?

So, what does Law Roach’s retirement look like?

While we still don’t know exactly why Law Roach is leaving, the former stylist has shared a few more details as to what his departure looks like. And don’t worry, it’s not a mass fashion exodus. Roach explained during a Q&A published on March 15 that he’s simply retiring from the “celebrity styling part of it.” In other words, “the being in service and at service of other people.” Roach explained he’s lived and worked in a bubble for so long, in which his clients took priority over his health and happiness.

“And when I made that decision yesterday [retirement], I stepped back and looked at my life and realised I don’t have anything but that career. I don’t want that to be the legacy… So to answer your question, what I plan on doing is other things.”

Absolutely fair enough, so what are these “other things” in fashion he hopes to achieve? Well, possibly some modelling as evident in his personal runway debut with Boss’s show in downtown Miami on March 15—where he walked alongside celebs he’d usually dress such as Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta, Pamela Anderson etc.—as well as the opportunity to teach and mentor aspiring and diverse stylists. “I want to be more involved with people who look like me.” Maybe even produce a little editorial work? But seemingly, he’s still “trying to figure it all out, you know?”

“This just happened yesterday. I’m soul searching and I’m speaking to people I trust, like Edward [Enninful], and I just have to figure it out. But I’m so excited that today I get to release. The Boss team has been really supportive of me: sensitive and kind. I really appreciate that and it makes me want to do the best job on the runway that I possibly can do.”

We envisage him to eventually spearhead a collection or label some day, but the world is your sartorial oyster—particularly when you’re as in-demand and respected as Roach is. Time will only tell.

Feature image and sq: Stylecaster

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar Australia