Hollywood is a city built on relationships, but no professional duo is as intimate as the pairing of star and designer. From an understanding of personal taste to a keen sensitivity to a star’s likes and dislikes about their body, the designer must often adopt a persona that is a combination of fashion expert, psychologist, best friend and secret-keeper.
So what happens when communication stops? Recently, a number of stars have sought a radical change, forming new alliances with fashion designers to overhaul their red carpet style. Jennifer Lawrence, who worked with Jamie Mizrahi, started out in a partnership with Ryan Hastings before her. My love dies Press tour last fall. Meanwhile, Oscar favorite Jessie Buckley — who embraced the punk aesthetic in 2023 while working with fashion designer Rose Ford — decided to go for Hamnet A promotional tour to pair with Danielle Goldberg, who is widely agreed to be the most famous fashion designer working today and has brought couture-level sophistication to Buckley’s awards season looks. Likewise, Goldberg has faced off against Zoe Kravitz and Carey Mulligan – both of whom worked with Andrew Mukamal – in recent months. Minnie Driver has received praise for her style since transforming from Katie Povshever to Andrew Gelwicks ahead of the press tour for Season 5 of Emily in Paris.
Designer switches have become a game of musical chairs. Margot Robbie jumps from Kate Young to Mukamal ahead of her extensive 2023 press tour Barbiewhich three years later remains the most effective example of how to dress in both the film and fashion industries. Mukmal and Robbie took up the idea in February Wuthering Heights Tour, with the stylist commissioning custom corset looks from Chanel, Thom Browne, Dilara Fendikoglu and others. Robbie, in particular, was a producer on both films, which means that she and Kamal were not only creating fashion moments that became Instagram-worthy fashion conversations, but they were also making smart business decisions to promote each film.
Jason Bolden, the designer of Cynthia Erivo, Nicole Kidman and others, was most recently working with Sabrina Carpenter at the Governors Ball Music Festival in June 2024. But Jared Ellner also recently signed with the singer-songwriter and is believed to have played a role in the star’s collaboration with Victoria’s Secret, which became essential to the lingerie-inspired looks Carpenter wore throughout her Short n’ Sweet tour in 2024 and 2025.
Social media plays an undeniable role in the fashion designer’s star equation, as increasingly rabid fans don’t hold back in their opinions. Last April, fashion designer Julie Ragolia tweeted on X that one of Pedro Pascal’s fans had gone too far in criticizing him, writing: “One of you called for my death because you didn’t like Pedro’s clothes.” This led to more critics coming out of the woodwork, dismissing the boundary-pushing and often viral looks that Ragolia created, and which Pascal wore enthusiastically. On the same day, Ragolia tweeted: “Pedro is an adult and has his own opinions about what he likes and feels good. Designers are not dictators. We are collaborators.”
But the pressure of becoming a design pariah to unknown fans may have taken its toll, as Ragolia announced two months later that she and Pascal had agreed to stop working. “I’m a storyteller, so I told a story about how men of a certain age can be seen as sexy. After Cannes, it was a good time to break up,” she said. GQ In July; Recently, Pascal has been working with Mizrahi (who, if you’ve been following, was dumped by Lawrence), and in the photos she posted on her Instagram account, Pascal’s fans appear to have backed away from judgment.
Regarding these changes, one of the designers says succinctly: “It is not personal. It is commercial.” Ultimately, the marriage between the star and the designer was never meant to last forever. For every Zendaya and Law Roach (together since 2014), or Demi Moore and Brad Goreski (2008), or Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn with Jennifer Lopez (2011), or Emily Blunt and Jessica Paster (2005), there are other celebrities who find that their evolving taste may require a change of designer. Although sometimes it’s not their idea. “If a publicist or manager sees that the star they represent is not getting the fashion coverage they should, they will start looking for designers who are getting accolades for their work, and they may start to push that conversation,” explains one agent.
Buster, who worked with Louis Vuitton on the elegant white dress that Blunt wore to the Golden Globes — which was agreed to be among her best looks of the night — believes loyalty on both sides is key. “Zendaya will never leave Lou, Demi will never leave Brad, and Emily and I will never leave each other,” says Buster, whose longtime clients also include Aubrey Plaza and Carla Gugino. “If Jennifer Lopez came to me and said she wanted to work with me, I would tell her no, because what Rob and Marielle do with her is magic. That’s when you know it works, and all these relationships are magical.”
This story appeared in the March 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.
