As the top celebrity stylists who rule the red carpet, these arbiters are always in fashion.
Cristina Ehrlich
@cristinaehrlich
How do you think your work and fashion play off each other in your life?
My work and fashion are one! My aesthetic is classic glamour with a modern twist. But the most important component is impeccable tailoring, along with each client’s individual style, of course. I live my life visually, and every day, I draw inspiration from street style, photography, film and television.
Who are some of the designers you love to wear?
As a celebrity stylist, I am exposed to so many different designers, and I definitely have my favorites for each occasion. Some of my favorite designers are Dice Kayek, Giada Forte, Proenza Schouler and Warm.
What’s your signature piece or looks?
My black Chanel tuxedo jacket is one of my favorite pieces. I am also very fond of the Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann runway pieces that I have spent years collecting.
What’s next for you?
I just launched a brand with Cheyann Benedict.
Micaela Erlanger
@micaela
When did you start developing your style?
From such an early age! I remember playing dress-up as a small girl and staging photo shoots with my sister.
Who is your style icon?
My clients—they are my muses and inspire me every single day.
How would you describe your style?
Classic and feminine. During the week, I’m in a very standard work uniform: jeans, tee, blazer and ballet flats. When it comes time to dress up, you will find me decked out! Dior, McQueen, Valentino, Gucci and vintage.
Do you have any signature looks?
I never leave home without a blowout and clean manicure. My leather Saint Laurent jacket is a seasonal staple. I wear it every day, and it gets better with age.
What pieces in your wardrobe make you feel empowered?
My Rolex watch. I worked really hard to buy it for myself for my 30th birthday. Most of the time, I feel the most empowered when I am confident and comfortable. I have a pretty relaxed sense of personal style.
What’s next for you?
I’m excited about becoming the new ambassador for platinum jewelry. I’ve curated pieces from a collection called Platinum Born, which offers versatile jewelry options. And I’m also going to offer tips on how platinum jewelry can complete any look, whether it’s for work, play or on your wedding day.
Kate Young
@kateyoung
What are some of your favorite items and designers?
I like pretty simple, slightly androgynous clothes, but I love a tricky shoe. I love Hedi Slimane, Nicolas Ghesquière and Chanel.
What about a signature look?
I love navy and black together—it’s what I wear almost every day—and white in summer.
What kind of beauty products are you into right now?
The Bowmakers fragrance from D.S. & Durga is the scent I want for fall, plus a face full of Drunk Elephant creams and serums for glowy skin.
Favorite shoe of the moment?
Louis Vuitton fall look three: I cannot wait to wear these clunky, boyish brogues.
What about jewelry?
Sophie Buhai’s baroque pearl collar. The bigger one. I love Sophie’s minimal, sculptural, cool-girl aesthetic.
How do you think your work and fashion intersect, and how do they play off each other in your life?
My work is fashion—that’s all it is. My business doesn’t exist without fashion. I’m lucky to have chosen a career in a field that is so much a part of who I am that I can’t even define how it works in my life; it’s just part of the DNA of who I am.
Erin Walsh
@erinwalshnyc
How would you describe your style?
I think I am classic with a whimsical twist. I love a clean ’70s line, mixed with fashion-forward print-mixing and fun with shoes, naturally.
What’s your signature look?
Well, my hair is kind of my thing. But I love hoops. Jennifer Fisher was kind enough to name a hoop after me. So that’s pretty much all I wear. Lots of gold! I also love a crisp white shirt, anything with poufy shoulders, and I like to show off my legs. Everyone has a favorite part, right? So I can get a little bit risky with hemlines.
What you are loving for fall?
I love the Celine collection vibes. Simone Rocha’s headbands and jewelry are pretty bonkers. I’m very excited about Gucci Westman’s line and would love to try it. I want to start wearing more grown-up makeup and foundation. I think it’s time. With her new collection, you can actually see your skin.
What inspires you?
There is inspiration coming at you from everywhere constantly, whether it’s the lady selling knockoff watches and visors downstairs on Canal Street, or the magical man who sold matches and wore a carpet back in my years at NYU in Washington Square Park. This city is full of characters. So you take a little bit of this and little bit of that, make an ever-evolving bag of tricks, and use that as your recipe for fashionable work and life. The most fashionable people I know are always telling stories.
Photographed on location at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The FIT launched its master of fine arts degree program in fashion design in the fall 2017 semester. A program of the School of Graduate Studies, it is the first MFA in fashion design within the State University of New York system, of which FIT is a part, and incorporates elements that distinguish it from similar graduate programs in the United States and Europe. The program, of which the first cohort graduated this spring, centers on practice-based research with a curriculum focused on research methodologies and critical thinking skills that support innovation and invention in design, fit, cut, construction, silhouette and materiality.
Aeri Yun
@aeriyun
Describe your style.
Sometimes, I like sporty and streetwear influences, or on weekends, when I’m upstate at my country house, I like to wear a straw hat and a vintage Ralph Lauren white dress. For a while after my visiting Mexico City, I enjoyed wearing an ethnic bag and dress I had brought back. Even when I say I like sport or streetwear, I wouldn’t wear it from head to toe. I like mix-matching styles, like if I wore a feminine dress, I’d match it with a pair of sneakers.
How does your style influence your work?
My personal sense of style versus my work aren’t very related. I think that other styles besides my personal preferences are cool as well. I dress myself in a style that fits me, but as a stylist, I need to create styles based on someone else’s personal style or a project’s concept. To me, being able to create a wide variety of styles, and not just being limited to just my own personal one, is what makes styling so appealing.
When did you first start developing your style?
I think it was during my freshman year of college. Currently, I’m very interested in things to do with lifestyle, but in my 20s, it was all about fashion—whether it was the history of fashion or scrapbooking looks I loved from fashion magazines and then going shopping to search and replicate the looks. I didn’t know what career I wanted in the future, but I knew instinctively that I liked clothes.
Photography by: Brandon schulman; Kate young photo by Kevin Trageser/Redux
