Vanessa Traina, who’s sort of the queen of old-lady chic reimagined for a young woman, has had a big influence on many American designers working today. (She was also the fashion director of an impactful, if short-lived, e-commerce site called The Line, but that’s a story for another time.) And she’s an example of how styling has become a massive business during the past 15, 20 years. Especially on the celebrity side. Many stylists have become stars in their own right, starting in the mid-aughts with Rachel Zoe, who paved the way for people like Karla Welch and Law Roach today. Kate Young and Elizabeth Stewart have been doing it forever and remain at the top of the totem pole in terms of clientele starpower and also being in the good graces of brands. 

Some of their peers, like Leslie Fremar and Jeanne Yang, still do a bit of styling but have backed away from it. And to be honest, I don’t blame them. It’s extremely expensive to be a stylist—even if you have A-list clients—and the P&L just isn’t typically that favorable, even if you’re a real hustler. It’s the Wild West in many respects, and I’m looking forward to showing you who’s really making money, and who’s getting ripped off. That will be the topic of my first official piece next week.