Law Roach talks about her new book ‘Love for Zendaya’ and her next project

Anyone who thinks Law Roach’s 2023 retirement was a result of a desire to slow down would be in denial about his schedule for this week alone. The self-proclaimed “image architect,” known for conceptualizing high-performance looks for Zendaya, Kerry Washington, Celine Dion and other powerful Hollywood women, has found himself in a different location almost every day this week, starting in his hometown of Chicago and then jetting off to New York for Today at the shows, to Paris for the final days of the spring 2025 ready-to-wear collections, then back to the United States for a performance at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Atlanta and finally a week in Brooklyn to appear at CultureCon ’24 , an annual conference for Black creators and entrepreneurs.

Before his March 2023 Instagram post featuring a bold red graphic depicting the word “Retired” sent shock waves through fashion fans around the world, Roach would have easily been considered one of the style industry’s leading creators and entrepreneurs – and never It doesn’t get more true than this week. His first book, How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World’s Only Image Architect (Abrams Image, $28), debuts today. The book includes honest memoirs, incredibly detailed fashion anecdotes, and self-help tips. The book charts Roach’s dramatic career, then looks away from readers and shows how they can apply these lessons to their own lives.

“I wanted something tangible, something easy, with action elements that I thought would really help the reader,” says Roach Hollywood reporter. “Honestly, retirement gave me time to do it, but I was also looking for something that would give me purpose. I was looking for something that would allow me to be creative, but I also felt like I had been serving people in a certain way for a long time, and now I wanted to serve in a different way.”

Roach admits that the title is somewhat deceptive, as his desire was actually to create a trust-based guide How to build a fashion icon it’s a sexier proposition. “I wanted to hide the medicine in the ice cream,” he says with a laugh. “If I wrote a book called How to gain great self-confidenceI felt that no one would want to read it from me. But I truly believe that confidence is the most beautiful thing we can wear, and once you reach a certain level of confidence, you can wear whatever you want.”

In this case, the ice cream comes in the form of numerous anecdotes about the stars he dresses and clearly adores. The book is dedicated to the woman he calls “my little sister, my muse, my close collaborator and greatest advocate: Zendaya Coleman.” Roach collaborated with Euphoria AND Dune a star since 2011, when, as a 14-year-old Disney Channel actress, she appeared at the premiere of Justin Bieber’s film Never say never in Los Angeles. But recounting an event that took place three years later, when Zendaya arrived at Lincoln Center for New York Fashion Week and attracted a cadre of photographers, Roach explains in the book how he helped the young star turn that entrance into a viral sensation. “We heard the snapshot of several cameras. I whispered in her ear: “They don’t photograph you because you are a star, they photograph you because you are beautiful,” she writes. “I didn’t lie to her and I would never do it – it was the truth and it was important that she knew it! Four photographers became six; six became 10. I watched as she became a little taller and the elegance we both knew she possessed became a little more apparent. The photographers turned into a crowd that returned day after day for the rest of the week, taking photos of everything she was wearing.”

“I don’t think I would be able to exist the way I do without her cooperation and her love and loyalty to me,” Roach says. “Our relationship is special. Sometimes she is my best friend, my annoying little sister, my therapist, my stylist assistant; wears so many hats in my world, in my life.

Following the shady behind-the-scenes stories and details of the iconic brands that have dressed his glamorous clients – including Ariana Grande, Mary J. Blige and Megan Thee Stallion – Roach ends each chapter with “Take Action” sections expressly designed to inspire the reader. “I really wanted to write a self-help book; that’s how I see it,” he says. “While you learn anecdotes from my work with clients and snippets of my life, there are lessons at the end. It could be as simple as suggesting you go to a department store or boutique to try on things you don’t think you’ll like, because our fashion palette matures just like our culinary palate. My publisher wanted more of a memoir and maybe that would touch people, but I really wanted to help people.”

In between her stage appearances and red carpet appearances – including receiving the first-ever Stylist Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2022 – Roach also reflects on her upbringing in Chicago; his close relationship with his mother and grandmother; and how he fell in love with vintage clothes at a young age, which led him to open the Deliciously Vintage boutique in the city’s Art District. This decision was crucial in setting Roach on the path to stardom, and in telling this story, he advises readers to consider how they perceive and communicate their own goals. “Share your dreams widely,” he writes in chapter eight. “Some people believe that you shouldn’t talk about what you’re doing until it’s done. “Work in silence,” they say. Not I. I believe in sharing your hopes and dreams with other people and talking about what you have planned. Saying it out loud is a way of manifesting.”

Take Roach’s next project, for example. The premiere won’t take place until Tuesday, October 8, but he was happy to discuss it a week in advance. Along with Kent Belden, founder and CEO of The Only Agency (and Roach’s agent since 2016), Roach acquired School of Style, an online educational facility offering certified courses in fashion styling, hair, makeup and other subjects. “It is designed for aspiring stylists as well as working stylists who can take college-level courses to help improve what they already know,” explains Roach. “Among the things I am so proud of, we offer an elective based solely on financial literacy; a lot of freelancers getting into this business have no idea how to pay taxes and start a corporation, so we want to make sure they have those skills.” With The Only Agency’s offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Nashville, Roach believes the platform can play a significant role in providing students with opportunities in fashion cities around the world.

Ultimately, Roach realizes that there is little in his life that can be called “retired” these days. However, the School of Style is key to the “pay it forward” attitude that he believes is central to his goal, and this idea is equally true of How to build a fashion icon. “The book was written solely to serve and help people regain their self-confidence,” he says. “If this helps change just one person’s life, I will be happy.”