Law Roach's longtime clients Celine Dion and Zendaya will always hold a special place in his heart.
The celebrity stylist recently opened up to SiriusXM Bevelations with Bevy Smith about how the “My Heart Will Go On” singer changed his life after her Titanic viral sweatshirt moment in 2016.
Host Bevy Smith quoted Roach's book, How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Trust from the World's Only Image Architectreleased last month, and details how it helped Dion find moments of freedom and enjoyment after the deaths of her husband and brother. And it all started with the “Vetements sweatshirt that went around the world,” as Smith described it.
“She gravitated to it,” Roach recalled. “It definitely changed people's perception of her and changed the trajectory of my career. Celine changed my life. Giving me the opportunity to change my life.”
The designer said their bond was so close that when Dion was asked to make a surprise return at the 2024 Grammys to present Album of the Year (which Taylor Swift won) following her diagnosis of rigid person in 2022, he would only do so under one condition.
“His first thing back was the Grammys when he gave out Album of the Year, and he called me and they told me he didn't want to do it if I wasn't available because he heard I was retiring,” he said. “And I said, 'I would do anything for her at any time. Every time he calls, I'm there.'”
Roach's other longtime client is Zendaya, as they have worked together since 2011, when the actress was still appearing on the Disney Channel. The stylist said that the day he met her, he immediately “knew she was a superstar.”
“The day we met we went shopping, and I'll never forget we went to the mall and dropped off his dad and aunt and ran around. When we returned, her father scolded her, saying, “You don't know this man.” You run in and out of these stores trying on clothes with this man. You don't know this man,'” Roach recalls. “And it was just something I knew about her, so we promised each other that I would do everything in my power to let the world see how I saw her, and that meant begging for clothes, you know, buying clothes on my credit card, taking them back. You know, [doing] everything I could.”
Smith replied, “All the things you have to do when you don't have the biggest star,” while Roach added, “When you don't have it.”
Even after Roach said he was retiring, he and Zendaya continued to collaborate on dozens of iconic looks, from red carpets to movie premieres to the Met Gala.