AILSA CHANG, HOST:
I recently got to meet the man behind some of the most memorable looks on the red carpet over the last few years, Law Roach.
LAW ROACH: I'm Law. We can hug. I see.
CHANG: Hi, Law.
ROACH: I felt the emotion of a hug coming.
CHANG: Like, remember when Zendaya showed up to the "Dune Two" to premiere wearing a silver robot suit? That look was Law Roach. Or Celine Dion's surprise appearance at the 2022 Grammys in that ethereal ivory dress - Law Roach again. So with this fashion genius right here at NPR West, I thought this was my chance to have him assess my look.
Welcome to NPR West. The first place I'm going to take you is the bathroom.
ROACH: I work so hard, and now I'm back to the toilet.
CHANG: That's it.
(LAUGHTER)
ROACH: Thanks a lot, NPR.
CHANG: Roach has a new book out called "How To Build A Fashion Icon," where he calls himself an image architect, which is about way more than clothes and makeup. It's about finding a style that makes your inner confidence visible on the outside. And so I slipped into a black zip-up jumpsuit that I wear to work a lot.
ROACH: So this is so versatile. The fact that it's black and it's form-fitting and your body looks killer in it...
CHANG: Oh.
ROACH: You know what I mean?
CHANG: Thank you.
ROACH: And if you want to play out - if you want to...
CHANG: This jumpsuit makes me feel sexy, playful but also still professional and kind of powerful.
ROACH: I'm just going to touch you. I'm going to touch...
CHANG: Yeah, yeah.
ROACH: ...On you second.
CHANG: Touch. Touch.
ROACH: So even if you wanted to wear a belt and just to cinch you in just a...
CHANG: Oh.
ROACH: ...Little bit more...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...Give a little bit of smaller waist in...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...Give that a little bit of...
CHANG: Push that chest up...
ROACH: And then there you are for date night.
CHANG: ...What little I have.
ROACH: There you are for...
CHANG: Date night.
ROACH: ...Date night.
CHANG: And then just...
I get that no one sees me when I'm talking on the radio. But when I'm put together and polished, I am convinced it does something to the way people hear me.
ROACH: So they'll start to pick up on it. And it's like, wow, every time she wears that black jumpsuit, there's something special about that. So then, subconsciously, they might find their power piece.
CHANG: This idea of helping people translate their inner power into an outer look - that was something Roach started learning how to do from a very early age, growing up with his family in Chicago.
ROACH: They all understood that I was a different kind of kid. You know, my mom let me play with Barbie dolls. Even if she did that just so that I can babysit my sisters, she still let it happen.
CHANG: That's savvy (laughter).
ROACH: Yeah, exactly. She still let it happen. And I think watching my grandmothers, especially my grandmother, Eloise - watching her process of getting ready starting on Saturday night to go to church on Sunday - what it did is it gave me this glimpse into this art form of being a woman. She needed her bath time. Like, we were not allowed to knock on the door. You know, this was the time when she would - when women would do their own manicures and pedicures and...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...Putting their hair in the rollers and figuring out what the dress would be and the stockings and the jewelry. It was something magical about it. And I knew at some point in my life that I would have to be part of that process and I would have to do something...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...That gave me the opportunity to be around women and help them find the ultimate confidence and to help them feel beautiful. And I've always had this passion for fashion. Every time I say this, it sounds so corny.
CHANG: (Laughter).
ROACH: Passion for fashion. It's exactly what it is.
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: And so it took me a while to figure out how to make a job of it, you know?
CHANG: Right. Well, you say you have this passion for fashion. But the way you describe personal style in your book, it's so much broader than fashion. It's rooted in inner confidence.
ROACH: Yeah.
CHANG: It's inner work. It's not just about pulling looks. It's not just about deciding on hair and makeup. Talk about that, how it's about the inner work...
ROACH: Yeah.
CHANG: ...That makes the look work.
ROACH: Yeah. It's all confidence. I always say - of course, I have to keep using women as an example, but when a confident woman walks into the room, there's no boundaries. It's nothing about her age, or it's nothing about her weight or, you know, how beautiful people think she is. You know, you just - like, she has this thing.
CHANG: It's magnetizing.
ROACH: Yeah, exactly. And that's what it is. It's confidence. And it's the inner pouring out. And through my work, I've been able to help women identify that thing and bring it out of them. You know, I said a long time ago, like, I just did not want my legacy to be that I put a lot of pretty women in pretty dresses. It had to be a little bit more. And Celine Dion gave me one of the ultimate compliments when she said that working with me helped her get through losing her husband.
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: It helped her find a confidence to be a strong, independent woman without him. And so that was the genesis for me writing this book. It's like, if I were just able to do this for these women, I want to be able to give that to the everyday woman to help her...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...Find the same thing.
CHANG: I mean, what is so magical about what you do is - you're right. You're not just making women prettier. You're helping women find the power they already have inside them but maybe don't always realize.
ROACH: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CHANG: And that's the most crucial kind of beauty.
ROACH: Yeah. My motto has always been it's not the way I make them look. It's the way I make them feel.
CHANG: Yeah. OK, here's what trips me up. When you're figuring out what image to project to the public, you're thinking externally, right? You're thinking about external validation. But your whole point is that validation should come internally.
ROACH: Yeah.
CHANG: And I guess my question to you is, why should anyone who has truly found internal validation be worried about an image at all?
ROACH: Well, I think image is important, right? Image is your calling card to the world, right? Getting validated externally shouldn't matter. But that's also an exercise. Like, you know, I don't think that somebody is just going to read my book and just automatically can walk and - I just don't care about what people say. No. It's a process, right?
CHANG: Right.
ROACH: You grow and you learn every day. And every day you take the lessons, and you start to practice them until they're not lessons anymore. They're just a part of your day-to-day. But I do think image is important. It's what people see before they even hear your voice...
CHANG: Yeah.
ROACH: ...Before you can give them an idea how intelligent you are or how well-read you are. The first thing they're going to do is see that image, and you have to be in control of that.
CHANG: Yes.
ROACH: That's for you to control.
CHANG: You say everyone deserves to be an icon...
ROACH: Yes.
CHANG: ...Which I love. But then I'm like, wait. If everyone is an icon, what's so special about being an icon? Icons are supposed to be unique - right? - standalone people. But you say everyone should be one.
ROACH: Why shouldn't you?
CHANG: I mean, I want to be an icon.
ROACH: You are an icon.
CHANG: (Laughter).
ROACH: Why not? Why not? You have to be your own icon. You have to be your own person, right? You have to go out and seek happiness for yourself. And that's what it's about, right? And also, the ultimate grail of confidence is not to give a F.
CHANG: Oh, I'm learning that...
ROACH: And once...
CHANG: ...The older I get. That's the glorious part of aging.
ROACH: You see those 80-year-old grandmas out there?
CHANG: Oh, I love them.
ROACH: They don't care. Yeah. Don't you love it?
CHANG: Yes. I love it.
ROACH: I love it, too. They...
CHANG: I think that's...
ROACH: ...Don't care.
CHANG: ...Sexy. That is sexy.
ROACH: That's what we're all striving for - the I don't give a F. I don't give a F about what you say about me. I don't give a F about what you say about what I'm wearing. I'm doing this because it makes me happy...
CHANG: Yes.
ROACH: ...'Cause that's all we have. And that's all we can count on - is ourselves at the end of the day. No one can love you the way you love yourself.
CHANG: That is the ultimate love. Law Roach. His new book is called, "How To Build A Fashion Icon: Notes On Confidence From The World's Only Image Architect." Thank you so much for coming into NPR West, for sharing this time with me and just having this moment with all of us.
ROACH: Thank you.
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