Stylists and the Strikes: How Red Carpets Were Impacted in 2023

When SAG-AFTRA announced in July that its members would strike for the first time in more than 40 years, star stylist Jessica Paster looked at a clothing rack in her studio. On it were hanging five red-carpet looks planned for client Emily Blunt. None were worn over the summer: The actress and co-star of Oppenheimer was among the cast that famously exited the film’s London red carpet when the SAG-AFTRA strike was called on July 14.

But Paster knew that ultimately her work, which included custom-tailoring of looks for Blunt from brands including Zuhair Murad and Dolce & Gabbana, wouldn’t be wasted.

“I remember looking at the rack and saying, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll all be worn,’” Paster tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Hollywood’s stylists typically work weeks or months in advance of premieres, press tours and other events, coordinating receipt of samples, tailoring them to perfectly fit clients and sometimes working closely with fashion houses to create custom head-to-toe looks. The dual strikes by the Writers Guild of America, which commenced on May 2, and SAG-AFTRA undeniably impacted those plans.

“The minute the writers’ strike happened, it was almost like the pandemic all over again,” says star stylist Ilaria Urbanati, whose client list includes actors Barry Keoghan, Chris Evans and Ramy Youssef, all of whom had been slated for high-profile red-carpet appearances for their respective roles in Saltburn, Pain Hustlers and Poor Things. “Within one day [of the WGA announcement], we had four press tours canceled. Of course actors wanted to show solidarity, but May, June and July were completely dead. I don’t think I’ve ever worked less.”

As each strike stretched into the fall, both Paster and Urbinati focused on personal projects and refrained from planning for a return to red-carpet dressing. “I didn’t want to waste people’s time and energy in the hope that either strike would soon be over,” Paster says. “It just felt futile at the time.”

Zadrian Smith agrees. “All we could do was wait,” notes Smith, who with Sarah Edmiston works as the styling duo Zadrian + Sarah; the pair’s client list includes Ariana DeBose, who had been set to host the June 11 Tony Awards for the second consecutive year, while her November press tour for Disney’s Wish also was impacted by the strikes.

“Because that press tour [Wish] wasn’t supposed to start until November, May was still really early for that pull, though we knew it was coming. But [when the WGA strike happened], we were not allowed to reach out, not allowed to speak with any designers. We understood the reason, but our hands were tied,” says Smith.

Then, because the Tony Awards eventually received a waiver from the Writers Guild, both the ceremony and Debose’s hosting duties were allowed to continue.

“We found the fashion houses and publicists to be incredibly supportive and accommodating,” Smith confirms. “We also had been working with Prada on a custom look for the Tony Awards, and of course at one point we didn’t know if Ariana could continue as the night’s host. But in good faith, Prada went ahead and made the custom look.” Debose wore the silver gown with a deep-plunging V neckline by the Italian label on the Tony Awards red carpet.

But it was when the SAG-AFTRA strike ended on Nov. 9 that these high-wattage stylists proved their mettle. “If you remember, the strike ended just after midnight on a Thursday; at 12:02 a.m., I was sending out email requests until about 4 in the morning, so I’d be hitting everyone’s inboxes first thing,” Paster says. “I wanted to be ready to go.”

Urbinati also leapt into action. “The rush to get going again was immediate,” recalls the stylist. “It was an attitude from the studios of ‘Go, go, go.’ At 8 o’clock at night, I got a call asking if a client could come in for a fitting at 9 the next morning, and I thought, ‘With what clothes?’ I like to think through and have a battle plan, but instead it became, ‘Let’s see what we can get on your body.’ We definitely had to make miracles happen.”

Amid the challenges, each stylist is proud of the looks accomplished in recent weeks.

Those includes around 30 looks worn by Debose for her Wish appearances. “It took a team of 15 people to pull off that press tour,” says Smith. “But everyone came through: Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Monique Lhuillier and many others.”

Adds Urbinati, “I love a lot of the pieces we’ve done. Barry [Keoghan] wore a great sleeveless Givenchy suit to the Academy Gala [on Dec. 3], but I know I can pull fashion-forward runway pieces for him, because he’s very adventurous with his style. For Jon Bernthal, I had about three hours’ notice to dress him for the Academy Gala, but I’d been hanging onto this great red-velvet tuxedo [from Paris-based Fursac] for a while, and it looked amazing on him. I knew I was keeping it for something special.”

The number of garments for Blunt on the rack in Paster’s studio, meanwhile, is indeed diminishing, with the actress wearing the Dolce & Gabbana print dress to a Dec. 5 Oppenheimer screening. “I was never nervous,” she says. “Emily knows what she likes and what looks good on her, so I knew we would make it work.”

And, according to Paster, fashion labels were happy to accommodate. “I had everything tailored for Emily, so I needed to hold onto it,” Paster explains. “But all the showrooms and brands were wonderful. Nobody pushed back.”