Hollywood Reporter Names 25 Most Powerful Stylists List
How do you make a pregnant actress look chic time after time? In 2011, the stylist did just that for longtime client Portman, who was expecting during her Black Swan run-up to a best actress Oscar. Remember the actress’ stunning red-rose-on-pink Viktor & Rolf gown at the Globes? So did Williams, who chose Young to expunge memories of her disastrous daisy gown at the 2011 Golden Globes. Young’s selections — an orange silk-and-organza Louis Vuitton for Oscar night; a dramatic petal-pink Dior couture gown at My Week With Marilyn’s Paris premiere; a custom midnight-blue long-sleeve gown by Jason Wu at the Globes — reflect Williams’ more Audrey-gamine personal style than her va-voom Marilyn role.
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Of the Globes’ selection, for which Young collaborated with Wu, she says, “In Hollywood, there’s so much bright and tight at the Globes, I thought Michelle could be more subtle and refined, and that might get her a little attention.” An Oxford graduate with degrees in English and art history and a former assistant to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, the Pennsylvania-born Young met Jennifer Connelly and Julianna Margulies on magazine shoots in the mid-’90s and started dressing them.
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She’s now the only stylist represented by CAA, which signed her in 2011 when it launched its fashion division and procured for her styling deals with Macy’s in-house INC label, Dom Perignon, Absolut vodka and Guerlain fragrances. Young, says agent Mitch Grossbach, who heads the division, possesses “fashion acumen, sophistication and taste, coupled with her humility and infectious personality, which all contribute to brilliant results.”
She just finished her fifth Dior ad campaign with Portman — which doesn’t take away from her stock in trade: “Rachel Weisz has Deep Blue Sea coming out, so next I’ll do a round of fittings with her.”
