2016 Was the Year of Red-Carpet Designers You’ve Never Heard Of

Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing and Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci may be best friends with the Kardashian/Jenner/Hadid supermodel crew, but they're not the only designers whose creations the ladies are sporting on the red carpet. 

This year, a new crop of unknown couturiers also made waves by offering sexy options to fashion's new guard, young social mediaites Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Chrissy Teigen, as well as forever divas Mariah Carey and Beyonce. 

Common elements among these designers' creations include lace-up details, sheer fabrics with crystal embellishment or fringe–and Monica Rose. The A-list celebrity stylist has been the force behind many of the covetable new-name styles of Jenner, Hadid and Teigen as well as Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, Sofia Richie and Chanel Iman.

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Rose has an almost unparalleled knack for spotting lesser-known designers all over the world. "I constantly need to be inspired and I love introducing new brands to my clients," the stylist tells Pret-a-Reporter of her hunt for the next big thing. "I also work with a lot of showrooms all over the world that represent a plethora of new talent that I am introduced to on the regular."

In 2016, enterprising young designers didn't necessarily need pricey PR machines or private appointments with Vogue editors to gain the international recognition once reserved exclusively for talent shipped out of Central St. Martins or Parsons: The New School of Design. With the help of social media and talented stylists like Rose, whose clients often top best-dressed lists regardless of the label they're wearing, the playing field has been leveled. 

"My goal is to always make my client look and feel their very best while taking things to the next level whenever possible," she added. "At times, that requires finding undiscovered talent to work with to mix things up — we try all of the best options and ultimately select what looks best. To me, it's all about the fit and intricate details — how you style the look — to make it all come together and make the designer’s work shine on the red carpet."

A handful of the designers on Rose's radar are Hollywood-adjacent, L.A.-based brands, a testament to the flourishing Los Angeles fashion scene. "I think it's important to me to work with any talented designers that I can help along the way," she said. "There is so much talent out there — if I can help them by putting one of my clients in their designs and get them a write up it makes me happy!"

Here, eight of the designers who are helping Rose redefine sexy red-carpet dressing.