By Bianca Posterli
Photo by Getty Images
A model’s job description calls for spending days with designers, trying on fashion creations before anyone else, and wearing memorable designs that most will never even have the privilege to be in the same room as—clearly their lives are beyond charmed. And it goes without saying that being involved in fashion day in and day out lends to being the first to pick up on fashion trends and knowing how to create your own style.
But sometimes the fashion set can still use a little help in achieving the perfect look and are able to bask in yet another luxury unattainable to mere mortals: calling in a stylist. That’s where Mary Alice Stephenson comes in. Not only has she handpicked the outfits for stunning editorials in magazines like European Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, but she also has years of experience under her belt styling for both glossies and events, and dressing celebrities and models such as Drew Barrymore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Liv Tyler, Michelle Monaghan, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bündchen.
“To me, styling is just a part of the puzzle,” says Mary Alice of her passion. “I love working with brands and actresses and movie studios to create a buzz around someone in all elements. It’s very fun and exciting to see how, by styling and dressing someone, you can change how the world sees them and gets to know them. How the world sees her in this dress is what’s exciting to me. I love finding the dress, but it’s how I can work with the team around the model to maximize the attention they get from wearing that dress.”
Mary Alice with John Demsey and Hilary at the CFDA Awards. "For the CFDA Awards, we decided to go as short as possible." Photo by Getty Images.
Her newest style chameleon is Hilary Rhoda. Their relationship all began thanks to Estée Lauder. Upon the announcement that Hilary would be the face of the beauty brand, the company approached Mary Alice in hopes that the pair could begin to work together. And it’s been a perfect match ever since. “She is stunning and looks fantastic in pretty much everything. She loves fashion, but I think she also is so great because she respects my talent as a stylist. For us it’s very easy. It’s always fun. I know if it’s a Hilary week it’ll be a blast. It’s like playing dress up with this gorgeous doll.”
When it came to Hilary, Mary Alice found that the classic beauty already had her own amazing personal style, so the decision was not to change her look but to expand on it. “Hilary has this glamazon supermodel body. Her beauty is so overpowering that for me she has this classic wow beauty. I like her to look edgy and interesting, young and cool, but always glamorous. I like her look to be that perfect combination of instinctual grooviness that models have combined with movie star glamour. To me she’s not just a model—she’s the face of one of the most important brands in the world. She’s a star, so she needs to look like one.”
Obviously there’s a huge difference between dressing a model and an actress. Models have the ability to look good in pretty much anything, so it’s easier to dress them in the latest fashions and bold trends that not everyone can pull off—or have the courage to leave the house in. “My feeling is that with models, they have the bodies and can try it all and make even more statements and risks than most actresses. They’re expected to, so why not?”
Hilary Rhoda at the Met Gala. "It was inspired by Thakoon's finale dress from the Fall collection, and then we decided since Estée Lauder was about skin to do the dress in metallics and lighten it up. It's so great to be draping it on her body. The necklace was Thakoon for Fenton. It's just like creating a masterpiece around her and on her." Photo by Getty Images.
One of the most important lessons that Mary Alice has taught her clients is that the fashion statements need to happen from the waist up. So that means for Hilary, it’s all about elegant earrings like the VBH one-of-a-kind pair that she wore for the CFDA Awards or the extravagant Thakoon piece she wore for the Met Gala.
And while models have amazing personal style, Mary Alice has a tip for anyone looking to transform their closet: If you want to be known for your fashion sense, lose the black. “If you’re always wearing black you might look cool, but you won’t get mass attention. If you’re taking chances with color, length, or making statements that will be talked about, you’ll get attention. For me, most of the models that I’ve known have done this and done this well. When they go out into the world, people know they have great style because they see it.”
Want to see more from Hilary? Take a look at her runway career here.
