Illustration by Photo Illustration by The Globe and Mail. Source; Matthew Welch
Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.
Karla Welch has spent the past 20 years building up her reputation as one of Hollywood’s most prolific stylists. The British Columbia-born fashion magnate – who recently launched a series on personal style for MasterClass, an online learning portal featuring mentors such as Anna Wintour and Margaret Atwood – is known for dressing the boldest of bold-faced names in film, fashion, music and beyond. Her client list, which includes Anita Hill, Justin Bieber, Busy Philipps, Gal Gadot, Ruth Negga and Matt Damon, have all experienced the power of Welch’s viral red-carpet moments.
In the thick of 2024′s sweeping awards season, Welch took a break between fittings to open up about her wide range of inspirations, her frustration with fashion’s status quo and her constellation of clients.
What is your process like during awards season?
I work backwards so if I have a client going to the Oscars, the Globes or SAGs and the Emmys, I pace it out. Your big dress moment has to be the Oscars though. Essentially, I spend a lot of time trying to translate a person’s vibe before each event. For this job, you have to able to read people and articulate and express their personality or journey through clothing and fabric.
This came through with Greta Gerwig’s Golden Globe dress. What was the strategy behind it?
She’s an intellectual and I wanted that to be known. We went with a custom Fendi dress because she’s statuesque and powerful. I had that silhouette in mind from a look that [Dior men’s wear designer Kim Jones] made. We moulded this thick satin on Greta’s body and manipulated it, so it looked sculptural. She looked strong but most importantly, she looked exactly like herself. That’s always the goal – to wear something so you look like your best version of yourself.
Another client of yours, America Ferrera, is going through a major career metamorphosis. Has your work on the red carpet reflected this transformation?
Oh yes. We’ve worked together for a decade and we’ve always connected on our feminist thinking, so we both saw the Barbie press tour as an opportunity to present her in a fashion-forward way, which echoed her new crowning achievements. America’s monologue in Barbie helped make it one of the most culturally important movies of the year. America’s movie-star look for the Globes was from Dolce & Gabbana and inspired by their early nineties archives.
You’ve been styling stars for 21 years. What should a new stylist know about the fashion ecosystem before taking on clients?
Not every girl gets every dress. That’s not how it works. I have to really work on my 20-plus years of relationships to get the best. You also have to take care of the people who take care of you.
With the common use of high-definition cameras, what do you avoid on the red carpet?
Anything that wrinkles. My nightmare is a client who is in a dress that wrinkles when you sit in it. Especially if they got called up to the podium – I’d have a heart attack! The dress should always fit perfectly, and I think a hem has to hit the right spot. I’m all about sharp lines you could cut cake with.
What are your proudest red-carpet moments?
Olivia Wilde wearing the green Gucci to the Golden Globes in 2014 when she was pregnant. You hadn’t seen many pregnant women look sexy. We saw a shift in thinking collectively after that happened. Tracee Ellis Ross in her gigantic pink Valentino couture dress at the Emmys was another huge moment – silhouettes were so voluminous after that.
How do you think you are pushing standards in fashion?
By challenging the idea of sample sizes by making sure designers are making custom dresses. Years ago, designers were making one size, and it was zero. I had a couple clients in TV – when TV was kind of pooh-poohed upon before streaming – so we weren’t getting the same pulls. I was having none of it. I’d call up designers and say, “I need you to make me a dress – one that’s going to fit.” That’s now become my legacy.
Many say your greatest achievement has been reworking Justin and Hailey Bieber’s wardrobe. Has getting so much immediate online feedback, both good and bad, about them been a challenge?
Not at all. Haley looks hot in pretty much anything. Justin’s looks are so unusual that half the time people don’t get it right away but then they end up wearing what we’ve done six months later.
Outside of fashion, what is always top of mind?
My company called Period. It is all about eradicating period poverty. I’m trying to get the Canadian government to work with me, especially in Northern territories. It is so brutal for women that have no access to menstrual products and desperately need them. In North America alone, one in four people who get a period go home without these essential products. This is a human-rights crisis.
What book have you reread more than once and why?
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown because it’s my North Star. It’s about radical love and imagination and it spells out why wars don’t have to be the answer. I carry it everywhere with me and have underlined paragraphs in it. This author is more than just a writer, she’s an incredible leader.
You’re an avid art collector as well. What are your top treasures?
Two untitled works by Margaret Keane – the artist behind that movie Big Eyes – from my Auntie Lucy and my Uncle Bruno. Both have passed away but were like my second set of parents. They bought them in the seventies, so I grew up staring at them.
What was the last art exhibit you saw?
The Keith Haring show at the Broad museum in L.A. It’s at the Art Gallery of Ontario now. It was so modern, and it made me think about HIV/AIDS, erasure and censorship in new ways. I left knowing that Haring was a radical thinker.
If you were to curate an exhibit of your most valuable fashion items, what would some choices be?
Well, I have several hundred pieces now; most are from Shrimpton Couture in Toronto.
For an exhibit, I’d include a vintage Saint Laurent tuxedo and a lineup of Sarah Paulson’s green Pradas – her Emmys one, her Met Gala one and the acid-green one she wore to the Ocean’s 8 premiere. She’s how I’d dress if I was wearing red-carpet looks.
Does vacationing in busy fashion capitals still excite you?
Not really. When I want to not work, I don’t get to any of them. I go home to Powell River in British Columbia where I grew up. I visit my family and I have a little cabin on the lake there. The more I live in the U.S., the more I realize how much of a Canadian I still am.
Your workload during Grammy and Oscar season triples in size. How do you practise self-care during these months?
I exercise before I start styling, go get coffee in the morning and usually walk the dogs. I’m not that fabulous that I go out to any parties after I style for an event. After I’m done the work, I come home and nap.
Does the work of fellow stylists motivate you at all?
I love seeing men’s stylists allowing men really to tap into their femininity. That willingness to not be boring and break rules is inspiring. It’s also a great privilege to look at runways and get clothes directly from designers because they are my rockstars. I grew up watching Tim Blanks host Fashion File in an era when fashion designers were so respected.