The Who What Wear Podcast: Stylist James Yardley on Dressing Heated Rivalry Star Connor Storrie, and Their First Met Gala

0:10Hillary Kerr:Welcome to the Who What Wear podcast. I'm your host, Hillary Kerr, and today I'm sitting down in studio with celebrity stylist James Yardley. James has been styling for years, working with clients like actresses Hannah Waddingham and the amazing Selma Blair. His work has recently reached new heights after taking on heated rivalry superstar Connor Story as a client. Today, James joins us to talk about his and Connor's first Met Gala and everything that goes into dressing a rising star. It's all coming up on Who What Wear.

0:56Hillary Kerr:Well, James, welcome to the pod. I'm so excited to have you here, especially because the Met Gala was just two days ago. Are you exhausted? I am. Are you flying? I'm somewhere in between the two. I'm very tired, but also sort of like it was something to tick off the bucket list. So I'm really proud that we did it. And also just like us as a team, including like his managers, publicists, like my assistants that I've worked with, his incredible groomer, like we've all been doing lots of big events. I mean, it's fashion Super Bowl. It is the biggest event. I think this is a bigger event fashion wise than the Oscars by Country Mile because oftentimes folks are dressing for how will this photo look in 50 years?

1:38Hillary Kerr:Like this is, you know, sort of the way that brides don't generally take a whole lot of risks. Yeah, of course. It's like a classic event. Whereas this is one, I feel like there's a lot more designer point of view, which is interesting and fun. And we can talk about that. But also it's not so serious, like serious business raising money for an amazing institution like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Costume Institute. But I feel like it can be more playful and inventive and interesting as well versus some of the more traditional events, in my opinion. I think you're right, especially like when I was watching it, I was like, oh, you really don't know what you're going to get next.

2:15You could just get a very simple outfit or you could get something that is really a work of art. Literally.

2:20Hillary Kerr:Or you could get Madonna standing out there with five sirens. A full show. A full show. She knows how to deliver. That is a moment to put it mildly. Okay, so but before we get into all of your work, I would love to hear a little bit about your background. We were chatting before, so I know little bits and bobs. But you worked in photography, correct? Yeah. So my degree was in photography, which I studied in London. Past that, I believe I got a first, but it was a long time ago, so I don't remember now. But that's the best of the best. And I really did love it. I did fashion, but I also, my big thing was documentary photography.

2:55I loved documentary. I assisted photographers and it was a horror show. I think it can be just a very cruel landscape in terms of assisting. So I just sort of dropped the idea of ever being a photographer and like couldn't even really tell you how to use a camera anymore. I don't think so. Money well spent on that degree.

3:13Hillary Kerr:Well, you make really beautiful photographs on the other side of it, right? Exactly, right. So I went on to intern at Attitude magazine there, which was especially like when I was growing up, it was like the ultimate sort of gay fashion lifestyle magazine in the UK. So I interned there in the day, ran to my bar job at night. How did styling come about? How did you get started? because obviously we have some famous clients to talk about, but what were the very beginning days of it like? I think it was a very different time back then. In essence, interning was still for free. You didn't get paid in anything.

3:45Sometimes you got your lunch paid, whatever. And I went in every day looking at it as just like, this is an experience, a very sort of addictive experience. And then the more I worked with the fashion director, who would go on to become my boss for three or four years, the more I learned just to love fashion. And I started on the men's wear with the models and that was amazing. And then he had some very famous clients. He had Kylie Minogue.

4:08Hillary Kerr:I think I've heard of her. Yeah, just the icon Kylie Minogue. And Nicole Scherzinger, he had some people like that. And so I really then started to learn the glamour of women's wear as well. And then he hired me. God, this is when you could intern for a long period of time and not be paid for a long period of time. I think I interned for four months just using the bar job to live. he was like do you want to be my second assistant i always feel like menswear to me is harder because pants are pants for the most part yes or like the details are in a quarter of an inch at this cuff these are like micro details whereas women's wear feels like it has like a larger palette to use what are the most important things to know when styling men versus women with women it's honor the body and with men it's honor the waist oh so this is how i look at things when i look at clothing okay women have so many different types of bodies yes all fabulous because in particular like hannah wadingham my one of my clients she's completely fabulous like old hollywood but to dress her you need to understand a woman's body and to tailor it well and i'm very big on that with her like the tailoring is something i spend a lot of time on so the details that i've through there which is bust, hips, waist, height, obviously everything, all of that.

5:27I then applied to men in a slightly different way which is the waist on a man is incredibly important because I think shoulders are tricky with men as well. Some are narrow, some are wider. The wider your shoulders are the easier it is to create that silhouette. Yes, the upside down triangle. Yeah, that most men really just want. Not all men have those sort of shoulders but like as soon as you sort the waist out, you get it correct in terms of proportion for that individual, not where the pants tell you they should fit, where they fit on the man. Then the length, the jackets, like all of those things are sort of how I go about the tailoring process.

6:02Hillary Kerr:Interesting. What do you think men get wrong the most? Ill-fitting pants. And I would also say not enough attention is paid to sleeve length on blazers. Like you think they go too long or they go too short? It can be either It can be a disaster at both. Men. Men. But sometimes, especially if you want an intentionally long cuff, like Dem is doing a lot of that with Gucci now, it has to be intentional. Because if it's not, it just looks like it's too long. You look like a little kid. Oh, God, in like your dad's suit. It's very that. So I have a zillion questions about your client, Connor Story, but I want to talk a little bit more about Hannah before we get into his Michaela and some of the other looks that we need to talk about.

6:47Hillary Kerr:You started working with her how long ago? Pre-Ted Lasso or post-Ted Lasso? No, just literally it starts. This is actually really funny. The way that I got Hannah and Connor is very similar. I mentioned to you before I used to do a TV presenter in the UK called Tess Daly. And she's another tall blonde. I was on a horrendous date. And I really wanted to get out of this date. And I looked down at my emails and I have an email that says, oh, would you want to do this actress? she is in an Apple TV show and we think she could be right for you and it was Warren Alfie Baker the stylist in LA who is incredible had said to his friend when asking about who would be good for her Nick to Disco he basically said oh you should email this guy in the UK so the email came from Nick and that's how I got Hannah and interestingly the email the phone call came from Nick for Connor So I owe a lot to Nick to Disco and a lot to Warren Harvey Baker as well.

7:44Hillary Kerr:I love it. That's amazing. So the fourth season is about to come out? I think it starts press in June or July or something. It's like tomorrow. How are you thinking about those press tour looks with her? How far ahead do you plan? And do you feel like you have any sort of pressure for some of the big press tour method dressing moments that have been popular as of late? Or do you throw that out the window? So method dressing is a tricky one. I don't hate it. When it works, it works. I think you have to be very good at it. And I think you also you have to go at it with intention. But I do believe that if you are like Zendaya stylist or you're like Margot Robbie stylist, those two get it perfect.

8:26That's how you do method dressing. It has to be a commitment. You're either in or you're out. So I think if I was to, I don't know, maybe I had a client that was in something like like a Wuthering Heights or June, I think then I would maybe look at the idea of it if the client was also into it as well. Hannah's a tricky one because the fashion industry is what it is, even with all of her fame over the years and how amazing the show was. I still struggle to get brands involved. To this day.

8:55Hillary Kerr:Despite all the awards and all of the acclaim and all of the love and how beautiful she has looked. Exactly. And it's so unfortunate that not enough designers get behind the actual shape of a woman. so I really start from brands that have supported us over the years Ellie Saab, Stella McCartney that's where I start and I see what they have and then I work from there with her yeah and she's also sort of like opinionated she loves what she loves the same as probably all of my clients I've ever had there's a collaboration with everything we do. The way that you have used color with her over the years has really delighted me how do you get the color right because she has shown up on red carpets and some really like what would be considered challenging colors for other folks but she looks phenomenal yes is that requiring like a client who's open is that just like the luck of the draw how did that work out i remember the moment i met her i walked into her room at the rosewood in london this was like a great hotel i walked in the night before she won her christian choice or what i think it was so that's how last minute this was and i had made the mistake of thinking because she was tall she would want kitten heels and because she was from the west end she would be like almost sort of cabaret and like I know I read her completely rock and she was quick to address that with me which I love like I love a woman who says what they mean and so she was like no you know I'm tall anyway I want to be let's go yeah exactly so I've never seen a so Kate that she's turned down so it's like that is a heel that is a heel and also you have to be so elegant to walk in it otherwise you look like a drunk and she walks like a ballet dancer in that in that shoe so yeah I immediately sort of like got across what she liked and then when it came to the color we work a lot with her eye her eye color very green eyes so she likes things that are like even in a lot of ways like pastels that we've done lemon green we've done purple but then she for some reason can also do like bright red yes she's not afraid to play with the color palette and I love that so but sometimes we have put things on and we're like this is insipid like why are we doing it her first Emmys dress was um a horror show not the one she won the Emmy with that wasn't me that was a different stylist because of COVID I couldn't come across but the the second one we had a custom made by a designer I think I can say actually it was Dolce & Gabbana it was and it was horrible it was just the color just didn't suit her and it was a yellow which is weird it normally does so we had the pink afterwards was actually a backup dress that they had.

11:19Hillary Kerr:That was a great backup dress. Well, she'd also had like spinal surgery and that's why she was wearing trainers and things. She was a, she's a trooper. She really understands what it is to be a star on the carpet, which I think a lot of women have shied away from in recent years. No, she seems to embrace it. And I love watching. She is everything you expect her to be and more. We know a little bit about how you and Connor started working together. At what point in the heated rivalry debut moment, Did you start actually working together? And how did you know he was the right client for you for the moment?

11:54Hillary Kerr:Because it is a mutual process. Like you have to each select each other. Again, I get a call from Nick to Disco. I feel like I owe Nick to Disco in my life. He calls me and he's like, I have this man. He's gorgeous, incredibly talented. You need to see the trailer for the show. At this point, I think the trailer was like 20, 30 seconds. All you need. All you need. but then I looked at his Instagram and he's he's a real creative like he does he's done his own editorials in the past and I was like he's also not bad to look at which we all know fashion brands and how they learn and how they work being hot helps so I was like let's do it and also I had I had had a lot of my portfolio with Menzo had been very exuberant very over the top which I love but he was far more refined in like his notes of what he liked and so I was like what is the to to lose and then he came to my very tiny apartment and we did a fitting which we could have done it in half an hour but I think it was two and a half hours oh my gosh we just chatted he has a real knowledge for how it all happens how did it get here what was the email like what do you put in email like and how would you go about approaching brands he wasn't really interested or didn't care so much about brands he just wanted the right fit I immediately just knew he was a real joy to work with I think that's the best way of putting it well it's been a very fruitful relationship to put it mildly I'm curious about what it's like working with someone who goes from relatively unknown to like couldn't be hotter phenomenal superstar making guest appearances on Saturday night live, presenting at awards shows, going to the Met Gala, like overnight.

13:40Hillary Kerr:Did it feel like doors just flew open? It was insane. I actually can't explain it to you. Like I say, like I'm, like I mentioned Warren Alfie Baker, I'm incredibly close with him. I looked to him for like any kind of information, but also to like vent or blah, blah, blah. He's just the best. Sounding bored. Exactly. And also like, cause he is, I think maybe like one of the best, if not the best menswear stylist in the world. When I chat to him, it's often like, because I am looking for his knowledge. And I said to him at the time, I was like, I've never experienced like, you know, we didn't have a bad reception the first time.

14:13There was brands like Simkai, who was very sweet to us. Really nice brands. There wasn't a bad selection there. But what was interesting was we got a lot of emails that said, not no, just not now, which I liked as well. And I said that to him and, you know, Saint Laurent was in there. So was Gucci. Louis Vuitton was the same. So that first fitting was still three racks of clothes for him to go through, but it wasn't what it would become, which was a 1.89 racks of what I could only describe as the best clothing in the world.

14:48Hillary Kerr:It was a dream. And it was like nothing I don't think anyone else I've spoken to could compare it to. Like there was no one had had a similar experience in such a... I mean, the velocity of it. Yeah, it was a meteorite. It really was. How many episodes in before it felt like the entire world just fell in love? It was pretty instant. Episode one. Yeah, I was going to say, I think it was like when I got him, it was still on Crave, the original Canadian. Oh, okay. Yeah. It was on the Canadian. Yeah. I'm third or fourth on his team. I think it was Nick, Brad, Larissa, and then me. So I like I was that early.

15:27Stylists don't normally come in that early. And then it got signed to HBO. And I think the first two episodes came out together maybe. Right before Thanksgiving. Yes, there you go. Did you also love the show?

15:38Hillary Kerr:Not that I know. Not that. I read the book. I am an old school fan. Interesting. I need to actually get into them because obviously there's more to come. I remember seeing online every single gay friend of mine who's a tastemaker was like, you must watch this. And we're off. Outside of the styling, I always say to people like, you'll love one. It's addictive. Two is when you suddenly like, you're like, wait, these characters have depth. Gravitas. Then three flips you on your head and you have new characters. And then four is like incredible. And five, I genuinely say to people, is the best television I've ever watched.

16:10Hillary Kerr:I mean, Rotten Tomatoes agrees with you. I mean, I can't explain it. Like that last scene, you know, like, and I made a point of like, he would be like, I'll send you the next episode. I'd be like, no. I want to experience it with the world. Yeah, with everyone else. So I think it is. It's just a lot of joy, that show, isn't it? And talent. So much talent. It's wonderful. I love it on a thousand different levels. I think about like sort of the earlier press moments, pinstripes, higher waisted trousers, strong tailoring. Like how did these early elements become so central to his red carpet looks?

16:42I think the fact that we are aligned with one another is pure luck in terms of maybe it was something in the universe that threw us together because he has similar taste levels that I have with Hannah and other clients as well. I reference a lot of old Hollywood. I do it with Hannah with like the Marilyn Monroe-esque of the figure. And with him, it's the same thing. It's old Hollywood with like a twist that's modern. But like, again, when I was saying about I always honor the waist, like people might have noticed with my tailoring, it's always slightly above where you would be, where the waist would be.

17:15But that's his true waist. So then the wide leg pants, the pinstripes, it's very early Hollywood. And the same with the blazers and the shirts. We've experimented with lots of different silhouettes that are very similar, but always have a tweak of something else.

17:31Hillary Kerr:I love the moments of surprise. They're such a delight. And that was what happened with the Golden Globes and the Actors Awards. It's not called the Screen Actors. Whatever, they're the sags to me. Everyone's having the same problem with this. It was just luck on that level that we've met and we have the same sort of aesthetic. That's very helpful. But then we push one another. Yeah. Which again, similar to Hannah. It's having that conversation with a client that... It's one plus one makes three? Exactly. So let's talk about the Golden Globes look. So, I mean, that was immaculate tailoring. And of course, Saint Laurent is going to bring the heat in that way.

18:06Hillary Kerr:Yes. But it felt like such the right brand and the right moment. And then I love the fact that he was in a boot, right? Yes, he was. And then sunglasses. Yes. And then a Tiffany & Co. Bird on a rock. Yes. And then the shaggy hair, which I felt like took it to like a very Rolling Stones adjacent moment too. And also made it so it's like proper and rock and roll, but also a little bit of dandy. It was so good. When we first started, the problem I had with too much clothing was like everyone wanted the Golden Globes. The team at Armani, who I adore, wanted one thing and I gave them another. And Louis Vuitton wanted something.

18:44And Tom Ford and Bottega both wanted Seth Meyers. And in the end, Bottega took the Today Show, which, by the way, is like the most lovely thing for a brand like that to want to take just a day show. So everyone was also understanding and wanted to be part of it. But Saint Laurent, that was a very early time where I think the ambassadorship was coming together.

19:04Hillary Kerr:But it hadn't happened yet. It hadn't happened yet. But it was very much on its way. Also, he adores Saint Laurent. I adore Yves Saint Laurent. like I own a lot of vintage suits from them as well so that sort of parlays into what I mentioned about the suiting that I like from the early Hollywood so we went into the fitting and they had pulled a lot of black tuxes very beautiful very classic the very old school Yves Celeron like they were sort of drain pipe trousers and just a very simple blazer and bow ties and in the fitting there just was something that I wasn't getting and I don't think he was like getting either so we started to ask for like other things and they are such an accommodating team and annie who is their insanely insanely amazing pr and so chic i mean is there a more chic woman in pr she's so blonde she's so cute she's just the best i was like is there a wide leg pant is there something there and then they went away came back brought it in we tried it on i was like this is it but he walked out and i very specifically remember thinking the pant was in the wrong place and i I was like, can we take it higher?

20:07And I remember feeling like everyone in the room was like, this guy is crazy. Why are we taking it higher? And then we did. We took it only an inch. That's what it was. And everyone was like, oh, yeah. Because it made it about like the leg, that waist. And then I put a black tie on instead of a bow tie. And it just, he walked out and I was like, this is great. And I was like, what about the sunglasses over there? And also, again, I've never seen a face that can pull off any style of sunglasses until I met him. And now I like he can put on the most ridiculous editorial sunglasses in the world.

20:39Hillary Kerr:It just looks cool and natural. Just so cool. It's just he's so cool. I love it. So that's how that came together. And then obviously, again, very early days in the relationship with Tiffany, the bird on a rock. We had three options. And we went with that one just because it felt right. It was a brooch moment no matter what. It was just depending what shape. And we had other versions. I liked this orange one and he liked the clear one, the white diamond. and then when it arrived I was like the smallest one is the most expensive and I didn't know this about diamonds anyway but it hadn't occurred to me so I think it was 1.75 million casual casual so we just popped it on and he was done yeah loved it yeah I just of course it's just a house no big deal and the hair I have to like really shout out to his groomer Candice Burns because she is and you don't always experience this as a stylist she's collaborative you send her the outfit she sends things back you can say what you like and she still works with it.

21:35And to watch her work, it's like she is, she's a genius. She's a real talent.

21:39Hillary Kerr:Sculptor. To go back to surprise and delight moments and how you take something that's very timeless and make it feel modern. You did that at the SAGs. I refuse to call them actor awards. With the oversized blazer with the Tiffany Choker. And then of course, we also have to talk about the sheer turtleneck at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. talk to me a little bit about bridging the gap between what the brand has to offer and what speaks to connor and what how you address all of it in between it's a little bit of like a tightrope act i think it's a tetris it's definitely tetris actually it's a really good analogy of it i knew that we were going to do something very simple we had seen that collection in paris while i was with him.

22:25And it sort of spoke to us how beautiful it was. And obviously, at this point, he's an ambassador for both.

22:31Hillary Kerr:Is that harder or easier? It all depends on the event, what's available and what you need to achieve in the contracts. That's the truth of it. I know with dresses, like there's one, maybe two. It's flying around the world. It has a million different things it has to go to. Is that the same with suits? Or is there a little bit more flexibility there? I think there is more flexibility. It's the jewelry that's slightly trickier because of sizing. Because not every neck is the same size, right? And he's got a big neck because he's muscular. So it's like, it's an interesting one to fit. But basically, we knew we loved that look.

23:02We looked at it on Vogue runway. We both said yes, it was available. So it came to LA. And when I was fitting it, I know it's like terribly, people hate when people don't wear a shirt. Because they're like, oh, it's tacky, blah, blah, blah. But he put it on. I was like, he's just so cool. Yeah. The team at Tiffany, I feel for them. I'm like, Morgan is a superstar. And when I speak to her, I'm like, you're going to hate me. But I want something from the archive. She's like, probably won't fit his neck. I'm like, we'll make it work. We'll figure it out. We have these moments, but they deliver every time.

23:34They're an incredible team to work with Tiffany. And so they sent a lot to the hotel. I tried on a few, but that one I put on him in the makeup chair when he didn't have a top on. He just had a towel while Candice was cutting his hair. And I was like, it rose slightly high like a choker. And I was like, why isn't that interesting? Like, I didn't expect it, but it looks perfect. And then when you put the suit on, the way it was...

23:55Hillary Kerr:Perfect placement. Perfect placement. And that's where the magic happens, I think, in collaborations, like between Tiffany, myself, Connor, YSL. Like, that's where you create those moments. It's a dialogue. I love it. Talk to me about the sheer shirt. We went no shirt to sheer shirt. No shirt to sheer shirt. The sheer shirt was from, again, the same collection. I remember him saying he loved it and I loved it too. And we were like, we just need somewhere where we can take it where it's more edgy. Yeah. And Vanity Fair Oscars is obviously the after party. You can play around with it. We really wanted a lot of jewelry on the hands.

24:26And we used Tiffany & Co's Elsa Peretti line, which is beautiful.

24:31Hillary Kerr:And sculptural. So sculptural. And then he's wearing like a 1980s tag watch there as well. So like we just, casual. I've had such fun styling him. I can't explain it. That was really about fun. The YSL team had the faux fur. And I was like, oh, maybe that might be too much. But he put it on and obviously. Not too much. Not too much. Just enough. Just knows how to wear it. And again, love that grooming. Candice, like the hair, as I mentioned, is... A character. So the fact that she can sculpture that in a way that like transfers from editorial to red carpet, incredible. Working with a single brand for certain red carpets is amazing.