Last night, Law Roach made the shock decision to quit the fashion industry while at the height of his career. The announcement surfaced less than 48 hours after he dressed some of Hollywood’s most famous celebrities for The Oscars – Hunter Schafer, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kerry Washington – with an Instagram broadcast. “My cup is empty,” he captioned the post. “Thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. If this business was just about clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately, it’s not! The politics, the lies and the false narratives finally got me! You win… I’m out.” 

That Roach is one of the most beloved – and important – fashion stylists isn’t based on conjecture. Since meeting Zendaya in 2011, he has been credited with the fashion transformations of Celine Dion, Bella Hadid, Keke Palmer, and Ariana Grande, among others. His work, which pulled from archival collections and new designers alike, invigorated both the red carpet and the newsfeed. Online, fashion commentators have connected Roach’s sudden exit to the ways in which the industry often fails its brightest creatives, particularly if they are Black. And though Roach has yet to detail the events that preceded his retirement, he has often been critical of fashion’s not-so-hidden hierarchies.

In a now-resurfaced interview, the stylist said, “You can’t talk to me any kind of way and you can’t treat me any kind of way. I’m commanding a certain kind of respect and if you’re not giving me that, we’re going to have a problem. I’m not afraid of this industry because I’m Black, I’m from the hood and I can always go back. I can always make money, I can always be successful. “I’ll walk away from all that shit because I’m just a natural-born hustler.” Another video of Roach being asked to sit on the second row at Louis Vuitton’s AW23 show further compounded these comments (and greased the wheels of the rumour mill), but the stylist’s hard-won respect hasn’t been in vain. 

“I won’t let you!!!! We don’t quit… strived too hard,” Naomi Campbell commented on his Instagram post. Edward Enninful said, “You will always have a home @britishvogue” and Pierpaolo Piccioli commented, “No way”. If his numerous supporters are anything to go by, it seems unlikely that Roach will abandon fashion altogether.