Law Roach Says Zendaya Isn't The Reason He's Retiring

“Thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years,” Roach, 44, wrote on his Instagram. “Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. “If this business was just about the clothes, I would do it for the rest of my life, but unfortunately, it’s not! The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CpxyUz-OqpK/?hl=en Initial responses from bold-faced names filled Roach’s comments section just after his announcement. “We all come or go on our OWN terms,” Niecy Nash said. “If you’re done because you want your next role, blessings to you…. If you’re having a “moment,” keep your main character energy! Either way: you got this! Too talented to retire..” Iman said. “You’re a designer at heart.”

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Tika Sumpter posted, “Sending you so many hugs. This business is exhausting. Whatever you do, know that your artistry is appreciated and we love you.” Some fashion observers speculated that the issue was Zendaya. At the Louis Vuitton show in Paris recently during Paris Fashion Week, it appeared that Zendaya may have slighted him when she directed Roach to a second-row seat behind her as she took her place in the front row.

“Literally me and Zendaya,” he posted, with a pic from The Color Purple of Celie and her sister playing together in a field of flowers. So what did happen? No one seems to know but Roach. He dressed Kerry Washington, Megan Thee Stallion and Hunter Schafer for the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday with no issues that anyone observed. It marked a particularly triumphant public return for Megan after she was vindicated when Tory Lanez was convicted of shooting her. Roach, a Chicago native who owned his own boutique, caught Hollywood’s attention after dressing Celine Dion starting in 2016. His looks for the Titanic singer changed her relationship with the fashion press giving her more credibility than at any other point in her career. But it was his partnership with Zendaya, timed right as her star rose in Hollywood, that helped him become one of the most sought-after stylists in the business. In 2019, Zendaya presented Roach with the Stylist of the Year award at the In Style awards. She told the Los Angeles Times that year that she and Roach had a genuinely tight relationship. “He became a brother to me,” she said. “He’s my family. We’re very close. I’m very lucky to have that. He’s watched me kind of grow up.” Roach has also styled Anne Hathaway, Tiffany Haddish, Keke Palmer and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, among others. He would be a tremendous loss to the industry where there is still an imbalance in Black stylists. “I always wanted to be a ‘black stylist,’” Law Roach told the Los Angeles Times in 2019. “I always want to be known as that. I always want to be African American… I wanted to be considered one of the best. I wanted my name to be spoken in the same conversations as my counterparts, you know, whoever that may be.”