Image Architect Law Roach launched his styling career in 2009 – roughly the same time T.J.Maxx introduced The Runway, a collection of premium designer offerings brought down to a more accessible price point for customers at select stores. Now, 15 years later, and with the recent announcement of his retirement from styling, Roach has the time to focus on a partnership he’s been manifesting since he was shopping at T.J.Maxx in college.
“Confidence is the most beautiful thing that anybody can put on.”
“I bought a designer sweater at a New York location with my best friend, and we were just so proud. We thought we were so cool and we looked so fly. I will never forget that, because what T.J.Maxx did was give me the opportunity to have a little bit of fashion as a college student who couldn’t break the bank,” Roach told POPSUGAR via Zoom, a few hours before he unveiled the luxury spring offerings he curated for The Runway. The 15 looks debuted at an intimate dinner in front of journalists, friends, and other industry supporters.
The gathering felt “intimate” not because of the number of guests (there were several people in attendance) but because of Roach’s approach to the evening. Rather than putting himself on a pedestal, he mingled and took photos with everyone he walked past, kicking off the presentation with a raw, emotional speech that put his career change and gratitude at the forefront of the conversation.
His openness and humility are impressive, given his status in the fashion industry. Roach has styled some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Zendaya, Megan Thee Stallion, Priyanka Chopra, Céline Dion, Anne Hathaway, and Anya Taylor-Joy. He’s also widely regarded as a style icon, which is why his new projects may seem unfamiliar, or surprising, at first. But as always, Roach continues to put his passions first, with the mentality that it’s OK to explore new opportunities – just as he did when he walked the Boss spring 2023 runway in Miami the day after his retirement. “I just really want to do more things to see if I’m actually good at them. If I’m not, I’m not afraid to fail,” he said. So far, he has nothing to worry about.
Ahead, read about Roach’s collaboration with T.J.Maxx, his personal style evolution, and his “spiritual rebirth” on the Boss runway, which he opens up about for the first time here.
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Michael Simon for T.J.Maxx
On His Partnership With T.J. Maxx For The Runway
POPSUGAR: Why were you excited to partner with T.J.Maxx at this point in your career?
Law Roach: The conversation [with T.J.Maxx] had been happening for a while, but with my former job, I was so busy, so everything else that I wanted to do had been on the back burner. But then everything aligned with me leaving this really niche, high-fashion career to meet in the middle with T.J.Maxx, a pillar in the industry to provide luxury but without luxury prices. I always wanted my career to be tangible and for the people, and what brand is more for the people than T.J.Maxx?
PS: What is special to you about the T.J.Maxx Runway program?
“If people are saying they are inspired by me and aspire to do things I do, then it doesn’t need to be this thing on a pedestal – it needs to be this thing that’s in front of you.”
LR: It’s an incredible in-store experience where people can go directly to look at designer pieces that were on the runway. I love to tell this story – and the T.J.Maxx didn’t even know it – but years before my career began to blossom, I bought a designer sweater at a New York location with my best friend, and we were just so proud. We thought we were so cool and we looked so fly. I will never forget that, because what T.J.Maxx did was give me the opportunity to have a little bit of fashion as a college student who couldn’t break the bank. And when I put it on, I was transformed into something else. The right outfit can make you really confident – and I think that’s what T.J.Maxx considered when launching the Runway program – the mentality of making it accessible.
PS: If you could go back and change your career path, would you have seized this opportunity before you got into styling, or on a different timeline?
LR: I think I would do everything exactly the way I did it, because it’s part of who I am. It will be part of my legacy, and I don’t regret anything. I think every experience is valuable and it should be appreciated, whether it’s good or bad. My having the opportunity to do this partnership means a lot to me, because I get to be in a room with you and other journalists, and we get to touch each other and talk, and be even more of a community.
Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
On the Evolution of His Personal Style
PS: How has your style evolved to represent where you’re going with your career?
LR: To be honest with you, these last couple of years, I’ve been more in front of the camera, and I’ve been making a lot of mistakes. I think I find joy in making the mistakes, and I think other people should, too. You don’t always have to know, and it doesn’t always have to be perfect. But when you get it right, you get it right – because it’s in the feeling. I’ve been trying all types of new things with my hair and my wardrobe. I think we should all, as Maxxinistas, take a risk. And getting our hands on luxury at an accessible price gives us the opportunity to make a couple of mistakes, because the risk isn’t so great. That’s what I’ve been doing lately – I’ve been trying stuff I bought a while ago or things I wasn’t quite sure about, then mixing and matching. That’s what’s fun about fashion.
Getty / Gotham
On Staying Authentic as a Stylist
PS: How do you feel you stayed true to yourself while working in Hollywood, which is such a cutthroat industry?
LR: I won’t sit here and say I practiced self-love every day, but what I did do is make it my business to really know who my client was. I put in the research to figure out who they were, so it never looked like I was changing someone or making them into something I thought they were. It was more about finding their authentic self and helping them to become the most elevated version of that. I think that’s what separated me from a lot of other stylists.
PS: Is there anyone whose career you’ve looked up to while working in the industry so far?
“If nothing else works, we do know that I’m a pretty darn good stylist, and I can always come back.”
LR: No, I think I’m just on my own path and I’m trying to figure it out day by day. I just ask for the gift of discernment that I’m making the right decisions. And if I don’t make the right decisions, that I’m confident enough and I can appreciate the ones that weren’t right. I’m just growing mentally, spiritually, and in my own joy and peace. That journey is really exciting to me, because I don’t know where I’m going to end up. I always say, if nothing else works, we do know that I’m a pretty darn good stylist, and I can always come back.
PS: As you depart the world of styling, what change are you excited for?
LR: My clients whisked me around the world, which is great, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed it. But now I just feel that with my new career, I’ll be more tangible. And that’s what’s important to me, because if people are saying they are inspired by me and aspire to do things I do, then it doesn’t need to be this thing on a pedestal – it needs to be this thing that’s in front of you. I want to pour into you and give you a little bit more of me.
Boss
On His Fashion-Industry Bucket List
PS: Do you remember any of the self-talk going through your head when you modeled on the Boss runway?
LR: I haven’t shared this with anyone, but that was the day after [the retirement announcement], and I was really, really emotional. I felt really empty. There was a part on the runway when the water [from the fountains] just sprayed my entire body. I literally just lifted my head up and moved my hair back. In some spiritual way, it almost felt like a baptism, where at that moment I felt like I made the right decision. I can’t explain it, but it almost brought me to tears. I felt cleansed. If you watch the whole runway, it looks like a torrential downpour, but this was the only part that the water was hitting me. After that, my soul just felt at ease, and I just felt like everything – all the worries at that moment – had just been washed away. I will forever be grateful to Boss, and it happened at the perfect time.
“I just really want to do more things to see if I’m actually good at them. If I’m not, I’m not afraid to fail.”
PS: Besides modeling, are there any other fashion bucket-list items you want to get around to?
LR: Well, one thing that I’m working on is a book, which I never had time to do. And then creative direction at a brand or house would be something else on my bucket list. I just really want to do more things to see if I’m actually good at them. If I’m not, I’m not afraid to fail.
PS: What advice would you give to someone starting out in the fashion industry who feels set back by the lack of inclusivity they see?
LR: Follow your gut and follow your instincts, because instincts helped me get to the place where I got. Believe in yourself. I know it sounds corny – our moms and grandparents told us that – but I think that’s what it is. And surround yourself with people who only tell you that you can do it. Don’t surround yourself with anyone who tells you you can’t. If you really believe in yourself and you know that you can do it, you can do it.
