Stylist to the Stars
A celebrity wedding would probably be daunting to many stylists. Not to Khalilah Williams-Webb.
The 29-year-old is downright calm just days from what might be the biggest project of her career: the wedding of NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony and TV personality LaLa Vasquez. The wedding has the added pressure of being a part of the couple’s soon-to-be-released reality show on VH1.
“These are things that I handle on a everyday basis,” Williams-Webb said with a laugh. “I do understand how important it is.”
Williams-Webb, a Baltimore native now based in New York City, has come a long way from working a retail job at Express, where she would ask stylists shopping in the store whether they needed an assistant. After a slew of unsuccessful pitches, a prop stylist for Avon gave Williams-Webb a break.
Soon she was running all over New York City transporting props and gathering fabric swatches. That first job was invaluable because it taught her the importance of detail, she said.
“That is the most important thing,” Williams-Webb said. “You have to learn detail.”
Detail, organization and a willingness to push her clients in new directions have boded well for Williams-Webb, who is a stylist for WWB Lifestyle Agency, a New York City-based boutique artist management company.
Those skills will be put on display Saturday at Anthony’s private New York City wedding, where Williams-Webb will be responsible for dressing Anthony and his 3-year-old son, Kiyan.
Williams-Webb set out to ensure that Anthony maintained a classic look. She had to make sure that her vision for the groom would not clash with the rest of the wedding party, or with the demands of the bride and wedding planner.
“That’s the life of a stylist,” she said. “It’s about compromise.”
Williams-Webb has become a popular stylist in the sports and music industry. In addition to Anthony, her clients include: NBA stars Rudy Gay, Brandon Bass and Jonny Flynn; Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price; music executive Kevin Liles; and NFL players Donte Whitner and James Hardy.
“It feels great,” Williams-Webb said in reference to her recent success. “Every time I see anything that I do, and I see the finished product, and I know all the things that I’ve done, it feels great. I’m proud. I’m very grateful.”
It’s not all easy. Working primarily with men has come with its fair share of roadblocks.
“Some people are not receptive,” she said, adding that younger athletes typically have never had anyone to advise them on their style, which makes them resistant to change.
Williams-Webb learned how to piece together clothes from her mother, Theresa Williams, an avid thrift-store shopper. Williams-Webb said her personal style, which she describes as vintage, modern, quirky and colorful, is inspired by everyday people.
“There’s nothing like seeing how creative people express themselves on themselves,” she said. “I love the times when I say to myself, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ”
To stay abreast of the latest trends, Williams-Webb regularly goes through GQ, Details, Paper, Complex, WWD and D. She also adores Marc Jacobs, the Olori Collection by Nigerian designer Adeleke Sijuwade, the denim line for Peoples Pride 4 All, the late Alexander McQueen, English designer Matthew Williamson, and Tom Ford.
“I like to go off the beaten path from everything else,” she said of styling athletes and hip-hop entertainers.
Ultimately, Williams is inspired by “any designer, creative mind, that is different,” she said. “It’s not necessarily one person. There are so many people, and things that inspire me. I can ‘t put it in a box.”
Williams-Webb has always been a fashionista. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park and Coppin State University before moving to New York to receive what she calls “inspiration” to go along with a “lifetime of Baltimore street knowledge.” Williams-Wells also attended a summer semester in 2003 at the famed Fashion Institute of Technology.
Williams-Webb, who began working at Express in Maryland and continued to work for the clothing store chain her first few years living in New York, says she was able to break into the styling industry and advance through a mix of word of mouth, having a good attitude and being persistent.
“Be hungry,” she said. “Know what you want, but be humble. Be prepared to work hard and give it your all. That’s the only way you’ll make it.”
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