Celebrity Stylist Maeve Reilly on Dressing Hollywood's 'It Girls'

Like wedding professionals and vendors, celebrity stylist Maeve Reilly, makeup artist Alexx Mayo and hairstylist to the stars Kim Kimble all know what it takes to pull off a trendsetting and provocative look. Though they work behind the scenes, they're rightfully featured front and center on the cover of The Knot Fall 2023 Issue.

About four years ago, interest in Maeve Reilly's business reached a fever pitch. It was she who styled model Hailey Bieber's stunning wedding look—an elegant lace gown by the late Virgil Abloh—and the role catapulted her to fame. The bride was still Hailey Baldwin at the time, reflects Reilly, who is also the pro behind Megan Fox's wardrobe. "It was prewedding, and it was all snowballing at that point." The avalanche of interest and success that followed was hard earned.

Though Reilly has a sizeable social media fan base, she is grounded, effusive and direct. Here's someone who's seen the industry at its worst, but loves the work she does. She gets wistful as she recalls Abloh's cultural impact, collaborative presence at the Bieber wedding and death in November 2021, at age 41. "Virgil wanted to bring his elements of design into the dress, and Hailey was specific about the silhouette—she knew exactly what she wanted. At the last minute, I suggested we add lace around the veil. It was [a partnership among] all of us," she reflects, before pausing and clearing her throat. "He was just...It's so hard to talk about him passing. He was so collaborative and there was no ego." She elaborates: "Some designers aren't willing to hear other opinions, and that couldn't have been further with Virgil. I thought it was so special and I'll never forget the wedding day."

Several years before that milestone, Reilly had another big win. At the 2017 Oscars, she styled Janelle Monáe in an Elie Saab Haute Couture number, one that received numerous accolades from fashion critics. It also likely led The Hollywood Reporter to rank Reilly on its coveted list of the industry's 25 most powerful stylists.

But none of this was coincidental nor was it an overnight success story. Reilly's achievements didn't happen with one viral TikTok. They followed 18 years of navigating the ups and downs of showbiz, including thousands of hours spent pulling pieces, calling in requests, asking favors, arduously constructing each client's image and building relationships over time. "I still have moments where I'm like, 'I can't keep going.' And yet I do. That's what separates the people who stay and have long-term careers and the people who don't. Because it's so hard."

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There's much more to the job than meets the eye, as the stylist Law Roach signaled in March. The force behind Zendaya sparked a debate when he announced his sudden retirement at the end of awards season in 2023. In interviews, he described contributing factors such as unconscious (and rather conscious) biases, burnout, grief and loss, and the antics of celebrity styledom. At the pinnacle of his career, Roach proclaimed he was done with celebrity styling, though he subsequently backtracked. He said he'd retain one star client, Zendaya, while focusing on fashion projects where he, the artist behind the scenes, would be the focus.

"Look at what Law just went through," Reilly reflects. "He went out at the top of his game. He is, in my opinion, the best stylist of my generation—without a doubt. The things that go on behind the scenes are so hard." (Roach's representatives didn't respond to our request for comment.) In those moments of "I can't," Reilly transcends the doubt somehow. "I've learned balance," she assures us. "I've learned I can't just give everything to my career. I have my man, family, friends. I take trips. I do a lot of self-care, so that I can continue to give to other people. If my cup is empty, I can't fill someone else's."

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Years ago, Reilly wrote out exactly what she was looking for in a lasting partner. She tucked the paper away in her nightstand and released it. "Well we met on Raya," she says of her fiancé, Zach Quittman, as we both start giggling. Not because the insider-y, members-only app itself is comical, but it's a classic West Coast meet-cute. "From the beginning, I was like, 'These guys really do exist,'" she says. "He was ready. I had to work on myself. If I'm honest, I didn't know I deserved a guy like that. I was in a funny place. I was like, 'I'm giving up and giving this to God.' Then my person showed up. I was opening the app to delete it and there was a message from him." Within eight months of dating, the two were engaged.

As a bride-to-be, Reilly says there's not much difference between a couple choosing their wedding attire and a celebrity planning a red-carpet look. "It's exactly what we're doing every time a celebrity couple steps onto a red carpet. The wedding is a more heartfelt day, obviously, with more friends around than a red carpet. But it's exactly the same."

For her wedding, Reilly is leaving it to the professionals. "I trust them," she says of her planning team. "Just like I don't know how to throw a wedding, I take over the styling for someone who doesn't know how to style themselves. I love giving someone complete creative control in their field."

For Reilly, of course, that's styling. "It's not about the clothes. It's so much deeper for me," she says. "It's hard to walk out the door and stand in front of a million photographers or walk down the street and there's [paparazzi following you]. Your clothes are your protection, your armor, your personality and your mood at the time."

Especially on your wedding day.

Explore more of Maeve's work by picking up the Fall 2023 issue of The Knot Magazine. Subscribe here.