Amariyah Mallory 
Luxury fashion designer Law Roach kicked off his press tour for his new book, How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World’s Only Image Architect in Chicago at Thalia Hall.
The celebrity stylist sat alongside “two fav Chicago girls” as he put it in a caption on Instagram, the natural cosmetics icon Kristen Noel Crawley and ABC News anchor Val Warner.
The fashion icon, aka “Luxury Law,” left the fashion community and social media in a frenzy in March of 2023 when he took to Instagram to announce his retirement adding, “the politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me!”. Roach spoke on some of these politics during the Q&A session prior to the book signing.
“When I came into the industry as a Black man from the South Side of Chicago who talks funny and f*%#s words up every now and then. And, you know, doesn’t speak the best, proper English all the time. I think that they never thought that I would become who I became…The gatekeepers would come in and they would lie to the clients and say, “Oh, he’s doing his own thing,” “He’s his own thing,” or “He’s too expensive.”
“And so it would be all these things, and all these false narratives and all these, ‘He’s a Diva,’ and all these things. And so, after a while, that part of it got to me and I was just like, you know, I just didn’t need it anymore and also what it did was give me the power to understand that ‘no’ is more powerful than ‘yes,”’ the multi-million dollar business owner shared. “And so now I get to do the things I want to do.”
Fans, aspiring stylists, and those eager to gain knowledge from the highly successful businessman, filled the theater to hear more about fashion tips and his “Notes on Confidence”.
The topic of confidence was prevalent during the discussion and is highlighted continuously throughout the book. Roach’s book released earlier this month on October 1, which features celebrity interactions, fashion advice, and self-help advice.
The Chicago native commented on his upbringing and the part Chicago played in his style, creativity and confidence. The amazing moderator of the evening, Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, Val Warner, dug deeper into his roots when she prompted what sparked your passion for fashion.
“Chicago culture like that’s what we’re known for. I think that this is a city that has a distinct and instinctive style, right? And for a lot of us, church was our first introduction in fashion. And, I don’t know the age in the crowd, but you usually get church clothes growing up,” said Roach. “You know, you usually get your school clothes, you get your church clothes, and then you get your play clothes. So I think just growing up that way kind of instilled in me that there was something important about fashion and I think that’s what really sparked my interest to get into the industry.”
The book release is just the beginning of his new era. Roach shared that he has acquired a fashion school, The School of Style which will begin accepting applicants soon and has begun a new era since leaving the Hollywood business.
“You know what I started over. You know, I walked away from a really big business. I don’t think people knew exactly how big my business was, but I had a global business that was 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I had four assistants in L.A, two in New York, one in London, one in Paris, and I was, I’m proud to say that I was running a multi- million dollar business. When I walked away because I had the courage to walk away and say, you know, if I did it once, I could do it again…That’s also what led to me starting a school of Style and there’s been a lot of talk about documentaries and, everybody wants me to write my memoir.”
We can’t wait to see how Law Roach navigates this next chapter of his life. Be sure to check out How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World’s Only Image Architect wherever books are sold.
By Amariyah Mallory, Junior, Whitney Young
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