Benicio del Toro, Jude Law, Charlie Watts: these are men with authentic style, and William Gilchrist has the nerve to choose clothes for them all.
He is sometimes referred to as stylist to the stars, other times celebrated in style blogs as a London dandy. The truth is William knows his clothes, whether he’s picking them for other people or wearing them for himself. So when the Rollling Stones last set off on a record-breaking two-year series of gigs, William Gilchrist was the man who told them how white their shirts could be.
Here he talks lessons from Mick Jagger, gives hints on how to avoid looking like a slob and shares his style tips.
How does a stylist approach dressing a celebrity? Is it different to styling a fashion shoot with models, for example?
If you think of a good portrait by a photographer or a painter, they’ve captured their personality – they haven’t imposed a personality on them. Same with styling: you are marketing their image, so you don’t want to bury their personality under the character of the clothing, although you may push them further than they would normally go.
Which celebrities have you styled?
I have styled Benicio del Toro, done quite a lot with Jude Law – we’ve been doing worldwide press for Sherlock Holmes. Jude and Robert Downey Jr don’t have time for shoots in every country, so what happens is that Warner Brothers does a lifestyle shoot which is used in magazines all over the world.
Isn’t it impossible to style a band whose look is, excuse the pun, set in stone? One thinks of Jagger in giant trainers and Richards in loud jackets with the sleeves rolled up… Was it a battle?
Well those guys have been dressing for the stage for quite a while now, and they’ve got it down. Now, you or I might not choose some of those clothes, but there are reasons for certain choices. For one, the band’s physio advises them to wear trainers when they’re performing. Mick wears regular trainers but I think that, because he’s such a lean bugger, they can look clumpy. The rolled-up sleeves are practical too – when you’re playing guitar and really going for it, your sleeve can get caught up in the strings. And Mick explained to me about the colours – they’re playing to huge stadia and the fan in the back row has a right to be able to differentiate everyone on that stage. It’s showmanship, so you’re more bold in dressing them for 70,000 people than you would be for an arena or a smaller venue.
Of all the band, it’s Charlie Watts that you think of as being the king of style…
I very much admire Charlie. He was quite inspirational, mentally, visually… He embodies understatement, excellence, quality. You look at a Savile Row jacket. It’s not flashy, but look inside the lining, there’s all that canvassing, hand-stitching, it’s a work of art. Charlie’s like that: such a high level of integrity. And musically, he’s the backbone of the Stones.
So was he intimidating to style?
He’s a stylish man and he knows what’s comfortable. It’s a simple outfit: a t-shirt, jeans, socks. But because he’s so discerning, I wanted to make damned sure it was the best socks, jeans and t-shirt. Charlie will know full well if I went and bought some junk. Not only that but I wanted to offer the Savile Row of t-shirts – like the jeans, they were custom-made [by Sunspel]. That’s because he likes a certain height in the neck, finish of rib, width of sleeve and a shorter length at the front– because he’s sitting down playing the drums for the whole gig and too much length would leave material bagging out.
What made you choose Sunspel?
A Sunspel t-shirt is a thing of purity: well-made, good cotton, reliable and it doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. Touring with the Stones, I was going online and ordering them to be delivered to the next hotel. I don’t like shopping – I’ve found the good stuff: Smedley knitwear, Sunspel t-shirts…
Has the t-shirt become more versatile over the years?
Well, the way we dress has become more lax, thus promoting the t-shirt. The Sunspel t-shirt I wear would have been considered underwear 30 years ago – which it strictly is, because it has a low neckline, so it can be worn with an open-collared shirt.
You can get away with a t-shirt under a suit, but you can easily end up looking like a slob. It’s all about the details: your dressing down bit is the t-shirt, so you have to make sure everything else is right, the suit is sharper, the shoes are smarter…
How do those of us over the age of 25 wear t-shirts stylishly? Is it all about avoiding ironic band logos?
Personally I don’t wear anything with writing on it, but then I cut out all the labels from my clothes. I don’t object to designs on t-shirts, but it’s not for me.
As for the collar choice, I know people who won’t wear a v-neck, point blank. It may be that they have a hairy chest and don’t want it poking out. But it can lengthen you slightly if you’re a bigger gent. The polo’s neck is very versatile – the collar up can look aggressive on one person, Sloaney on another. I don’t know anyone who wears really tight tees, but if you have the torso for it, a tailored t-shirt looks great. The smallest difference can take the t-shirt down a different avenue – the same t-shirt on John Lennon and Marlon Brando were worlds apart.
You’ve lived and worked in Italy and the US. Do different countries wear their t-shirts differently?
Definitely. In the US they just love to wear a baggy t-shirt. Now, I guarantee that your baggy tee will look good on your girlfriend, but not on you. In Italy, they’re more body-conscious, but I think they go too far with the tight t-shirts. But generally Mediterraneans wear t-shirts well. In Britain, as ever, it’s a smorgasbord.