Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix has been dressing for revenge over the previous couple of months after information broke that Tom Sandoval, her boyfriend of practically a decade, cheated on her with their good friend and fellow forged member Raquel Leviss. From her eye-popping crimson high and skirt combo that she wore to the forged reunion to her white cape robe she selected for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and even the viral second on-line when she wore a 1-800-Boys-Lie sweatsuit in paparazzi images, Madix has been serving standout appears.
Emily Men, Madix’s stylist, is the mastermind behind these iconic vogue moments. As it seems, there’s extra that means to Madix’s clothes than meets the attention: the fact star has been utilizing her garments to inform a narrative.
Although their outfits have garnered loads of consideration and reward, Men hasn’t been working with Madix for too lengthy. Men isn’t a full-time stylist; she’s a Los Angeles-based content material creator with a background in styling and design. She attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising earlier than working with Emmy Award-winning stylist Brenda Cooper, Rachel Zoe, and stylist Joey Tierney who has labored with forged members on MTV’s The Hills in addition to Britney Spears on her “Oops I Did It Again” tour.
Now, Men is a full-time content material creator within the vogue influencing area. Back in October, a mutual good friend linked Men to Summer House’s Lindsay Hubbard as a result of the fact star wanted assist placing plenty of appears collectively for BravoCon, Bravo’s annual conference the place followers and expertise collect to have a good time the fact TV community.
Ariana Madix
Bravo
Impressed by her outfit selections, Madix requested Hubbard to attach her to Men. The first time they labored collectively, Men helped Madix select her outfit for the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 forged photograph shoot and title sequence; for the previous, Madix wore a purple go well with and skirt with sleeves embellished in feathers and for the latter she was in a inexperienced and blue keyhole colorblock gown. After getting phrase {that a} date was set for the reunion taping, Madix reached again out to Men in January asking for her help. With just a few potential concepts already picked out, they deliberate to get collectively at first of March to solidify Madix’s reunion match.
Scandoval grew to become public data a few week earlier than Men and Madix have been scheduled to do a becoming. When Men learn the information on-line, she advised Madix that she’d fortunately postpone or modify, given the circumstances. But the reunion date of March twenty third was staying put, Madix advised Men, and all eyes have been on her as she filmed what would change into one of the extremely anticipated reunions in Bravo historical past.
In mild of this newfound consideration, Men went again to the drafting board. She combed by way of lookbooks and it didn’t take her lengthy to land on a skirt and high by Monot. Men had beforehand seen mannequin Elsa Hosk put on the outfit in white to the Vanity Fair Oscar afterparty, and he or she was intrigued to see the design in crimson.
“I saw it and I just was like, ‘I think this is like the perfect thing.’ The color was perfect because red is a color of passion, anger, and revenge,” Men explains. “It kind of gives devil vibes and like she’s out for blood.”
While the colour itself was compelling to Men and Madix, the fashion of the skirt-and-top combo was additionally interesting. According to Men, the fashion was easy, stylish, and vogue ahead with out being overtly attractive or tremendous provocative.
“It’s a bold statement but it’s not trying too hard,” Men says. “It shows off a lot of skin in the stomach area but at the same time it still covers a lot because it’s long-sleeved and a full maxi skirt. I feel like it was a perfect look for all tiers of fashion lovers, not just snobby fashion people. All spectrums of people and their tastes can love it and appreciate it.”
They nailed the look; everybody on the web marveled on the reveal when Madix posted a photograph of the complete outfit on Instagram, together with the Monot high and skirt, Jessica Simpson pumps, and half 1,000,000 {dollars} price of Shay diamonds, based on Men. The stylist says she thought jewellery would even be alternative to make a press release on the reunion and a enjoyable method “to spruce everything up.”
“I figured she would be talking a lot with her hands and using her hands a lot, so I was like, ‘We should make sure she’s iced out in diamonds,’” Men says. “So we did a bunch of stacked rings. When she’s crying on camera and holding her hands to her face, you can see all of the bling on her fingers. We also put a diamond ring with an A on her middle finger.”
As a Bravo fan, Men was conversant in the format of reunion episodes and knew that there is perhaps scenes that confirmed forged members preparing behind the scenes in dressing rooms earlier than they’re really sitting on stage of their formal clothes. That’s what impressed her to additionally select the now-famous yellow Boys Lie sweatsuit for Madix to put on heading into filming, which ended up getting captured by cameras and individually by paparazzi. The hooded sweatshirt says “1-800-BOYS-LIE” on the entrance and “We’re sorry the number you are trying to reach has moved on,” on the again.
“The sweatsuit made a silent statement because at first she kind of publicly stayed quiet, so I was like, ‘That’ll be cool for when they’re filming you talking and getting ready during the reunion,’” Men says.
Men already owned the sweatsuit herself. She’d been a fan of the Boys Lie model and the co-founders’ genesis story: Tori Robinson and Leah O’Malley, two finest mates, created the clothes firm after they concurrently went by way of breakups with their boyfriends who have been additionally finest mates.
“There’s so many great things out there and there are all of these opportunities to have these different looks, so it’s nice to place different designers and share the love,” Men says.
Following the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 reunion was Madix’s look on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the finish of April. Men needed to strategy this vogue selection otherwise; she knew the gown needed to be extra conservative, and he or she additionally thought the look ought to mirror the totally different level in her life that Madix was in in comparison with when she filmed the reunion in March.
“For the reunion we tapped into anger and revenge so I thought, why don’t we do the polar opposite now because she was in such a better place and situation,” Men says. “So you go from devilish, out for blood, and now you’re kind of not bothered so the look feels more like an angel, princess vibe.”
The white cape robe got here from Needle & Thread, a model that Men is conversant in as a result of she’s been working with them for years. Madix additionally wore Schutz platform sneakers and her personal minimal jewellery to not distract from the remainder of the look.
Ariana Madix and Lisa Vanderpump pose on the crimson carpet of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2023.
The Washington Post through Getty Images
To full the trifecta of vital public-facing vogue moments, Men advised Madix lean into “funeral vibes” for her Watch What Happens Live interview with Andy Cohen the night time the season finale aired. Since there have been “deaths in the Vanderpump Rules family,” as Men places it, she needed to go for a extra dramatic piece so she picked an Alessandra Rich black lace robe together with Steve Madden heels.
“I thought, it’s the season finale, she was going to be the last Vanderpump guest on there for the season, and I felt like it’s kind of like death to Sandoval and Raquel,” Men explains. “I feel like this is also a good time when she can be really fun with fashion.”
In phrases of equipment, Madix wore David Yurman rings and he or she additionally borrowed Men’s grandmother’s classic earrings to finish her look. At first, she was debating the right type of jewellery for Madix to put on with the funereal robe; Men was initially considering of a press release necklace, however that didn’t really feel fairly proper. When she was at house sooner or later she was wanting by way of her personal private jewellery assortment and got here throughout a pair of floral earrings her grandma gave her from practically 70 years in the past.
“Back in the day, the quality of stuff was much better. There’s just something different about vintage jewelry,” Men says. “So she was wearing my grandma’s earrings, which was special for both of us. It meant something to me and it also meant something to her because Ariana lost her grandma last year.”
Andy Cohen and Ariana Madix, in her funeral gown, on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’
Ralph Bavaro/Bravo through Getty
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all philosophy behind how Men chooses Madix’s appears. According to the stylist, the 2 of them have related preferences and like the identical manufacturers, which makes it simpler to agree and determine on outfits. Men says she focuses her consideration on manufacturers and vogue strains that she already likes utilizing for herself and has relationships with, and that she additionally considers the associated fee effectivity of the entire look; for instance, if a gown is costlier, she goals for a extra accessible pair of sneakers. Viewers and followers have been obsessing over Madix’s appears, however Men isn’t dwelling on the web’s approval or letting that influence her future vogue selections for the fact star.
“It is exciting that everyone’s loving the way she’s dressing, but I like to stay grounded,” she says. “I think, ‘OK, good, everyone liked it. Now onto the next look.”
For somebody who by chance fell into professionally styling, Men has saved busy with Madix for the previous couple of months. On high of dressing her for the Vanderpump Rules reunion, White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and Watch What Happens Live look, Men has picked out Madix’s outfits for press interviews, the NBC Upfronts, and even some private moments in Madix’s life like Coachella, the place she was extremely photographed. Madix’s star is on the rise and there’s much more on the horizon for Men by way of future occasions and engagements.
“We also have a trust and respect for each other where I can kind of gauge what I think she’ll like,” Men says. “I’ll see something and have that in mind as the front runner, and we’ll usually align and agree.”
Not solely is Men completely happy for Madix and the constructive issues occurring in her life on a private degree as a result of, based on Men, “she really does deserve it,” but additionally as a result of on knowledgeable degree she’s been a perfect shopper.
“She’s a dream client,” Men says. “She’s just so open to everything and that’s really rare.”
