Celebrity stylist Law Roach says working with Celine Dion had a lasting impact on his career.
“I think Celine actually made me so much of a better stylist,” Roach told The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” podcast. After styling younger stars like Zendaya and Ariana Grande, Roach said that dressing the Canadian pop icon pushed him to become more detail-oriented.
“We are talking about working with two girls who were very new to the industry, right? To go and work with someone who was a 30-year vet at that time, it’s a different process,” Roach said.
Roach recalled their first fitting together, when Dion quickly identified every adjustment she wanted made to a gown before asking for his thoughts.
“I was kind of stuck because I’m watching her see all the imperfections, and I didn’t see anything that she didn’t see,” Roach said.
By their next fitting, he made it his goal to spot every adjustment that the garment needed before Dion did, he said.
“It challenged me to be better because had I not been able to do that, what value was I adding?” Roach said. The experience sharpened his eye and made him more discerning — skills that still shape the way he works with clients today, he added.
That wasn’t the only lesson Roach says he took away from working with Dion, Roach said. He recalled rushing to fasten one of the singer’s shoes before an event and struggling with the buckle.
“She said, ‘Take your time. It goes faster,'” Roach said, recounting Dion’s words.
She also taught him the importance of treating everyone with kindness, he added.
“I would go places with Celine, and she would stop and say hello to every single person and introduce herself,” Roach said. “She’ll introduce herself at the beginning of whatever we’re doing, and at the end she’ll say goodbye and thank you to everyone.”
He added that it “means so much” for people to be acknowledged by someone of Dion’s stature.
Roach first started styling Dion in 2016, months after the singer lost her husband, René Angélil, to throat cancer. Dion reached out after seeing his work with Zendaya, he told People in July of that year.
“She liked that [Zendaya’s style] had some sophistication to it, and she liked it, so she Googled me,” Roach said.
The pair have stayed in touch over the years.
In 2023, Roach announced on Instagram that he was retiring from celebrity styling because “the politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me.” However, he came out of retirement the following year to style Dion for her surprise appearance at the 66th Grammy Awards. Dion has kept a relatively low profile since announcing her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022.
