By Iman Sadri
September 22, 2018
Naz Meknat is an A-List celebrity stylist who routinely gets her clients ready for the red carpet. She is highly in-demand and is in charge of the wardrobe of the some of Hollywood’s most notable names. Including Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actor Sterling K. Brown, among others.
Meknat has over a dozen years of experience in the fashion industry. Her clients also include non-celebrities, whom she regularly styles. She is highly sought out by high profile clients who rely on her keen fashion eye to help them present their best dressed self for an industry event or a Sunday soiree.
To catch up with this prolific talent and gain greater insight into Naz’s career and the world of celebrity styling, we caught up with Naz Meknat for a Q+A in Los Angeles.
Iman Sadri : Please describe your early life, education and early bio ?
Naz Meknat : I have always loved fashion and dressing up from an early age. So when it was time for college I knew exactly what I wanted to study. So I went to FIDM and studied fashion. After graduating I tried my hands at everything in fashion, from window displays to merchandising and design. I found that my strongest skill and biggest passion was in styling so I started my company ‘Style by Naz‘ in 2006 and kept growing.
IS : What were your influences to enter the world of fashion + personal styling ?
Naz Meknat : Stacy London was one of my idols. I use to watch her show ‘What not to Wear’ religiously and I loved every moment of it. Years later I took a Styling course with her and ended up working with her for couple of years which was a dream. I learned so much from her.
IS : Are there celebrities from the Golden Age of Hollywood who’s style you admire? If so, who and why?
Naz Meknat : Audrey Hepburn. She is one of my all time favorite actresses and style icons. Her grace and class was incomparable. She always looked effortlessly chic.
“I have always loved fashion and dressing up from an early age.” – Naz Meknat
Naz Meknat : Jennifer Aniston and Ryan Gosling. They both have a very simple yet sophisticated style. They understand the importance of the fit of the clothes on the red carpet and on the street.
IS : You have a list of high profile clientele including Sterling K. Brown, how have you been able to build your resume of celebrity clients?
Naz Meknat : I started in this business 12 years ago. I had to start from the bottom interning for more established stylists and learn the business. It definitely didn’t happen overnight, it has been a long journey but you end up meeting other people in the business who introduce and refer you to potential clients. Once you work with people and they see your work they approach you. Most stylists work with agencies that find them their clients. I am an independent stylist so my work is cut out for me. I mostly let my work speak for itself.
IS : Can you describe the preparation it takes to be able to style your clients ?Do you work with a specific tailor?
Naz Meknat : First thing is considering what kind of event the client is attending. With celebrities it’s always a collaboration between the client, their publicist and the stylist. Next step is to make appointments with designers to pull what’s needed. Once we have everything I do a fitting with the client and we come up with the best look. I do have a couple of amazing Tailors that I work with. Almost everything needs to be tailored for an implacable fit otherwise it could look unflattering and messy on camera.
” WITH CELEBRITIES IT’S ALWAYS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CLIENT, THEIR PUBLICIST AND THE STYLIST. ” – NAZ MEKNAT
IS : Can you elaborate on the designers you like to most use for your male and female clients?
Naz Meknat : I don’t use only one or two specific designers. I like to have options and a variety of looks we can choose from.
IS : Are there stylists in the business whose work you admire? If so, please elaborate on any and why?
Naz Meknat : Yes, Ilaria Urbinati. She dresses a great deal of Hollywood and manages to get her clients on the best-dressed list over and over. I love and admire her work.
IS : Do you use sites such as Polyvore (shameless plug, it’s my cousin Pasha Sadri’s site who he sold to Yahoo) or other online / social media platforms or other forums that you derive inspiration from in terms of mixing and matching outfits ?
Naz Meknat : Yes, I am always looking for inspirations. From the online resources to the streets of Los Angeles. I am always looking around and analyzing other peoples style to get inspired.
IS : What is the key to the right shoes for men’s / women’s styling ?
Naz Meknat : Shoes can make or break your outfit. So I am always looking for not only the shoes that complete and elevate the look but are also comfortable and functional. Most of these Red Carpet events are long in duration, so I have to not only make sure my clients look amazing but also are comfortable.
IS : Imagine you are 100 years old and reading your Wikipedia profile page. What other milestones would you like to see on there?
Naz Meknat : I am in the early stages of writing a book and a script based on my journey. Being an immigrant who moved to U.S at a later age has had it’s challenges. To get in the game way later than most and find my place in this amazing city has had it’s challenges and I think people will find the back story on how I got here interesting.
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Naz Meknat is one of the most sought after stylists in Hollywood today.
Follow her on social media @StyleByNaz
Iman Sadri is the founder of @LASmileMag and @ThePersianObserver
