It’s been 14 months since Law Roach jolted the industry by announcing his abrupt “retirement” from styling and in that time the queer tastemaker has become an even more powerful and pivotal voice driving fashion.

Back in March 2023, Roach was riding high having won Stylist of the Year at the CFDAs and sculpting the looks of A-listers like Celine Dion, Kerry Washington, Megan Thee Stallion, and icon-in-the-making Zendaya, when he appeared to bring the unceremonious end to his career in a bombshell social media post.

“My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all,” Roach began in the since-deleted Instagram.

“If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately, it’s not! The politics, the lies, and false narratives finally got me! You win… I’m out.”

BaBOOM!

The record skipped and soon rumors were swirling over WTH led Roach to walk away from his empire. Among the theories were that he had his ego bruised for having to sit behind Zendaya at a Louis Vuitton show in Paris.

In actuality, Roach had had it on multiple levels and although he was stepping back from styling, he still planned to be Zendaya’s “image architect.”

Now in a new interview, the 45-year-old shed new light on what caused his “retirement” and why he’s actually busier than ever despite his “diva” reputation.

“I felt like every time I came into a room, I still had to prove myself. I changed the trajectory of people’s careers, changed their visibility, but I still have to argue for what I think is the best look,” Roach said to the New York Times of feeling disrespected in the industry.

“And if the gatekeepers don’t like the relationship, automatically I became too expensive or too problematic.”

Part of him allegedly being “problematic” may have to do with the image he created as a defense mechanism.

“A big misunderstanding is that I’m unapproachable. But I kind of created that because I didn’t want to be distracted by L.A. and New York and the lifestyle, so I decided to be mean and make people not like me so they wouldn’t invite me to their birthday parties, so I wouldn’t have to feel guilty for not going,” he shared.

That tough exterior was further honed on shows like Legendary, where Roach was known for his cutting critiques and shady reads.

“Also, I have a reputation on television of really being in your face — ‘I don’t like you, why did you make me look at that, the performance was terrible.’ So people were like, ‘Oh, he’s so nasty,'” Roach added. “I think that at the moment I wrote that post, I just wanted to be left alone.”

While he did take some downtime at his second home in Georgia, Roach wound up writing a book, How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence From the World’s Only Image Architect, and signed up for the E! style competition series OMG Fashun.

Oh yeah, he also whipped up Zendaya’s epic looks for the Dune 2 and Challengers global promo campaign, which further solidified both of their fashion pedigrees.

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Booked and busy is an understatement.

“I’m the most unretired retired person,” Roach quipped. “But everything I’m doing now is on my own terms. I’ve been saying no to a lot of unhappy people. Except Zendaya. I can’t say no to her.”

The duo are collaborating again for arguably the biggest night in fashion as the Euphoria actress is co-hosting the 2024 Met Gala on Monday. And while whatever she wears is destined to be gag-worthy, it’s going to be quite the nail-biter.

“I haven’t seen Zendaya’s dress,” Roach alarmingly told the outlet. “They won’t fit until Saturday.”

Roach may like spending the unretirement life on the fashion edge, but he’s got his sights set on much bigger and better things for his future.

“I want my headline to be ‘Law Roach, former stylist, now sits at the helm of a billion-dollar company.'”

Monday is not only the Met Gala but also the premiere of Law Roach’s new show OMG Fashun with Julia Fox. The fashion competition series airs at 9pm ET on E!.

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