Celebrity Style
How Celebrity Stylist Erin Walsh Creates Viral Fashion Moments
From SJP to Kerry Washington.
Even if you don’t immediately recognize Erin Walsh’s name, you definitely know her work. The celebrity stylist counts some of Hollywood’s biggest names as her clients, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Kerry Washington — and now, you can get a closer look at her career on her new website, Hemlines by Erin Walsh. The site, which Walsh recently launched in partnership with Squarespace, will be a space to grow her brand beyond styling, including her upcoming book launch.
“I think I manifested it,” Walsh says of the collaboration. “I had been dying to create a new platform and I wasn’t sure about the right way to do it. Then I got a call about collaborating with Squarespace, and they asked about building me what I wanted to build — it was very serendipitous.”
In her years as a stylist, the number one observation she’s made is that getting dressed makes most people “feel bad about themselves.”
Her site features styling advice, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and, of course, plenty of red carpet fashion inspiration. Walsh is eager to evolve the platform and shape it into a place that makes people feel comfortable with and excited about style.
“People need a place to go where they feel like they’re going home,” she says. “I believe your home is in yourself, and that fashion is the ultimate tool to finding and re-finding and living as your highest self. The site is all about how you can use fashion to do that.”
Here, she walks Bustle through some of her favorite red carpet fashion moments.
Kerry Washington At The London Premiere Of Django Unchained, 2013
One viral fashion moment that resonates with Walsh is Kerry Washington’s look at the 2013 London premiere of Django Unchained, in which she stepped out in a voluminous Giles gown printed with white ponies.
“Going way back with Kerry, when we started working together, she was doing a tour for Django Unchained, and it was one of the first times I had done a crazy multi-city international tour with somebody,” Walsh says.
Horses were all over the film, so Walsh thought the giant pony-print gown felt appropriate. “She wore that, and it exploded,” Walsh says. “That was the first time I felt like the world was watching what we were doing — and that was really exciting.”
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Stella Artois Commercial, TKYear
Walsh’s ability to seamlessly collaborate with A-listers is a byproduct of a career spent alongside style icons like Sarah Jessica Parker.
“I had arrived in New York City in 2000, the actual heyday of Sex and the City,” she says. “I worshipped everything Carrie and SJP did for years before we ever got to work together.”
Walsh says she and Parker were “very conscious” of not replicating Carrie’s style on the red carpet. On one occasion, however, they collaborated with Stella Artois for a campaign, and the brand wanted the SATC star to “be a very Carrie-esque character.” To that end, Walsh chose a jeweled hat, metallic wrap top, and tutu for Parker, channeling Bradshaw’s signature look.
“So, we really got to go to town,” Walsh says. “SJP has always had a wildly inspiring style, but different from Carrie.”
Anne Hathaway’s Lockdown Film Shoot, 2021
One of 2021’s most memorable fashion moments happened on an otherwise uneventful Wednesday in January. Actress Anne Hathaway — forever known as Princess Mia Thermopolis to millennials everywhere — casually dropped a series of ultra high-fashion snapshots on her Instagram. The setting? Her backyard pool. The shoot featured a luxe roster of designer garments, ranging from Versace to Vivienne Westwood to Azzaro.
“Someone like Annie, working with her, it’s always a collaboration because she has been wearing couture for so many years,” says Walsh. “She has a really good eye for what will work, too. It’s fun to work together, because she brings so much of herself and her own ideas to the table.”
Hathaway’s caption was simple and to the point: “Fashion, but make it fashion.” At the time, nearly a year into the pandemic and 24/7 sweatpant wearing, people were hungry for actual looks being served. The 39-year-old actress stepped up to the plate, delivering a collection of glamorous ensembles that went viral.
“The next day, we were like, ‘Wow, what?’” Walsh says. “We were very, very surprised.”
