Photo by Pamela Hanson
While the average six year old can usually be found outside riding a bike or playing with the toy of the moment, you wouldn’t necessarily have found Valley native Kate Young doing those things at the age of six. More likely, according to her own admission, you would find her at the Easton Public Library pouring over the latest issue of Vogue.
And so it began for the savvy, stylish blonde who would become The Hollywood Reporter’s most powerful celebrity stylist of 2013—she hovered around the top of that list prior to that year and remains among the top 10 today.
Easton Days
So how does that happen? Well, growing up in a cultured and academic environment certainly helps. (Mom, Barbara, worked for Lafayette College and her father taught kinesiology at Penn State.) Young, 38, lived in Easton along Route 611 North and recalls doing all the things that kids do here including skiing a lot on winter weekends and hanging out in the 25th Street Burger King parking lot with her friends.
She also loved shoes and shopping early on, so in addition to her trips to the library, Young recalls many a visit to the hugely popular retailer Lenny’s in Easton with her mom.
Fashion Trend That Kate Says We Should Ditch for 2015:
“The staff there was always very indulgent of us,” Young says. “My mom would try on every dress and every shoe in the store.”
Ah, ha! Further proof that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Today, you will most likely find Young working with an A-list client to prepare her for a stroll down the red carpet at a movie premier in LA or a fashionable evening at the Met in New York. Clearly, an early eye for style was not an anomaly.
Young’s professional trajectory included being an underclassman for two years at Lafayette College (where Mom helped manage the athletic department) and then transferring to the University of Oxford where she studied English and art history. The stylish streets of London and exposure to its designer scene only further fueled Young’s desire for a career in fashion.
(bottom right) Miranda Kerr styled by Young for a Lucky magazine spread. Photo by Todd Cole
(left) Natalie Portman styled for DIOR magazine. Photo by Paolo Roversi
(top right) Editorial from Target’s capsule collection. Photo by Tim Gutt.
City Life
After finishing her studies and returning to the States, Young sought her first job in New York City at the offices of Condé Nast for Vogue magazine, nonetheless, where she eventually landed a coveted role as an assistant to Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
To say she reveled in the time and opportunity afforded there would be an understatement. She learned well from her fashion mogul mentor and parlayed that experience into a sittings editor position, styling ensembles for fashion spreads. A highlight—styling the first-ever cover of Teen Vogue.
Young was well on her way and when asked of her experience at Condé Nast, she doesn’t hesitate, “I felt really excited about it,” she says.
While another Lehigh Valley native, Lauren Weisberger, of Allentown, went on to acclaim for penning a New York Times best seller, The Devil Wears Prada, which some regard as a loosely-based account of Weisberger’s time spent working as an assistant at Vogue, Young walked away with nothing but positives from her roles there.
Kate’s Confession:
“I can say I had a wildly different experience [than Weisberger]. I still see and work with Anna today,” Young adds.
From there it was onward and upward. Being in fashion’s inner circle exposed her to the world of celebrity cover models. (It’s hard to believe now that Wintour’s decision to showcase celebrities like Madonna on Vogue covers in lieu of super models was once considered a bad business decision.)
Around 2001, celebrity clients like Jennifer Connelly and Salma Hayek started calling, followed by design houses seeking out Young for her expertise with their runway looks.
Editorially, Young was responsible for spreads you may have admired in the 2000s in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Dossier, Numéro Tokyo and
InStyle. She also held the position of Fashion Editor at Large for Interview magazine. Commercially, she styled campaigns for Ann Taylor, Tod’s, Halston and Armani Exchange, among others.
(left) Client Selena Gomez styled by Young in Dior for the premiere of “Rudderless.” Photo by Michael Simon
(right) One of Young’s style inspirations, Lauren Hutton. Photo by Dave Allocca
Red Carpet
Today, her roster of clients represents some of the most notable names in young Hollywood including Selena Gomez, Sienna Miller, Michelle Williams and Dakota Jackson. She has also been dressing Academy Award-winner Natalie Portman for many years.
When asked what a typical day is like, Young replies, “There is no such thing as a typical day.” Rather, Young says, it can depend on the number of events her current clients are involved in.
“It’s more about who has a film coming out,” Young says.
Oh, and then there’s the myriad of creative collaborations she can have going on at any given time, like the vegan shoe line she started with Portman and her more recent stint as a guest designer for Target.
With so much experience, it was only a matter of time before Young would follow in the footsteps of other popular stylists, like Rachel Zoe, and create her own clothing line.
Young says that was a serendipitous opportunity afforded her when a Target exec saw her being interviewed on “The Today Show.”
“I said I wanted to do a line of affordable dresses,” Young says.
The clothes in Target’s capsule collection were designed to be fun, girly and offer a flirty sophistication. Young is an ardent proponent of details and more importantly, fit. This important aspect of fashion is seen in everything she creates. Tailoring is elemental and essential. Young used patterns and details like Peter Pan collars, leopard prints and ruffle trains to turn up the glam factor for the collection that debuted in stores in the spring of 2013.
Kate’s 2015 Red Carpet Predictions:
Finding Balance
So with her sought-after style sensibilities being tapped editorially, commercially and now individually with her first design collection under her belt, you might think that Young would be satisfied to just sit back and manage the fashionable world she created for herself.
But in her personal life, Young is more balanced than that. She and husband Keith have two young sons and live in a self-described organic, modern-style home in Brooklyn. The boys often have the opportunity to visit their PA-based grandparents when Kate comes home for visits. Last fall, the family made one of their more recent visits so she could take part in the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon. An avid runner, Young was preparing for the New York City Marathon at the time of our interview.
So what does the future hold for Ms. Young? One thing we know for sure is that she can now also add the title of “author” to her résumé with the release of her first book Dressing for the Dark late last year. It’s a visual fashion feast of Old Hollywood chic and more contemporary takes on those looks designed to inspire any woman who has to dress for an after-hours affair. (Learn more about Young’s book in our Calendar section on page 22 of the January 2015 issue.)
While Young says she doesn’t see another book in the near future, she knows there will be more ground to conquer.
“I always have some kind of creative project going on.”
Love personality profiles like this? Come back next month for our interview with former Town & Country Fashion Editor, G. Bruce Boyer of Bethlehem.
