When we see our favourite celebrities on the red carpet, we’re only seeing the end result, the final package, of what a team of people have spent weeks putting together.
In the same way that movie directors are the creative geniuses behind a successful film, so stylists are to those unforgettable red carpet moments.
Los Angeles-based stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, the style duo known simply as Wayman + Micah, are the dynamic team behind styling some of Hollywood’s A-listers.
The formidable duo joined forces in 2013 and have since dressed stars like Tessa Thompson, Kiki Layne and Kelly Marie Tran.
While stylists used to be the faceless, and often nameless, creatives who blend into the background, Wayman + Micah are very much in the foreground of the celebrity styling scene.
This week, the team was responsible for Jennifer Hudson’s gold ensemble she wore during her performance at the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda show in Venice.
The songstress is just one of their big-name clients.
During this year’s awards season, the duo stepped into the limelight and proved that they have indeed arrived.
Actress Regina King’s silver and black outfit she wore to the virtual Golden Globes awards was one of the most talked-about outfits on the night.
The green and black outfit Tessa Thompson’s rocked at this year’s Vanity Fair’s best-dressed list.
They have been instrumental in the Hollywood transformation of award-winning South African actress, Thuso Mbedu.
The team created a truly winning look when the The Underground Railroad star received her first international award – the Hollywood Critic’s Association awards for TV Breakout Star – for her role as Cora.
So what is it about this team that sets them apart from other stylists who are desperately trying to bag such major clients?
During an interview with Vanity Fair, they open up about what makes them different to other stylists.
“We’ve never been stylists who wanted to enter something and have we put the ‘Wayman + Micah’ mark on you. No, our job and what we pride ourselves on is creatively making you your best self and bringing that forward.”
They continue by saying, “(For each person) we really sit down and do a deep dive into them. You’ll notice if you watch a person’s interviews enough, what sparks their interest. What gets their creative juices flowing, where their head is at, what’s their perspective. And we take all of that into consideration and then really start to develop a persona that is them.”
“Being ourselves has been our X-Factor and has taken us to where we are,” Micah said.
They said they both live by these words: “Dream like a child; plan like an adult; and follow through like a winner.”
This article first appeared in the Saturday Insider, September 4, 2021