Meet Canada’s red-carpet power stylists | Canada Voices

As Hollywood prepares for the Academy Awards, Canadian image-makers are shaping the looks of some of the film industry’s biggest stars as they get ready to make memorable red-carpet moments at the Oscars.

Celebrity stylist Karla Welch’s clients tend to be actors who exude a kind of self-actualized, cool-girl, avant-garde sensibility – something which she also embodies. Sarah Paulson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Olivia Wilde and Tessa Thompson all place their trust in Welch, who has a track record for creating game-changing red-carpet looks.

Also gearing up for the Oscars is makeup artist Hung Vanngo, whose clients include Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez. Vanngo will be working alongside long-time collaborator and pioneering celebrity hairstylist Harry Josh, who rose to fame on the tresses of Gisele Bündchen, and more recently added Kate Hudson, Priyanka Chopra and Victoria’s Secret models Karlie Kloss and Irina Shayk to his roster.

Josh, Vanngo and Welch spoke with The Globe and Mail about navigating a shifting media landscape, how it feels to be Canadian in Hollywood right now and what it takes to stay at the top.

Celebrity stylist Karla Welch

Karla Welch has been a staple on the Hollywood Reporter’s Power Stylists list since its inception in 2011. That year, she received an honourable mention for then-newcomer Hailee Steinfeld’s stylish awards season run. Six years later, Welch received the list’s top honour and was named the most powerful stylist in Hollywood for using her impeccable eye to propel Ruth Negga into fashion star status.

But the Powell River, B.C., native is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Justin Bieber, who Welch styled in outsized, “post-scum-bro” outfits, cementing the pop star as an anti-fashion style icon.

Because of her high profile, Welch is no stranger to criticism. Speaking from her home in Los Angeles, she expresses disdain for what she sees as under-informed red-carpet critics – and her respect for studied fashion criticism from stalwart voices such as The Cut’s fashion critic-at-large Cathy Horyn and The New York Times’ fashion director and chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman.

“I think we’re in an era of soundbites and really dumbing things down,” she says. “It’s like every year, there’s going to be a conversation about red-carpet stylists because it’s awards season, right? But it’s like, nobody’s really nailed it.”

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Welch has little interest in red-carpet criticism that dismisses final looks offhand without taking into account the thought process and artistry involved.

Still, Welch is open to the next generation of voices. “I respect the creator economy of kids who are jumping on and saying what they like and don’t like.” When the conversation turns to Gen Z, Welch brightens. “Oh my God, I love them. … I’m just really into what they have to say and what they’re into.” The stylist takes note of Gen Z’s ability to experiment with thrifted items and commitment to self-care.

Discussing what it’s like to be Canadian in Hollywood at a time of political unrest, Welch is characteristically outspoken. “I think it is really hard here right now. Like it’s brutal. I’m deeply happy that I have roots in Canada and that I could always go home. But, you know, that’s not what I’m going to do,” Welch says.

On the topic of politics increasingly infiltrating the red carpet, Welch – who is equally known for her activism for gun control and gender equality, and is also the founder of the Period Company (a brand rooted in the goal of ending period poverty) – believes politics are unavoidable and inherently personal, making the red carpet (or any public platform) an appropriate place to speak out.

“If you are a living, breathing person, politics affect you. And so I will never subscribe to someone saying you don’t get to speak up.”

The stylist is working with nominated leading actress Renate Reinsve for this year’s Oscar ceremony and gives credit to her Canadian roots for positioning her for success and career longevity. “I think that my real kind of secret sauce, is being Canadian,” she says. “There’s a humbleness and real work ethic that comes with being Canadian.”

Makeup artist Hung Vanngo

Hung Vanngo has spent two decades creating covetable looks on the world’s most famous faces including Helena Christensen, Julianne Moore and Emily Blunt. Halle Berry called the artist masterful.

The soft-spoken makeup artist, who was born in Vietnam and spent three years in a refugee camp in Thailand before immigrating to Calgary at the age of 8, has a dedicated fanbase of more than four million Instagram followers. Vanngo’s clients occasionally lend their celebrity to his YouTube videos. A 2022 video featuring Selena Gomez has amassed more than three million views.

Last fall, the pro launched his eponymous line of colour cosmetics, Hung Vanngo Beauty, and he uses the comments section for his YouTube videos as informal consumer research. “Because I’m working on a brand, I don’t want to stay in a bubble and say, ‘Oh, I know it all. I’ve been doing this about 20 years, I know everything about makeup.’ I don’t want to be that type of person.”

His precision is legendary. Client and Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence spoke out in a 2023 Interview magazine article about casual observers accusing her of having undergone facial plastic surgery. Lawrence attributed the perceived changes to Vanngo’s skillfully applied makeup. For this year’s Academy Awards, the artist will work his magic on long-time client Rose Byrne, who is nominated for her role in the thriller If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

When asked about the encroaching threat of AI in his field, Vanngo says, “It’s quite nervous, for me. People send me things sometimes, I don’t know if it’s AI or not. I hope that it doesn’t affect makeup artistry.” He continues, “When someone does beautiful makeup, it’s not just about application. … If I do makeup it has a lot of heart and soul. … Makeup is not robotic.”

As for viral beauty trends he’d like to see disappear, he says: “You know how people pour foundation on the face and then use the brush to apply it … it’s too much.” And: “I never liked stencilled brows.” Though his currency is makeup, Vanngo says his favourite looks use as little of it as possible.

“I always love a woman who doesn’t wear much on the face with a beautiful red lipstick. I think it shows so much about confidence and that exudes elegance.”

Contemplating his staying power in a very fickle industry, Vanngo offers this advice: “One thing I’ve learned, working with all the successful famous celebrities – as much as they tell you, ‘Oh … yeah, I’m just very relaxed’, they [aren’t]. They work very hard and in order to stay on top, you have to [give] your all.”

Hairstylist Harry Josh

If you’ve ever asked for beachy waves and balayage at a salon, you may have celebrity hairstylist Harry Josh and his long-time friend Gisele Bündchen to thank. When the two first met in the late nineties, the supermodel confided that she missed the way her hair was kissed by the sun in her native Brazil. Josh intuitively created a specialized colour for her, and in his tiny New York sixth-floor walk-up with a cracked bathroom mirror, the textured hairstyle that launched a million copycats was born.

Since that life-altering moment, Josh has secured his place as one of the world’s most sought-after celebrity hairstylists, creating effortlessly glamorous looks for a slew of celebrities including Cindy Crawford, Priyanka Chopra and Amy Adams.

Speaking from his Hudson Valley, N.Y., home before flying to Los Angeles for awards season, Josh considered the vociferous new-media landscape. “I basically give no power to anyone other than myself. Meaning it does not matter what anyone thinks or says or writes. I will ignore it … and that’s the good stuff too. Because it’s not important to me.”

In light of the increasing presence of politics on the red carpet this year, with celebrities such as Natalie Portman speaking out against the United States’ immigration enforcement tactics, Josh says: “People who are loud and proud and want to, you know, speak their truth and go out there and march and protest … that’s beautiful and wonderful. I’m so glad that those people have it in them.”

The Surrey, B.C., native sees his role as an agent of calm in a world that can feel like it’s spinning out of control. “[If] I’m around people that are fired up about what’s going on in the world, and I’m just coming in and just giving everyone love and kindness, I can soften the energy,” he says.

Though his hairstyling expertise is unquestioned, he points to this intangible quality as the key to his success. “It’s really about how you’re making that person feel on an emotional level.”

Though Josh admits he deliberately avoids the news cycle, he is well acquainted with current hair trends. When asked about the undeniable impact of the trendy bob (most recently debuted on Demi Moore at the Gucci fall/winter show at Milan Fashion Week), the stylist is clear: “I’ll tell you what the magic of the bob is. [The] bob equals courage. … When someone does take the plunge and does it, it’s very exciting and it’s a game-changer.”

On the flip side, Josh is not a fan of the trend among teenage boys to swoop their hair skyward: “It all looks flicked up like the bottom of a broom. … It just doesn’t look good.”

Josh favours a less-is-more approach. “I have always done a lot of classic looks. I’m definitely not the architectural hairdresser when it comes to red carpets.” Consider Kate Hudson’s slicked back bun at the New York premiere of her film Song Sung Blue or Byrne’s simple blowout at this year’s Golden Globe Awards – both exemplify his winning ethos: beautiful and simple.