by Hollywood stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers, whose clients include Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Latto and Karol G, has a new venture. And it’s for everyone.
She opened her high fashion rental showroom The Show Must Go On in a residential space in Tarzana, in LA’s San Fernando Valley. It’s a little off the beaten path from most of the city’s showrooms, but it’s just a few cheap exits from Hollywood-rich Calabasas and the Westfield Topanga shopping destination, where Hermès recently opened.
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Inside St. Helen’s House, as she calls it, there are racks and racks and shelves and shelves of clothes and accessories collected over the years, from a vintage Roberto Cavalli Ming 2005 vase-effect corset and a 2013 Tom Ford zebra-stripe dress to Alessandro. Michele for Gucci 2016 trompe-l’oeil sequin cocktail dress and 16Arlington current feather set.
“We even have the $30,000 Gucci Cape that Beyoncé wore while pregnant to a basketball game. It’s not the one she wore, but it’s the same style,” said Akers, who won an Emmy for her costume design on the superstar’s 2020 musical “Black Is King,” and recently designed costumes for the first Cirque de Soleil country themed show. “Songblazers” now in Nashville.
She sees the space as a resource not only for young, up-and-coming stylists who don’t have the ability to pull from the big fashion houses, but also for nuns who are looking for a more sustainable fashion option, or something special for them. a big night or day out. Another stylist Ugo Mozie, who works with Maluma and Jeremy Pope, among others, stocks a selection of streetwear and menswear.
“Originally when I had the idea, I thought it would really cater to stylists and costume designers,” she said of the showroom, which opened last year in Hollywood before relocating to the Valley. “But I decided to open the doors to the public, and that really changed the game. We’ve met amazing women, such an awesome community of C-suite women and celebrities who come to us directly,” she said, citing clients Lupita Nyong’o and Jordin Sparks, who were unhappy with her Grammys dress and came on the morning of the ceremony to rent the black Zigman dress she was wearing instead.
However, dressing women in the background is gratifying. “They’re not necessarily celebrities, but they’re going to the same awards shows. They are going to all these different benefits. They always need to look.”
To stock the showroom, Akers, a longtime vintage collector, buys current runway collections and partnered with vintage dealers and independent designers not represented in L.A. She has about 5,000 pieces, including gowns, cocktail and day looks , gloves, glasses, belts, bags and shoes, including the preset outfits she created. Her clients have worn several pieces – so in theory, it could be rented from the red carpet.
Rental fashion is overcoming the stigma, Akers said, and in fact, there are now a number of high-fashion rental businesses across LA, including Albright, Janet Mandell and Paume, and tech-enabled Pickle that recently expanded to LA with peer-to-peer rental fashion. .
“With social media, it’s become like, ‘well, I’ve already worn it or been photographed there.’ Everyone accepted these ideas which used to be very unique for famous people. And people want to look good, there’s a lot of content to create and there’s a lot of events to attend,” said Akers, who is also the founder of the e-commerce site Black Owned Everything.
What makes The Show Must Go On unique is that it also offers styling services, she said.
“Sometimes fashion can be overwhelming for people, so you can come in and book an appointment for a style series, which will block an hour when the team is dedicated to you. You fill in a questionnaire about the events you are going to, the things you want to highlight or hide about your body, your inspirations and we take the looks from there.”
Prices start at $10 for a pair of glasses and go to $1,500 for an archive Chanel coat or Paco Rabanne dress, and The Show Must Go On is open by appointment only at tsmgofashionrental.com. This fall, Akers will also launch the collection on the website and make it even more widely available.
She is also planning for St Helen’s House to become a community space and collaborative social club, hosting exhibitions for emerging artists, wellness activities and courses for young stylists. “It’s a very interesting place to be able to support young stylists, just to help them,” she said. “I want to bring back through this space.”
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