WHETHERIT’SYOUR WELL-DRESSEDNEIGHBOUR OR A NEW INSTAGRAMFRIEND, OFTENOTHERWOMEN INSPIREOURSTYLECHOICESMORE THANA RUNWAY TREND. LAURAANTONIA JORDAN SPEAKS TO FIVE FASHIONABLE PAIRS OF WOMEN TO DISCOVER HOW THEY’VE INFLUENCED EACH OTHER’S WARDROBES – AND LIVES
GEORGIA MEDLEY, STYLIST, AND NATALIE ROAR, STYLIST AND COSTUME DESIGNER
GEORGIA MEDLEY AND NATALIE ROAR are used to handling things with care. Not just the couture creations they might help source for a red-carpet appearance, but also their clients, who include Little Simz, Michaela Coel and Golda Rosheuvel. ‘I have to get an understanding of what they like, who they want to be, how they want to be perceived,’ says Medley. Similarly, ‘Really working with someone to help them find the beauty in themselves [is] something I don’t take for granted,’ says Roar.
Their work inevitably shapes the way the long-term friends, who met in their teens via Medley’s cousin, get dressed themselves. For Medley it’s how she’ll feel when she leaves the house. ‘Comfort is obviously key. I have my uniform: tailoring, something really simple and easy,’ she says, adding that she takes care not to impose her taste too much when working. ‘When I am going to dress a client, I am conscious about not outdoing them in a crazy outfit.’
Helping other people to craft their image has given them both an understanding of the power of clothes as tools of self-expression. ‘It’s one of the ways I feel the freest,’ explains Roar. ‘The way that I use clothing as a means of empowerment has been important to me throughout my life in terms of discovering who I am as a person – it’s ever-changing.’
They might be in similar lines of work, but there is only admiration, rather than competition, between the pair. Roar is endlessly motivated by Medley’s ‘tenacity and drive’. Meanwhile, Medley praises Roar’s style for its authenticity.
A shared love of the possibilities of fashion doesn’t mean a copy-and-paste look. Rather, they celebrate their differences. ‘We both have our own style and are very confident in how we dress. Nat is so much more experimental. My style is a bit more refined – or, you could say, more boring!’ Medley laughs. ‘Obviously we’re quite individualistic in the way we dress; there’s no judgment, adds Roar. ‘That is the beauty of our friendship.’
