Law Roach’s sharp tongue is dividing ‘Project Runway’ fans again
TheGrio...
The celebrity stylist’s blunt critiques have sparked backlash, but his fashion credentials make the case that honesty is part of the job.
With the styling instincts of LeBron James holding a basketball, a penchant for a sleek, silky straight bust-down, and an eye that helped transform Zendaya into a bona fide fashion darling while ushering Celine Dion into a full-blown style renaissance, one thing is for certain: Law Roach knows fashion. He’s also going to be brutally honest about whether or not yours is bad, usually with a nasty little read in there.
The renowned image architect and celebrity stylist is back in the judges’ seat for season 22 of “Project Runway,” where his searing hot critiques of the up-and-coming designers have once again divided fans.
For more than two decades, “Project Runway” has given us major fashion moments and designers, including Christian Siriano, who went from winning season four to serving as the show’s mentor. This season kicked off with a franchise-first 22 designers competing for $200,000, a mentorship with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and a spread in Elle magazine. With the competition at its midpoint, Roach’s mouth is drawing nearly as much attention as the clothes.
The latest debate erupted during episode four, when the remaining 10 designers went head-to-head creating looks inspired by wild animals. Competing designer Joseph McCrae, who has returned after being eliminated last season, produced a winning look inspired by a macaw. However, where he went wrong, according to Roach, was when he used the leftover fabric to make himself a coordinating garment and wore it into the judges’ deliberation, which was supposed to be blind.
Roach called the move “arrogant,” which some viewers have felt was a step too far, especially coming from one Black man to another. The critique itself, however, was fair. McCrae has been blessed with a rare second chance and just proved he could produce a winning look. The image architect wanted him to understand that he has to play the game if he intends to beat it.
Before we reached this point, during the first challenge, Roach made it clear what to expect with him. After he watched look after look come down the runway and at least two that gave costume he declared, “There must be a drag queen on this season.” There were two, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Plane Jane, who ended up engaged in a shady little back-and-forth with Roach before her elimination. But when the remaining drag queen, who is still in the running, made it before Roach, he declared, “I hated it,” after his look received positive feedback from others.
Even his fellow judges have had to stay ready. When Tyra Banks compared one designer’s oversized collar to an airplane neck pillow, Roach asked, “You still fly economy?” Earlier, when Banks likened another look to fast fashion, he replied, “I didn’t see fast fashion, but I don’t shop on those sites.” Banks eventually got her lick back when Roach described another design as “the look for less.”
“Oh, so now you know those sites,” she deliciously shot back.
When Roach joined “Project Runway” as a main judge last season, he quickly filled the harsh judge seat every good fashion competition needs. At times, however, the criticism got a little too spicy. Viewers noticed some of his toughest critiques appeared to land on the show’s Black designers, raising questions about why he seemed to have so much more smoke for the very contestants many expected him to champion.
Addressing his harsh criticism before season 22 began, while on “Live with Kelly and Mark,” he said It’s all out of love.
“I want every contestant to be their absolute best,” he explained.
“It also comes from a place of looking at these clothes through the lens of a stylist,” he continued. “Like, can I see my clients in it? Can I see my favorite celebrities wearing it? And I think if I wasn’t so honest, I would be doing the contestants a disservice by not telling the truth because it’s real-world experience.”
This is fashion we’re talking about, after all. There’s a reason pop culture has long depicted fashion people as impeccably dressed terrors, from Wilhelmina Slater sashaying through Mode on “Ugly Betty” to Miranda Priestly and her minions cutting folks down at Runway in “The Devil Wears Prada.” The only thing meaner than the read was usually the outfit they wore while delivering it.
Those characters were exaggerated, of course, but the archetype came from somewhere. Fashion is an industry built on exacting standards, fierce competition, and people paid, in one way or another, to have an opinion. It demands excellence in a business where what qualifies as excellent is almost entirely subjective. The wrong fabric can make an expensive look…cheap. A few inches can throw off an entire silhouette. One designer is inspired, another is derivative, and somebody has to know the difference. Roach has spent his career proving that he does.
His work with Zendaya helped transform her from Disney darling into one of the most formidable fashion figures of her generation. He also helped usher Dion through her glorious fashion renaissance, turning the legendary singer into the unexpected darling of street style and couture. By the time he announced his retirement from celebrity styling in 2023–somewhat abruptly—his eye had made the man behind the looks a fashion star all unto himself.
Of course, the mouth has helped. The pursed lips, coy replies, and perfectly timed reads have become part of the Law Roach experience. When reporters clamored for details about Zendaya’s wedding and, naturally, what she wore, he famously said, “You missed it,” with a hair flip.
That same mix of expertise and attitude is what Roach brings to “Project Runway.” Not every read will land, and last season proved the sting can sometimes overpower the message. This time around, he seems to be finding the balance without sanding down what makes him king. He can be blunt, shady and, yes, a little rude. But that mouth has never written a check his fashion sense couldn’t cash.