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harveyguilleniconodelamoda · 16 days

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Thoughts on Fashion & Style from Harvey's Instagram Live with Samantha Rei Crossland

Last night, Harvey Guillén joined fashion designer Samantha Rei Crossland for a chat on Instagram Live to talk about life, style, the entertainment industry, and to answer some fan questions! The full video may be available via Harvey or Samantha's IG eventually, as they saved it at the end, but in the meantime I've compiled some of the questions and answers related to Harvey's relationship with fashion and style here!

This text is taken from the video and has been lightly edited for clarity.

Samantha: Dollie says, "as a fan you can really tell Harvey worked deliberately through fashion and photoshoots to establish his style in person, in front of the camera, and on the red carpet. I'd love to hear more about that journey and additionally if you have any tips for achieving confidence in style and fashion."

Harvey: Wow, good question! I feel like that was an avenue that never was presented to me as an option for the first part of my career. You know everyone's like "oh who dressed you?" I dressed myself! I mean I still do, but I didn't really get any kind of help with anything stylish-wise until recently, when I got the opportunity to work with different designers and stylists who introduced me to those designers. That's really what it is: a stylist will get you into an atelier or someone's house, like Christian Siriano or someone like that. But for the most part, for a long time I just kind of dressed myself, and on a budget.

Knowing Harvey was putting these kinds looks together by himself on a budget in 2017 and 2018, I will never again cut any of the Chrises with their MCU money a single centimeter of slack for showing up year after year, to event after event, in bland black or navy suits.

Harvey (continued): Because stylists are worth every penny, but they're expensive! They are expensive because they do a great job, but you also have to be constantly doing that. I think Zendaya was just talking about this in an interview. There's moments where you want a stylist because you want to look your best and you want the best opportunity and possibility, and there's moments where you're like "I'll dress myself, it's just a small event, I'll make it work. I'll make it work with what I have."

But yeah, I really wanted to put myself in a position where...why can't I like fashion? Why can't I do a photoshoot, and why can't I do a cover? I had a publicist, one of my first publicists...I said "I want to be the first to do something, like be on a cover of something like this!" And they straight out loud said "that's not going to happen." And I was like..."oh well, I mean maybe not overnight, but that should be the goal, we should work toward--"

And they were like "yeah, but we want to be realistic...and that's not gonna happen."

Cannot imagine being the person to tell THIS man he's never going to be on the cover of a magazine.

Harvey (continued): I realized, if people on your team are naysayers or they're not seeing the vision, those people aren't on your team. So unfortunately, I had to let them go, because if there's someone on your team who's already being toxic towards your vision, that's not the vision, that's not the vibe, that's not it. And so I'm glad to report that shortly after that we did get a cover! And then I was able to kind of show that off and be like, "it can be done!" You just have to find the right team and the right people who see your vision.

I think for so long it's just been easy to say no to people who don't fit the mold of Hollywood, and I'm not here to fit a mold. I'm here to break it.

Samantha: You're killin' it! You have no idea how many of these questions were just "when is he starting a fashion line?"

Harvey: I want to! I think right now I'm so focused on my main passion, which is acting, and I'm so grateful and blessed to have opportunities that are coming my way and that I am excited for. And now wrapping something that I'm gonna hold so dear to my heart like Shadows for so long, I'm so grateful. And you know, most actors would kill for just the opportunity to be on a show like Shadows and call it a day, and I would be happy if that's the work that I'm known for, because it's such a great show.

But I'm fortunate that I have all of these other things that are coming up. I'm so excited for the opportunities, and I'm excited for the different characters and different roles and different hats I get to put on.

But eventually that would definitely be an avenue that...I mean, it would definitely be on brand! You know? It would be so on brand to open a plus size line, especially because growing up I didn't see as many options for plus size people, period. But if there were, obviously the lean is for female clothing, and it was never for men at all. Like the options for a plus sized guy was like...screen t-shirts and jeans. And that's it!

Or it was always Big and Tall, where if you weren't tall you got stuck with a really short and stout kind of shirt. The measurements were always catered to "if you're big, you gotta be tall," and well, I don't know if that's true, but there was no in between. So that's a market that I would definitely want to look at. But for the time being I'm focusing on the acting part of it.

Samantha: Kelly wants to ask, "do you like any specific colors or patterns? Where are your tastes when you dress high fashion?"

Harvey: I used to be afraid of color a lot because I was always told if you're plus sized or bigger you'll amplify yourself. But I think you shouldn't be afraid of color. Last year, a year ago next month, at the Meta Gala I wore pink! That was all Christian Siriano from head to toe, and there was a wink there and a story behind it--if you know you know--why he and I chose the color pink for the Met Gala and who they were honoring and all of that. So I'm not afraid of color. I try to be very specific about the dimensions and where my leg cuts off or where it elongates my leg.

Harvey's now-iconic outfit from the 2023 Met Gala--whose theme was honoring Karl Lagerfeld--blended foundational style elements of Lagerfeld's most famous designs for Chanel with all the things Lagerfeld loudly hated throughout his life. Lagerfeld was infamous for making shitty comments about plus sized people, people of color, short men, and a host of other things. He also disliked the color pink. So Harvey showing up as himself and looking stunning wearing that glorious pink number was possibly the classiest shade ever thrown.

Harvey (continued): I've just been like the Christian Siriano poster boy this year! Which is a funny story because when I first approached him over a year ago for the Oscars, he was really busy and he said "I really don't make menswear."

And I was like "well I'm not saying I want you to make completely a tuxedo, I want you to do something in the middle." And he was like "well, I kind of did that with Billy Porter" where he put Billy in this really amazing gown. And I was like "well I don't want to do a gown, I want something between that, you know? Like where it doesn't have to be a traditional, boring, just plain old tuxedo, and it doesn't have to be this amazing, beautiful ball gown that Billy had worn."

Because he doesn't really design for men, he designs for women. And he said "this would be the first I would do this." And I said "then that's great! It'll be the first!" And he definitely had never designed for a plus sized man, so we were checking all these boxes off.

So my idea was if someone in 1920 went to an award show but was trying to wear a vintage Victorian or Edwardian outfit to honor a vintage look. So the hair was 1920s. The hair was done by Connie, who was my hair person in What We Do In the Shadows, who helped me originate the original look for Guillermo.

And Romie--who's my best friend since third grade--is my makeup artist, and she did my makeup for the Oscars and makeup for a lot of the events I go to.

And it was just amazing, you know. That outfit...oh my god. Vogue ran it, they got so many likes, it was on every social [media] outlet, and it did so well that last fall, for the first time, [Christian] had a men's line. And I can't help but wonder if it was a coincidence, if it had anything to do with my "how about we try this experiment!"

This beautiful vintage-inspired look for the Oscars was Harvey's first red carpet collaboration with Christian Siriano and landed him on nearly every best dressed list for the event. The metallic brocade tuxedo gown and bell hem trouser were included in Siriano's Fall 2023 line, and are available to order on his website (for a hefty price) as separate pieces in sizes up to a size 30 (58 bust, 60 waist).

Harvey (continued): Christian's been great, and of course he would make amazing pieces for menswear, of course he would!

We collaborated on a lot of things. For the Critic's Choice award we did a really cool cut, which was like a midriff cut with a peek-a-boo of belly. Because you know, I like my body, and I can show it off! And he did it in a way where I was like "woah!" It elongated my leg and it had a peek-a-boo of a little bit of tummy, and it had a neckline that plunges. So it shows your chest, and it's mesh, and then this giant bow on the side that you can take off or put on.

This red carpet look Harvey wore for the Critic's Choice Awards is one of my personal favorites. It feels like plus size people are always being urged to both cover up as much as possible and make ourselves as small as possible. But this outfit stares those demands in the face and says "Why though? Fuck that! Show yourself off and take up space!"

Harvey (continued): It got so many compliments on the carpet! And it's to a T a Christian look, but also very much me, because we collaborated in what that would look like and how I want that on my body, how it looks on my body, because what looks good on me may not look good on someone else. But it's knowing what your best assets are and what you're showing off, and what you want to show off. Because that's what's going to make you feel the most comfortable, when you're showing off something that you love about yourself.

Samantha: That's literally what I tell my clients! You feel the best you've ever looked in your life when everything just fits you perfectly and shows off the best parts of your body that you like the most. It's not about hiding, it's about amplifying.

Harvey: Yeah, exactly.

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Thank you so much to both Samantha and Harvey for this wonderful conversation on IG Live! It was truly a joy to witness it and get more insight into Harvey's thoughts on fashion and style.

If you're interested in Samantha's designs (including her OFMD-themed makeup pallets!), check out her website here. And you can find WWDITS-themed Harvey-approved merch at his website here!

#fashion #harvey guillén #christian siriano #plus size fashion #menswear #red carpet looks #samantha rei

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