Stylist Erin Walsh tells TODAY why the actor continues to inspire fashion lovers and breaks down her recent show-stopping looks.
Anne Hathaway has entered a whole new era of fashion-forward dressing, turning heads at every event she attends.
With her decadeslong career, the 39-year-old actor is no stranger to the limelight. From her sweet Mia Thermopolis “The Princess Diaries” days to her assistant-turned-fashionista “The Devil Wears Prada” character Andy Sachs, to becoming an Oscar-winning star, Hathaway demands attention on and off the screen. And these days, she’s doing it with her style choices.
Call it a fashion renaissance or call it having an amazing stylist like Erin Walsh, but Hathaway is having a moment.
“This is a really cool new chapter (for Hathaway), but she’s always had these extraordinary ongoing, long-standing designer relations because she’s been working since she was like 16,” Walsh, who has been working with Hathaway for about three years, told TODAY via phone. “I think she’s so phenomenal and inspiring on so many levels. She’s the kind of person that uses every aspect of her being, every aspect of her platform to pay it forward, be of service and be a conscious example … and that’s the kind of people that I want to work with.”
Hathaway wearing Valentino at a Bvlgari event on June 6, 2022, in Paris. Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images for Bulgari
Over the years, Hathaway has had incredible fashion moments that include her 2015 Ralph Lauren gold caped gown at the Met Gala, her white Oscar de la Renta ensemble while pregnant at Amazon’s Museum of Love pop-up in 2019, and another golden creation by Atelier Versace which showed off her 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 bump at the Critics Choice Awards in 2020.
However, earlier this year while promoting the historical drama “Armageddon Time” and Apple TV+ series “WeCrashed,” Hathaway emerged with a glow and wardrobe that people couldn’t stop talking about — like her “Titantic” moment at Cannes, wearing Armani Privé with a 107.15 carat Bulgari Mediterranean Reverie diamond and sapphire necklace. She also perfectly rocked the coastal grandmother look.
“It’s pretty obvious, even fashion-wise, people are very excited about what’s happening with her,” Walsh said. “But to me, that resonates so strongly because there’s so much more going on than just the clothes, right? It’s this woman who people are connecting with, how she is and who she is.”
“She’s already a fashion icon from ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’ People want to see that side,” she noted. “They want to see it going there, and we’re going there.”
There is a newfound sense of confidence surrounding Hathaway, and even she agreed while chatting with Hoda Kotb in March about life post-pandemic, “You have to be OK with whoever you are in the moment because you don’t want to miss anything … It’s something you have to learn, it’s something you have to figure out how to be at peace with yourself.”
Walsh grew up having a passion for clothes after watching her hardworking grandmother and attorney mom “being so methodical and thoughtful” about what they wore. She takes that approach to dressing her clients, which also include Sarah Jessica Parker, Alison Brie, Lucy Hale, Lana Condor and Freida Pinto among others.
When it comes to Hathaway, Walsh said the actor is “bringing something of substance to the table.”
“She is wearing things that project that joy and that confidence and that possibility to people because there’s a certain beauty and accessibility that she’s always had,” she exclaimed. “So when people see her … I think it feels very comforting and cool. Like, ‘I can wear that too.’”
And if there’s one piece of advice Walsh — who is working on a book about “the power of what you wear” — can give her clients or anyone it’s this: “Life’s too short not to make bold decisions. And in fashion you have nothing to lose, it’s just clothes.”
Below, Walsh breaks down four of Hathaway’s recent show-stopping looks from the last months.
‘Are you wearing the … pink Valentino?’
The actor at the Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22/23 fashion show in Rome, Italy, on July 8, 2022.Daniele Venturelli / WireImage
Walsh: That look was for the (Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22/23 fashion) show specifically. I have to give total credit to (Valentino creative director) Pierpaolo (Piccioli) and that collection because what she wore was a fabulous look from that collection. But the whole collection is like pushing the statement and I like how that came across forward. And that’s totally his idea.
‘Are you wearing the … custom Armani Privé?’
Hathaway making her Cannes debut at the “Armageddon Time” red carpet on May 19, 2022.Daniele Venturelli / WireImage
Walsh: Armani made a custom gown for us and we had a lot of back and forth with colors and we had tried different color combinations. I’m so happy that in the end we figured out (that look). One of my favorite mentors told me this a long time ago, (stylist) Elizabeth Saltzman, who I love … but we spoke about the power of a “reset moment” and (using the color) white.
I didn’t realize before we started fitting for Cannes but this was her first Cannes that she’d ever been to, because it just seems so crazy that that was the case. I had thought she had been there like 10 times but it was her first one. So it was that, it was kind of the announcement of her as the face of Bulgari, which was really exciting. Armani … they’ve been dressing her since her first films became a part of the cultural zeitgeist. So it all just felt very full circle.
We fitted in Cannes and Roberta Armani was there and it was just perfect, it was stunning. What I loved too was the hair and makeup was so easy. It just felt like, “Oh, I just happen to be here looking amazing.”
‘Are you wearing the … David Koma cut-out dress?’
The actor at the Los Angeles “WeCrashed” premiere at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on March 17, 2022.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic
Walsh: That was wild and how it worked on the carpet was so funny. We weren’t expecting (her to match the event).
That’s the kind of dress that just worked so well because she is just shining in her own skin … and you have to do that to wear that kind of dress. If you’re not feeling it, it’s not going to work. That just kind of felt like the icing on the cake. It’s cool to me too when you see designers that are able to execute that balance of showing skin without being vulgar and David Koma is great.
‘Are you wearing the … colorful Christopher John Rogers set?’
The star is seen outside the “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” show on March 15, 2022 in New York City. James Devaney / GC Images
Walsh: (Christopher John Rogers) is a designer who is putting joy out there and we want to be a part of spreading that message. Period. He’s so great at what he does, and it’s unique amongst his peers and the quality and the way that he designs and how it’s executed, is just phenomenal. His color palette, it’s psychedelically joyful. It’s so fun.
