How Kelly Clarkson’s Stylist Transformed Her ‘Rock Star’ Talk Show Wardrobe With ‘New York City Sensibility’
When rumors about Kelly Clarkson moving her daytime show from Los Angeles to the East Coast first started in 2023, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger was tipped off by fashion designer Jason Wu that the singer could be looking for a new wardrobe team. Erlanger, who was studying business at Harvard at the time, put together a presentation and reached out to her.
“It was kind of one of those perfect examples of being in the right place at the right time,” Erlanger told WWD.
More from WWD
Clarkson, who turns 42 on Wednesday, was indeed making the move. After settling her divorce with Brandon Blackstock in 2022, the singer and TV hostess decided to migrate with her two children, nine-year-old River Rose and seven-year-old Remington Alexander to the Big Apple — the fifth season of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” is filmed at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Erlanger embraced the period of changes in Clarkson’s life and proposed a visual transformation. “New York. New Look. New Kelly,” the stylist said, adding that her goal was to create looks “a little bit more sophisticated, chic, with that New York City sensibility and more tailoring, without losing track of who she [Clarkson] is or her personality.” After all, “she is a rock star.”
One of her goals was to “highlight” Clarkson’s “beautiful figure.” “I think maybe in the past, there was a different perspective on how to showcase her perfect gear and my feeling was ‘No, let’s embrace it, and let’s show it off and let’s highlight it, and let’s do that in the most flattering way.’”
“The Kelly Clarkson Show”
Used to working with Lupita Nyong’o and Meryl Streep for red carpet appearances, Erlanger was faced with the challenge of dressing a daytime TV host for the first time. The process requires fittings of 30 to 50 outfits in one day. “It’s massive because we have to save [outfits for] a month ahead of the show schedule,” she said.
“I’ll have 10 racks of clothes with everything you could possibly need, and all the accessories and shoes and jewelry, and we build out outfits. Then she’ll come into my studio and we will hammer it out,” Erlanger said.
Every single outfit is photographed, pinned and tailored. Clarkson will then go through all of the pictures and “kill anything she doesn’t love.” “We’re trying things on, we’re laughing, we’re listening to music, we’re having a good time, but it is a marathon,” she said.
Since working with Erlanger, Clarkson’s talk show wardrobe has featured pieces from many local New York City brands, including Jonathan Cohen, Cara Cara and Eléa, as well as other luxury labels such as Gucci and Alexander McQueen.
Kelly Clarkson Turns 42: A Look at Her Before & After Fashion Transformation
Kelly Clarkson on the Red Carpet
Erlanger’s work with Clarkson had a full circle moment at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February, when the stylist collaborated with Jason Wu on a custom white dress.
“It was fun and special given the fact that he was a little bit of a matchmaker between us,” she said.
Clarkson’s fan base reacted to the look with a wave of compliments on social media. “Honestly, not to toot my own horn, I thought it was the best she’s ever looked,” Erlanger said. “I think she looks happy, glamorous. Forget about me, she was wearing that gown so beautifully. She was owning it. It was sophisticated. It was sexy. She looked like a star. And that’s exactly what she is.”
Erlanger now prepares for another chapter with Clarkson; dressing her for the 2024 Paris Games. The singer was chosen as one of NBC’s cohosts for the sporting event. “It will be something to look out for. We’ve always got surprises up our sleeves,” she said.
Click the gallery below to see more of Kelly Clarkson’s style makeover.
Launch Gallery: Kelly Clarkson Turns 42: A Look at Her Before & After Fashion Transformation
Best of WWD
Solve the daily Crossword
