Are stylists a new phenomenon?

Are stylists a new phenomenon?

Let's face it: in the world of celebrity, image is everything. Headlines are splashed across weekly gossip magazine pages declaring `Horror: Stars before Stylists.' Certainly, our increasingly visual and air-brushed world demands our celebrities to look picture-perfect at all times. Therefore, it only seems natural that as celebrities increasingly market their image that they would employ someone to maintain this profitable asset. But is this a new phenomenon or did the glamourous stars of previous eras rely on stylists too?

As an eight-time Oscar winner, Edith Head styled more than 1,000 Hollywood films. In a career spanning nearly six decades, she dressed Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. These actresses are considered some of the most stylish women in the world and continue to inspire the fashion-conscious yet they relied on someone else's idea of style.

We may consider the exponential level of information that we are now exposed to which prohibits stars from hiding their style blunders. The speed in which trends rise in popularity then fall is also greater than ever before and stars must keep ahead of the game. Furthermore, it is now considered a faux-pas to recycle outfits. The sheer volume of clothes celebrities are required to wear would need a full time wardrobe mistress. With this increasing pressure, stylists have become a necessity.

We may not be able to answer this question fully as the stars of the past enjoyed a greater level of privacy but we should consider how celebrities now freely admit to using celebrity stylists such as Rachel Zoe which has created a trend of its own. But do spare a thought next time you write off stars for employing stylists because if you were in their lucky position wouldn't you do the same?