Netflix's Styling Hollywood is the best reality show yet at showing the work of a celebrity stylist

The New Yorker

"Styling Hollywood, on Netflix, illuminates the work of a celebrity stylist better than any of its basic-cable predecessors," says Troy Patterson, of the reality show premiering Friday. "For all the hectic visual clutter and self-promotional chatter of The Rachel Zoe Project, for example, it seemed possible to watch a whole season of it without getting a good look at a great dress, or hearing a fine quip about a bad one. Such shows are often content to bask in the secondhand splendor of the stylist’s clients and in the decadence of overstuffed showroom racks. But this series, which charts an awards season in the life of the stylist Jason Bolden, carefully outlines the serious craft of costuming a star for a red-carpet performance. In passing asides and straight-to-camera avowals, Jason shares his strategies for flattering clients’ figures and playing to their personae. Thoughtfully, he grooms the plumage of Eve, who loves a jumpsuit; of Taraji P. Henson, who loves to play with a skirt; and of Yara Shahidi, who requires that her outfits permit her to dance the robot. Sending off a starlet to the People’s Choice Awards, he glows with the satisfaction of 'watching my child go to prom.'" ALSO: Styling Hollywood with Jason Bolden and husband Adair Curtis offer the best showcase of black gay marriage.