How Todd White Became a Go-To Stylist for the Next Wave of Women in Hip Hop
He got his start by DM'ing Megan Thee Stallion over Instagram. Now, Todd White works with celebrity clients such as Latto, Baby Tate, and Coi Leray.
When Todd White DM'ed Megan Thee Stallion over Instagram sending her looks he'd style in her in, he wouldn't have assumed he'd hear back. And yet, he did, sparking a starting point for his journey of becoming the in-demand fashion stylist he is today.
"Of that time of sending that DM and biting my fingers and being like, 'Oh my God, is she gonna respond or am I going to get a response?' and actually getting a response and being able to connect and grow and learn with her during that time is priceless," White tells L'OFFICIEL. "So I'm very grateful for that moment and feeling confident enough to reach out to someone that kind of changed my life."
Despite still being a fashion student at the time at Kent State University, this life-changing moment jumpstarted his fashion career to levels most aspiring fashion creatives don't reach well until after they graduate.
Today, at 27 years old, White has already become an established go-to wardrobe stylist among celebrities, with many of his clients within the realm of hip hop, rap, and R&B. He's styled Latto, Coi Leray, Chlöe Bailey, Baby Tate, Saucy Santana, Iggy Azalea, and Summer Walker, among others, working across numerous mediums such as album covers, red carpet, music videos, and editorial.
The significance of his clientele does not unnoticed, as White works alongside many artists that serve as the next generation of hip hop. On the 50th anniversary since hip hop was first created, the music genre has become an integral part of mainstream pop culture. Since its creation, it's become closely intertwined with the world of fashion, as rap girls have become today's biggest trendsetters (though that's a title they arguably should have been given decades ago).
From hip-hop stars sitting front row at fashion week to the recent release of Netflix's Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop — which looks back at the original generation of women who shaped hip-hop into how we see it today — the music genre has made waves in both fashion and mainstream society.
Ahead, White speaks with L'OFFICIEL about his initial love for fashion, facing the still prevalent reality of gatekeeping, and the lasting legacy left by the first wave of women in hip hop.
L'OFFICIEL: What's your earliest memory of being interested in fashion?
TODD WHITE: I feel like when I was young, like seven or eight years old, I think a part of me knew I always wanted to be in fashion, but I also was struggling with self-identity at one point for a very long time, in a sense of being young or black and gay. For so long I was fighting this idea of 'Okay, I really do want to work in fashion.' In my mind, I was thinking, 'That's so stereotypical.' I was around 17 [years old] when I started really accepting who I was and what I wanted to do.
But again, as I said, I feel like I was very young [with my initial interest in fashion], just wanting to help any female in my family put an outfit together or loving every It girl on a popular show, or the wardrobe on any show or movie. I was always drawn to that kind of stuff at a very young age.
L'O: Would you say that you always knew that you wanted to be a wardrobe stylist specifically, or did that realization come later?
TW: That came later. I think that came when I was around 17 or 18 and I started finally accepting who I was as just as a person overall, but I knew I always wanted to do something in fashion or rather I knew I always enjoyed fashion.
L'O: While you were in college, you actually DM'ed Megan Thee stallion on Instagram, sending her different looks and whatnot. Can you walk me through that moment of what inspired you to reach out to her and what was going through your mind when you heard back?
TW: If I'm being honest, I just knew I wanted to get into fashion at that point in time. I remember living in Cleveland or [the] Kent/Cleveland [area], and kind of just wanted to be involved in some sort of fashion scene that wasn't really there yet. I remember that I gained confidence by hosting an event called Fashion Haus, an event with me and a photographer friend where we would just set up slots of photographing people that would just sign up and be styled by me and shot by him at a cool location where we would have sets and stuff built.
So after a few times of doing that and seeing how the work came out, I was like, 'Oh shit. Okay. Well, I mean, it's a start.' I mean, obviously, I'm not the best yet, but, I kind of was like, 'Okay, let's see what I can really do, or let's see where I can take this.' And I think I've always been interested in styling women. I used to work at Forever 21 during my freshman year and sophomore year. And that kind of inspired me to wanna work with women and you know, obviously, everyone loves music, so, you know, I always kind of thought about styling celebrities, or mainly women in music. That's still a hot thing right now.
So fast forward back to me hosting the Fashion Haus events and kind of like using that as a time to practice on the women who would sign up for a photo shoot and being like, 'Okay, you know, I think I may be able to take it to the next level.' I feel like I had been listening to Megan probably around late 2017 to 2018, and she inspired me, just listening to her music. I didn't even know who she was at the time, as in I hadn't met her or anything, but I just really connected with her. I can't even explain, it was a spiritual thing. I can't even describe it. But, I got the courage one day to basically DM her, it was during the time when she may have just hit 100k.
L'O: Oh, so she was emerging emerging.
TW: Emerging, emerging. Like, I'm talking no shade, but that was that time of no-budget artists running and gunning, getting it out the mud, really trying to make a name for themselves. I'm super proud to kind of be a part of that moment, in a sense that we kind of grew together when I was working with her.
L'O: Would you credit that moment as you're "big break?"
TW: I feel like I could say that it definitely introduced me to the styling world. I have learned so much from just the start of that. I think one thing that people don't really think about is, there's that idea of being a stylist, right? Of assisting multiple stylists or one stylist for a very long time and then going out and getting your own client. But obviously, I didn't go that route.
When it comes to me saying that's my big break, I truly do feel like that because it kind of started, you know, my name being in a conversation as a stylist and it also started me to kind of really have my own person to create with as a muse. [And I'm] not saying [assisting] is a bad thing, because it's absolutely amazing, and honestly, sometimes I wish I did do it a little bit longer. But, it's kind of cool to just say, I started from here, you know, took that experience and now I'm able to say I'm doing all of this now.
L'O: How would you describe your approach to putting outfits together? Is it a collaborative process between you and the artists?
TW: Yes. I think I've had certain situations where I've been able to kind of cultivate my own idea in a sense of no notes or no pushback on anything, whereas the artist just listens. And then there are times, which I'm more grateful for, in a sense of I like to do more of a back and forth, or take my ideas, present them to the client, and then the client comes back with what they think, but also it still aligns with what I have going on. So we end up bringing a really detailed idea to life that is from both of us, which I think that's, you know, how it should be just because it's not always about the stylist. I think that's an idea or something that people should also kind of think about when they're thinking about becoming a fashion stylist or working specifically with celebrity clients.
L'O: This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and many of your clients, I definitely think are considered to be the next generation of hip hop. When it comes to dressing them, have you looked to generations of the past for style inspiration?
TW: Oh, of course. If I'm being honest, Lil' Kim is the queen. There are just endless references. There's endless inspiration. And she's still, you know, killing it now, but I think that definitely is someone who I always look to when it comes to styling, just because in a sense she was so ahead of her time that a lot of things she was doing back then people are doing now. So I like that timeless aspect of a lot of Lil' Kim references. I think another person who I like to look back to is Trina. I love Trina in the sense of how the attitude and the fashion always matched. And I feel like a lot of women in hip hop now kind of have that Trina-esque thing going on where they can be freak nasty and rap about it, but still be super polished when it comes to their appearance. I even think of someone like Jacki-O, another risque, freaky-ish type of rapper who also was just well put together to me. We could go on and on and on, but I definitely take from past generations of what women in hip hop were doing.
L'O: How would you describe the relationship between hip hop and fashion today? And what part do you think this next wave of artists play in that?
TW: It's interesting because I feel like — I'm just gonna speak specifically on women for this because that's who I have worked with — but at one point you kind of saw the up and downness of the glamour. Just like really glamorous, really fashion-forward. I think at one point, even female rappers were taking a page out of Beyoncé's book and kind of being really focused on making performance outfits such a statement. I feel like there was a time when that was a thing or at its peak you looked up and everyone is looking like they were in some sort of elaborate showgirl costume.
But, it's fun now because I think there are so many different women in rap or hip hop now, that there are so many different aspects of what you get from each girl. So I love the idea of now, I think even with some of my clients, they're wanting to be a little bit more relatable when it comes to what they're wearing as far as the brands and the styling. I think that keeping that idea of relatability is gonna be around when you think of someone like Ice Spice or Latto, even like Lola Brooke, and Coi Leray. I feel like those examples of looks I've seen on them have been so like, 'Oh, my cousin can get that. My sister could get that.' She can't get the whole look, but she could get something similar, you know. They can be inspired by these artists without having to do the most now.
L'O: As someone that styles for the stage, album covers, red carpet, and the list goes on, would you say that aspect of relatability is something that you try to translate across all the mediums?
TW: Of course, especially now. Especially thinking about an album cover — that's something that you want or a client will want to be timeless. We want to look back 20 years from now, and still be like, 'That's a good reference to use for whoever is taking over during that time.' There are ways I think that you have to include the individuality of that artist, but kind of push a little fashion forwardness to it, but also keep it to a relatable image as well. I think even when it comes to like music videos now, people are not trying to go so much of the costumey route, if that makes sense. It's more so: Okay. I want girls to look at me and be like, 'Oh, she's fly. I love what she has on. Maybe I should try wearing my top like that. Or maybe I should try that silhouette of a pant.' And I think that that is what people want or what artists want now, so that is what draws people to your music a little bit more.
L'O: Today we see more and more luxury brands embrace hip hop artists who in the past were infamously excluded from the high fashion world, be it classism or, let's just call it what it is, racism. Since you've started, is this gatekeeping something hop artists still face today? Or have you seen that change?
TW: I think that it's something that people still face today. Even something that I still face. No matter who I work with, they could be the top artist of the time, and you still get pushback from certain houses. It's another point of Lil' Kim or even now, like Cardi B, they're so inspirational in the sense of, they've been able to kind of break those doors down and really turn it up in the fashion world with these people that kind of blocked that from happening.
I feel like during 2020 it was like people were promoting brands and houses were promoting to be so pro-Black or inclusive, but it was performative — performative actions that never really reflected in the real business. Coming up, I feel I can speak just from the experience of seeing other stylists around me who may have a certain client, I'll just say White client or non-Brown client, it's kind of easier for them to get approved for certain things. But you get an up-and-coming girl who's a person of color and you still get that pushback, you still get that hard no. So there's still some work to do.
L'O: And so with that, where do you like to best pull your pieces? Do you do a lot of vintage shopping? Do you try to pull archival fashion if you can? Do you do custom?
TW: I feel like I kind of jumped into the custom lane as soon as I started to just get told no so many times, which has now kind of inspired me more to want to hop into designing. I think working with custom designers or designers who specialize in custom fashion has been a blessing just because I've been able to take an idea and bring it to life with them — and my clients seem to love it. But also, it's a little bit more unique. It's a little bit more special because no one else is wearing it, and that's always better to me as a stylist anyway. I always kind of start with custom depending on what timelines are and what the artist is really into, but 9 times out of 10, it's there.
And then I also just like the idea of exclusivity. I think that taking a custom design and mixing it with something archival or an older vintage piece is always special. And I just love the idea of high-low styling just because that's what I've been forced to kind of do, just because you think of budgets and everyone doesn't have a crazy budget to just be pulling or buying a bunch of designer pieces, so you kind of have to work with what you got.
L'O: You have to make fashion magic out of anything.
TW: Basically, yeah. I think I kind of just like the idea of combining all the elements and coming up with something fire that is not so attainable, but relatable.
L'O: Since you've started, what's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
TW: I remember at one point I would just feel stressed and overwhelmed all the time. Just because of deadlines, making sure clients are happy, and just all of the politics fashion kind of has you play. But I remember one conversation I had with someone a while back where they kind of just said 'This is not stressful, you do this. It should be fun. And the moment it starts to become stressful is when you need to really have that sit down with yourself, and ask if it's really worth it or what do I need to do? Take the time to reevaluate at that moment on how to kind of maneuver.'
So I think that you have to just check in with yourself. That's basically what they just kind of told me to do. And once things start to get hard or impossible to do, you have to really vocalize and communicate what is going on. And also just stay true to yourself. If you have an idea that you really are passionate about, stand on it and don't let anyone change your mind about it.
