Social Impact Heroes: Celebrity Stylist Leesa Evans is helping to cultivate confidence and overall well-being through fashion
I started a charity with Amy Schumer called STYLEFUND. It is an initiative aimed at the cultivation of confidence and overall well-being through fashion. Most people struggle daily with getting dressed despite it being such a fundamental part of our lives. We all must get dressed every day and how we do it can either help support us to reach our potential or it can impede us from achieving our dreams. Which may sound somewhat hyperbolic, but in reality it’s all about inner confidence — that fuel that drives the engine to succeed. STYLEFUND gives us a platform to reach those who may not have the luxury of time or means to find the clothing they can use everyday that will foster self- esteem.
I had the pleasure to interview Leesa Evans is a true purveyor of style: from her work as a costume designer for film to her dedication as a private stylist for celebrities and professional clients alike. Her personal philosophy and professional inspiration are drawn from a lifelong commitment to fashion, individuality, and the art of storytelling. In 2018, Leesa launched, along with actress, friend and client, Amy Schumer, Le Cloud, a ready-to-wear collection of wardrobe essentials for women of all shapes and sizes. 30 percent of net proceeds from sales of the collection will be donated to Community Partners, a not-for-profit organization in support of he STYLEFUND project, the duo’s program that aims to empower women from all economic backgrounds, to use clothing to increase their confidence and their success.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
From as early as I can remember I loved clothes, a specific white lace party dress from my second birthday comes to mind. I loved that dress, when I wore it I felt great and I believe I wore it almost everyday for a year.
Growing up my mother was a fashion designer so my entrance into the world of design began early. I worked in her shop from age 13 helping with clients, traveling with her to pick fabrics, going to fashion shows, meeting with the pattern makers and sewers and all of that creativity peaked my interest and gave me the idea that my future could be a career in fashion, art or design. Around 20 I was offered an opportunity to work with a costume designer and from the moment I walked into the costume house I knew immediately I was in the right place and couldn’t wait to go to work each day.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
First let me say that pretty much everyday is something new and interesting. I’ve learned in this business to expect the unexpected. I would say I’ve learned to be flexible and inventive…solving problems even before they occur. We are constantly faced with new projects that require a new approach and I ask my team to take on any issue or experience as their own. There have been so many unique stories and some of the highlights that stand out to me are; A clients daughter came to work with me just before attending college in hopes of finding confidence through her clothing, she had seen such a positive change in her mother’s self esteem since using clothes to support her well-being and hoped she could capture some of that essence too. We worked together to form her college wardrobe and at the end of her freshman year I received an amazing call telling me how confident she felt in being herself, she felt it reflected in the friends she made, the guys she dated and the positive relationships she had with professors. She said she could see the struggle from a new perspective and wanted to share my styling technique with everyone she met. Also, the time when Anna Wintour told me the costumes in Zoolander 2 were great, I thought “I can retire now!”
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I learn something new everyday and sometimes mistakes turn into happy accidents.
I try and begin every job with the enthusiasm of my first job and look at all of the challenges with fresh eyes. I can remember a hilarious commercial I was doing with an actor in a walk-around hot dog costume, it was a very hot day and the actor was quite sweaty which was causing the bun to look oddly discolored in certain areas. I realized I had made a big mistake in not having a second costume or not having made it in a fabric which didn’t show the sweat marks. Everyone on set was staring at me to fix it and I only had a few minutes to figure it out….I realized I just needed to make the entire bun darker so I found a spray bottle and sprayed down the entire costume with water. It
was actually a win win situation for everyone, the actor was cooler and the bun was the perfect color.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think one of the more unique aspects of my company is that despite the fact that I am a personal stylist, a costume designer and a fashion designer I actually think of my business as a service business set up to help people find confidence by bringing out their best, most authentic selves through fashion. I work with so many types of clients from heads of major companies to celebrities, young adults, the working mom, the working dad and anyone who wants to feel confident in their clothing on a daily basis.
I love that through my work I find that there is a unifying factor amongst us all, that we all feel an intimidation with getting dressed everyday no matter our size, age, economic level, race or gender and I love that I can be universally of service to everyone.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I started a clothing line called Le Cloud with 30% of proceeds to support my charity STYLEFUND. Le Cloud is meant to be comfortable, stylish, versatile, affordable and size inclusive with even more sizes to come in future collections. I believe it is the kind of clothing that can help support all of our lives from casual street wear, to work, to dinner and beyond. I designed it to help create an effortlessness in getting dressed so we can leave the house feeling great. I am literally wearing it now as I type this.
What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?
Having a core belief in yourself and your vision is crucial. Leadership is as much about your inner relationship as it as about those relationships you form with your team, your clients, your investors. There will be those inevitable moments when the walls feel like they’re crashing down, when there are nothing but unknowns ahead. Having the strength and will to walk right through those moments comes from self-belief. To me, that strength comes not from ego, but from the soul.
What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
I mentioned relying less on ego and more on the soul above, which certainly applies here. When you’re coming from a place of love for your vision and not out of fear of failure, it attracts others to not just be along for the ride, but to consciously help run the ship, if you will. That means being abundantly clear about what that vision (or goal) is and what that process looks like. The process is the foundation, and if those under you understand what that looks like, their investment in it becomes exponential.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am extremely grateful to a quite few people who have helped me along the way. Shauna Robertson has continually recommended me and been my biggest champion for success in my field. I met Shauna very early on in both our careers and we became immediate friends. A few years later I ran into Shauna after a major health crisis in my life, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go back to work and felt a lot of trepidation. She was heading to Hawaii to produce “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and she literally grabbed me by the arm and said you’re coming with me and off I went to a truly amazing experience. Another mention has to be Rhaz Zeisler who gave me the initial opportunity to get into the movie business and helped spur my desire to create a career in fashion & film.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I started a charity with Amy Schumer called STYLEFUND. It is an initiative aimed at the cultivation of confidence and overall well-being through fashion. Most people struggle daily with getting dressed despite it being such a fundamental part of our lives. We all must get dressed every day and how we do it can either help support us to reach our potential or it can impede us from achieving our dreams. Which may sound somewhat hyperbolic, but in reality it’s all about inner confidence — that fuel that drives the engine to succeed. STYLEFUND gives us a platform to reach those who may not have the luxury of time or means to find the clothing they can use everyday that will foster self- esteem.