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Celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart usually spends her days dressing high-octane clients like Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth Olsen, and Viola Davis in the finest luxury clothing. But in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, Stewart is pulling all-nighters, sorting donations for people who have lost their homes. She will move her growing collection to a warehouse where, on Friday, she will welcome people from Altadena to the Palisades whose entire wardrobes have been reduced to ash. She is also packing suitcases for people who are too overwhelmed to come and peruse in person. Friends, neighbors, and brands alike have stepped up to the plate, meeting Stewart’s one request: “We’re trying to sort through donations with the criteria that I would give this to my best friend,” she says.
As wildfires ravage neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles, the local fashion community is coming together to provide clothing for victims that not only fits their needs but also aids in restoring their sense of normalcy. Stewart, who is collecting socks and underwear, is focused on addressing a need that goes beyond just the essentials. “There are plenty of donation centers where individuals can find basic necessities,” Stewart explains. “We aim to help people begin to feel like themselves again and to provide them with a foundation for their wardrobe that lasts beyond just the next couple of weeks.” This effort involves offering fresh, trendy clothing that individuals will genuinely want to wear, “something that can uplift their spirits,” she adds.
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While looking good isn’t exactly on the base tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, its psychological importance cannot be overstated. “These people are still living their lives with their homes gone, and they still want to be able put something on and feel like themselves,” Stewart says. The desire to regain normalcy through fashion is perhaps most exemplified through the Altadena Girls, a donation site created by 14-year-old Avery Colvert specifically for the teenage victims of the Eaton Fire. “We’d love for the ‘shopping’ experience to feel good and special, not like grabbing things from a box or bag,” the group wrote on Instagram. Among those who volunteered their services were Jamie Mizrahi, who counts Jennifer Lawrence, Mikey Madison, and Jeremy Allen White as clients; Karla Welch who dresses Sarah Paulson and Anna Sawai; and Katie Qian, who has dressed the likes of Tyla and Camila Cabello. (The Altadena Girls received so much interest that one stylist was reportedly turned away due to the high volume of volunteers.)
Stylists across LA (and beyond) are bringing their unique set of skills and powerful Rolodexes to the table in the wake of a life-altering disaster. Lana Jay Lackey, who has styled everything from Billie Eilish’s Nike campaign to North West’s Interview Magazine cover, knew just what to do when starting the LA Clothing Drive. “I’ve been known to be on big jobs with 20 talent, 50 talent that need full outfits,” she says. “I was like, okay, let’s just use this formula that I’ve used for dressing people for jobs.”
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Lackey, who is also in the midst of transporting her donations to a warehouse in Altadena, has compiled a spreadsheet of families—mostly victims of the Eaton Fire—who are in need of new wardrobes. So far, she has amassed nearly 200 families in need, and she keeps a photo of each person for reference. “We have direct communications with families. We have their numbers, we have their sizes, we have their location,” she says. “It means these families don’t need to go to donation centers and sort through stuff. We get to deliver straight to them.” While Lackey acknowledges the enormous demand—and the difficulties for a small group of people to meet it—she has received an outpouring of support. Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg, fashion editor Alastair McKimm, and singer Charli xcx are among those who have directly boosted the LA Clothing Drive, encouraging brands to send new clothes to those in need.
Not everyone is focused on the new. Macy Eleni is a stylist, digital creator, and author of Second Chances: The Ultimate Guide to Thrifting, known for her thrift-toks and finding treasure troves of vintage in LA’s estate sales. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, she’s lived in LA since 2015. “I’m a transplant in this beautiful city. I dreamed of living here my whole life. My thrift community and so many of my followers are here. I have to give back,” Eleni says. She’s working with 12 women who have lost everything in the fires to rebuild their wardrobes with vintage designer and special archive pieces. With varying styles, needs, and sizes, she’s got their Pinterest boards and outfit photos to curate from.
“I’ve managed to cultivate an incredibly beautiful community that genuinely cares about people, the environment, and authenticity. Fashion serves as a medium for both storytelling and healing, and it has played a significant role in my mental health journey,” she reflects. “I’ve witnessed friends, girls I’ve encountered at thrift shops, and followers facing the loss of their homes. For many, that also means losing their meticulously curated wardrobes—crafted with limited funds but overflowing with love and dedication.”
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From both TikTok and her book tour, Eleni has connected with vintage stores U.S-wide that are becoming a valuable resource in this moment. Donations are coming from stores including Ragz and Relics in Nashville and LA’s Voulez Vous and Little Oyster Club, as well as Houston vintage dealer and creator Olivia Haroutounian. Eleni is going back to an estate sale where she’s being allowed to take pieces for free that haven’t been sold to redistribute.
In Los Angeles, clothing donation centers for survivors are currently only taking new, unused items, prompting Eleni to step in and make a difference. “I wanted to have a personal impact by assisting girls in rebuilding their wardrobes with pieces that truly matter to them,” she explained. Eleni recently connected a young woman who loves Y2K fashion with her very first Juicy Couture tracksuit from her own collection, along with some vintage Ed Hardy items and sequin Uggs she found at an estate sale last week. She plans to gift a pair of Manolo Blahniks and Balenciaga boots to others in need. “If I can serve as a thrift and vintage fairy godmother right now, I’m all in,” Eleni shared.
Like Eleni, Julia Rabinowitsch is also looking to the past to help rebuild the future. Rabinowitsch, who runs the Los Angeles-based vintage sourcing business The Millennial Decorator, has offered her services to help people find heirlooms they lost in the fire. “I saw a TikTok from a young girl lamenting over the fact that out of everything that their family lost, she was most upset about the vintage and archival pieces,” Rabinowitsch says. “It just struck a chord.”
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类似于Stewart和Lackey，Rabinowitsch承认她所提供的并不是一种立即的需求，而是帮助人们重启生活的重要一步。“对许多人来说，现在的优先事项并不是寻找一个设计师包，”她说。“但与此同时，对于许多人来说，那些他们知道无法找到的物品恰恰是最让人痛心的。帮助家庭找到那一个代代相传的包或物品，意义重大。”Rabinowitsch已经非常抢手。“今天我从亚利桑那打电话到加拿大，再到纽约，寻找一个档案级的YSL十字架包，对一个家庭来说就像是旅行的姐妹包一样，”她说。“我们收到了一些请求，包括一件Dior黑色丝绸裙子，Tom Ford为YSL设计的丝绸荷叶边裙，香奈儿乐福鞋，一只复古香奈儿包，一个被视为家族传承的Fendi桶包，以及一条女孩与她的妈妈和姐姐共享的阿玛尼腰带。”尽管任务艰巨，Rabinowitsch已经招募了一小队时尚专家来协助她。
Although the demand for clothing is urgent, the fashion scene in Los Angeles is focused on the future. With a lengthy process of recovery on the horizon, stylists and fashion professionals believe that by assisting individuals in revitalizing their wardrobes, they are aiding them in taking a crucial step toward reclaiming their lives. As Stewart expresses, “When you’ve lost everything, figuring out where to start can be overwhelming.”
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