Celeb chic: Stylist to the stars

Sunday Mirror, Feb 23, 2003 by Mike Hodgkinson

'I'd like to thank my stylist...' Well, you didn't think the A- list got dressed all by themselves, did you? Oscar night is more than just a fancy prize-giving - it's the biggest catwalk in showbiz. Every year, the world's most beautiful women get together to show off while the world tunes in to worship, point and gawp.

Getting the invite is just the beginning. The next question is what to wear. Clued-up celebs will usually do the sensible thing and call Jessica Paster - the reigning queen of Hollywood stylists. It's Jessica's job to make sure her ultra-famous clients look fantastic on the night - but it's not just a case of popping down the shops and trying on some new clobber. Jessica's work takes her round the world - and it never stops. 'Every actress wants to look beautiful and unique. I interpret their dream and make it a reality,' she says.

In her quest for the perfect outfit, Jessica, 28, consults with designers, globetrots for new jewellery, calls stuff in, sends it back and generally shreds her nerves. 'My busy time is all year long,' she says. 'For Oscar season, I start at the beginning of January and don't finish till the end of March. I work round the clock. I need to call people in Europe, so I either go to bed at 2am or wake up at 4am.'

Jessica doesn't restrict herself to the Oscars. She also does the Golden Globes, premieres, parties, weddings, photo shoots, videos and any other occasion which demands the most eye-catching outfit in town. Her client list reads like a United Nations of style: Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Garner, Gwen Stefani, Thandie Newton, Christina Applegate and Natascha McElhone are just a few who've had the Paster treatment. Naturally, Hollywood diplomacy dictates she can't pick a favourite, but she tackles each job with enthusiasm. 'If I don't love a client or it's not reciprocated, then we don't work together,' she says, with typical LA luvviness. 'I just love every one of them.' She won't reveal her fee, but says, 'I make a great living'.

It all began in the early 90s when Jessica realised she was never going to make it big in the movies. 'I wanted to be an actress,' she says. 'I studied for three years from when I was a teenager in Los Angeles, but in my first two auditions I almost had a heart attack. I had severe stage fright.'

A friend suggested she change her career plans. 'By chance, I became an assistant stylist for two and a half years - and I loved what I was doing more than anything else in this world. 'When Kim Basinger and Minnie Driver became my clients, in 1997, I decided to go it alone. The minute I did Minnie and Kim everything shifted - people were more interested in what I had to say than my boss. At that point, he said, "It's time for you to leave. Now we're in competition".'

Jessica's big break was the 'mermaid' dress Minnie Driver wore, to stunning effect, at the 1998 Golden Globe awards. But it nearly didn't happen. 'Miss Minnie wanted to wear this beautiful Richard Tyler dress, but every time he made it, it wouldn't fit right,' she recalls. 'He'd made three of them and I was getting a little nervous, so I called Alexander McQueen out of the blue.' McQueen was working for Givenchy at the time and the dress arrived just two days before the Golden Globes. 'Minnie said, "Do you really expect me to wear this green thing?" And I'm like, "You'll see, you'll see". So we put it on her and it was amazing.'

The dress was sensational - but Jessica wasn't about to rest on her laurels. She followed it up with the pale green Escada dress Kim Basinger wore when she won an Oscar in 1997 for her role in LA Confidential. 'When Kim hired me she said, "I want to be very elegant, very classic, very Princess Grace". We talked about a beautiful green, but not your typical green - an unusual colour.' The quest for exactly the right shade took Jessica from LA to New York, and it was touch and go. 'Eventually we got the green Miss Kim loved. Our final fitting was at 11am on the day of the awards.'

In 2000 another near-disaster involved Hilary Swank's Christian Dior Oscar dress and some bogus gems. 'When Dior did the first fitting in Los Angeles, we loved everything,' Jessica explains. 'But when we got the end result, there was a piece of jewellery they were supposed to put on, but they had replicated it. Miss Hilary wanted the vintage jewellery, so I ended up on the Friday night, at 6.30pm, starting to look for other outfits - the Oscars were on Sunday.'

In the end, Hilary went for a strapless bronze Randolph Duke ballgown. Thanks to Jessica's nerves of steel, trauma was averted. 'I'm so seasoned in doing this, my clients can literally call me an hour before an event and it will all work out. I don't think I deal with it till after the fact - that's when I have a little meltdown.'

So what's her secret? 'I work my clients' personal style into everything,' Jessica says. 'For example, Jennifer Garner from Daredevil is very classic, Gwen Stefani is funky and has a lot of say with what she likes to wear, somebody like Thandie Newton is soft and pretty. I keep it around their vibe.'