How Chase Infiniti’s Stylists Curate Her Looks for Award Season

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      How Wayman Bannerman & Micah McDonald Became Hollywood's Go-To Stylists | Who What Wear - YouTube

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      For celebrity styling team Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, the recent changes in creative directors could be beneficial when creating looks for their clients during award season. "I genuinely believe this will lead to a better award season," Bannerman stated. The duo, recognized as Wayman and Micah, has an impressive lineup to dress, collaborating with some of the industry's most sought-after stars, including Chase Infiniti and Colman Domingo. In the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, they discuss their journey with Infiniti, their process of transforming designs from sketches to reality, and much more. To see excerpts from their discussion, continue reading below.

      Can we talk about your client Chase [Infiniti] for a moment? How did you begin working with her?

      Micah McDonald: We recognized that she was just starting out, and we wanted to ensure she felt supported and cared for rather than just styled. We approached the industry from a place of kindness and enthusiasm instead of the usual "This is what you must do. This is how things should unfold, or you risk fading away." Our meeting went exceptionally well. It was on a Saturday afternoon, and later that day, we received a call from her publicist saying, "She has never made a decision this quickly." After the call, she declared, "I'm not seeing anyone else. It's definitely them."

      (Image credit: Getty Images) We discuss custom designs frequently on this podcast, but we don't often get to see the actual sketches, so let's start with the stunning Chase Infiniti at this year's Met Gala in a custom Thom Browne piece.

      (Image credit: Thom Browne)

      (Image credit: Getty Images)

      MM: This perfectly illustrates "what I ordered versus what came"—the journey of this, and every step taken to enhance the sketch while attentively considering all our "Ooh, what if?" ideas.

      Wayman Bannerman: We drew inspiration from a Jamaican artist named Tamara Madden, who plays with colors to highlight African American women and their heritage in a powerful way. We shared this idea with Thom Browne, and they effectively captured our vision in their sketch.

      Do you feel relief now that most creative directors have settled in? It has been a bit of a challenging time in the industry due to these transitions. It usually takes some time for new directors to adapt. Now it seems like "Okay, we're a few collections in, and things are settling down." Do you think this will lead to a better award season?

      WB: I genuinely believe this will lead to a better award season. Once they find their footing, some designers and creative directors start to understand how award-season campaigns operate. Transitioning from houses that don't typically produce award-season looks involves a learning curve, as they need to adapt to the quick pace and associated pressures. They're becoming adept at handling this pressure and creating innovative work within tight deadlines, which we perhaps didn’t witness from them last season. It could be exciting to see the results, and we always look forward to new collections. Observing what designers bring to the award scene from new houses can be especially rewarding for the audiences that cherish these occasions.

      MM: If you're not from a house accustomed to producing shows and capsule collections, you need to crank out multiple custom looks week after week. The learning curve must be quite significant. I’m looking forward to the ease of it all. I often mention it, though I should probably stop because it hasn't happened yet. However, Wayman and I love to have a sense of what our award season will look like before Thanksgiving. Maybe this year will be the exception.

      (Image credit: Getty Images)

      This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.