Law Roach on What Really Went Down During Front Row Kerfuffle with Zendaya at Louis Vuitton Show
Dominique Charriau/WireImage Law Roach and Zendaya
Law Roach is setting the record straight.
In a video captured earlier this month, Zendaya walks into the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week — dressed in a show-stopping tiger-print look from the label, styled by Roach — and sits in the last seat in the front row.
Roach, 44, then walks in and stands in front of her. Zendaya, 26, points to a seat behind her, appearing to gesture for him to sit in the second row. Fans speculated that there were issues between the two after a video of this scene went viral. Others thought the pair had a falling out because of the moment.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine's The Cut, the celebrity stylist and image architect shut down the rumors and explained what actually happened.
"We left on time, but I don't know if our driver went the wrong way, but we got stuck in traffic," he began. "The way we came in, it was a long walk actually to get your seat. It was a long walk. So it was a lot of anxiety, because Zendaya is really respectful and she doesn't like people to have to wait on her, and so it was just anxiety."
Roach explained that the Louis Vuitton team was "shuffling us as fast as possible" to their seats and when they got there, only one seat was empty for Zendaya.
Best Image / BACKGRID Zendaya
"In my mind, my seat was next to her. So when I got there and it wasn't, you know, it wasn't a problem, but there was nobody to tell me where my actual seat was," he said. "And so the seat behind her, when you see her turn around and touch the seat, it wasn't her telling me to sit there, it was her telling me like, 'That's Darnell's seat,' which is her assistant. I'm not gonna sit in Darnell's seat," he said.
"And so I was standing there — I was really just kind of confused. And remember, we had just made a mad dash to get there, so it's anxiety, like, you sweating. I got this suit on, the hair, and we hot, you know, I was trying to make it."
Roach then explained that he'd been working with Louis Vuittton for years and his seat is always right next to Zendaya's because "that's part of our relationship and our interaction, seeing the clothes together. And you know, the little cues, and little such, like, that's the look."
After the incident occurred, people started assuming it was Zendaya's fault. "That became really tough, because it made people think that Zendaya wasn't taking care of me and wasn't making sure I was taken care of. And then it became this thing with Delphine Arnault [CEO of Christian Dior]. I was like, Where did that come from? And so, now I have a beef with LVMH [the French business conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton], and there's no beef with LVMH. Delphine and the Arnault family have been so kind to me. Like, even after the show, we went to the after-party."
RELATED VIDEO: Zendaya's Stylist Law Roach Breaks His Silence to Defend the Actress: 'Real Love Not Fake Industry Love'
In the same interview, Roach opened up about recent sample size comments made by former client Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
After Chopra Jonas opened up about working with a stylist (whom she did not name) who made her cry over not being "sample sized," Roach said it was "a little bit hurtful" reading that in the press as she appeared to be talking about the Oscars event he styled her for the previous night.
At the kickoff of the 2023 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival Friday, the Citadel star, 40, while speaking to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, related an anecdote that happened just the day before that rocked her self-confidence.
"I've been told many things that are difficult to hear. In my job, the pressure is so intense you can't really show the chinks in your armor," she shared. "Someone told me yesterday that I wasn't sample-sized… I was hurt and I discussed it with my family, and I cried to my husband [Nick Jonas], and my team, and I felt really bad about the fact that I'm not sample size, and that's a problem, apparently, and most of us are not, and sample size is size 2."
Roach disputed the story "because that wasn't the real conversation."
Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images Law Roach and Priyanka Chopra
"I've never had that conversation with her, ever," he told The Cut. "So again, it is her gatekeepers, how they presented what I said to her to make her feel that way. And if that made her feel bad, that wasn't — it was taken out of context.
"But I'm sure it was taken outta context to get her to be like, 'Oh, okay, I'm not working with him no more. He's insensitive to my body.' Which I'm like, 'How is that possible? I've been dressing you for literally pre-pandemic, and it's been nothing but great things,'" added Roach.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
When asked by The Cut if he thought her agents were trying to make him look bad, he responded that stylists are often put in a precarious position.
"I think sometimes what it is with them is that they have an agenda and I need to be the bad guy because I'm the one who's dealing with the clothes and the body," said Roach, who recently won the CFDA award for best stylist.
"I need to be the one who says, you know — and I'm not talking about her. I'm just talking about in general — I need to be the one to say, 'Oh, you know, be careful because, you know, the pictures aren't as beautiful because you coming across, you know, a little thicker than you used to be.' It is, like, so they'll say that to me or have a discussion with me but then take it back as if I was the lead in the discussion. And I'm not saying that's exactly what happened, but that's what feels like happened to me," Roach added.
The stylist then revealed how much he loves Chopra Jonas. "But I was really surprised that — I love Priyanka. When you are around her, there's only so many women in this industry that have that thing. I'm constantly inspired by women, and she has this thing that's very Old Hollywood, Sophia Loren — it drives me crazy," he raved.
"She has a twinkle, she has a wiggle, and I love her, like, even as a person," Roach added.
Shutterstock Law Roach
After he announced his retirement last week in a since-deleted Instagram post, Roach told PEOPLE in a statement that he's taking "some time to step away" from the job and "focus on myself for the first time in nearly a decade."
"For me, fashion has always been a love, not a job. I've spent so much time and energy nurturing this love, and it has become my way of communicating with the world," explained Roach, noting that he doesn't "plan to walk away from it entirely."
Roach — who has styled memorable looks for Zendaya, Céline Dion, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande and many others — previously shared the news on social media. "My Cup is empty," he stated in the post.
