Noah Cyrus performs at 102.7 KIIS FM's 2017 Wango Tango at StubHub Center on May 13, 2017 in Carson, Calif.
Leon Bennett/WireImage
This week, Billboard‘s Stylist Spotlight focuses on Sydney Lopez, the twenty-something creative with a penchant for oversized tops and wide leg pants, who happens to be responsible for establishing Noah Cyrus‘ fresh style and accentuating Courtney Love‘s “feminine but strong” swagger.
After cutting her teeth for five years as an assistant to esteemed celebrity stylist Tara Swennen — who styles Kristen Stewart, Kaley Cuoco, and Emily Ratajkowski — Lopez branched off on her own when Courtney Love became her full-time personal client.
“We had a meeting and fell in love with each other,” Lopez, who dressed Love in a custom Marc Jacobs black gown for the Met Gala, tells Billboard exclusively. “Courtney hasn’t had a stylist in so long, but was looking for someone young and fresh. She knows everything backward and forward in fashion.”
Within a year of going solo, Lopez also hooked up with Noah Cyrus, guiding the budding singer’s sartorial journey. Get to know LA-based Lopez below.
Describe Noah Cyrus’ style in three words.
Noah is for sure cool, eclectic and unique.
What are some style must-haves for recreating Noah’s signature look?
Definitely hoodies; whether it’s a cropped one to wear with cool high-waisted jeans or an oversized one to wear as a dress with tights and sneakers. She has these Chanel flats which she wears a lot, and I think those, along with her backpack — which she carries every day — is very her. Noah loves big menswear style jackets that she can wear over an outfit or slouched over her shoulders. She loves vintage, and mixing styles including the ’90s, baby goth and streetwear for personal style.
What are your favorite brands to pull for Noah?
Most recently we go for Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Baja East, RED Valentino, Versus Versace and streetwear brands like Joyrich and Opening Ceremony. She’s worn Prada, Fendi and Miu Miu in editorial and I love how it looks on her, so I would love to get her on the red carpet in those brands.
For her, I am inspired by Giambattista Valli and of course, she loves Rodarte because you can’t go wrong with them. We love Proenza Schouler, Christopher Kane and Alexander Wang, which are definitely the designers we are excited to start relationships with for the red carpet. A lot of those designers cater to youth and making girls her age look cool, which I love.
What’s your most memorable style moment with Noah?
We’re really looking forward to what’s to come, but the one that pops into my head first is the Marc Jacobs dress from iHeartRadio Awards. It was such a cool, young and fun dress. Even Katy Perry came in to visit before the red carpet, and she said, ‘Those look like little sushi emojis all over your dress. You look so cute,’ and was just loving on her and the dress. I love that we were able to pair an established brand like Marc Jacobs with a silver two-piece lingerie set from a young designer in Orange County, Ca. called East West LabeI. She had a lot of fun on that carpet, which made it even better.
Who are some rising women’s fashion brands that you are keeping an eye on?
There’s this Romanian brand I just found called Seen, and they have really really cool silhouettes. I love Christian Cowan, and Noah wore his two-piece heart set for iHeartRadio. He’s worked with Lady Gaga on some things and he’s kind of like a young Jeremy Scott [of Moschino], but with a different edge. I really love L.A. Roxx, who’s based in Silver Lake [Los Angeles], and custom-makes a lot of stuff for music people [like Ariana Grande]. We haven’t done a custom piece yet, but he’s excellent at capturing people’s personalities.
I also really like Emma Mulholland from Australia and Sandy Liang, who’s really feminine and pretty. I’m obsessed with ruffles and lace even though I don’t dress like that.
What do you have coming up with Noah that you’re excited about? Any hints on what we can expect to see her wearing this summer?
We have a lot of radio shows to look forward to, because it’s summer, and as soon as the album drops, I’m looking forward to the tour.
Speaking of summer, what do you predict will be the biggest trends this summer?
Last summer color was picking up, and recently it’s become more dominant. I think this has always been the case, but when you’re on the carpet in colors, you’ll get more press. Particularly with a young girl like Noah, I love having her in color to make everything brighter and more fun, when it’s appropriate. I really like vinyl and patent, if you’re daring enough. Even if it’s just patent shoes, which aren’t as hard to try, but if you’re bold enough to wear a pant, skirt or jacket, I think vinyl is really cool. I really like the cargo pants, high-waisted pants and wide-leg jeans are in.
What’s are three pieces every woman should have in her closet?
I think every woman should have an oversized jacket, whether it’s denim, cargo or a bomber. It can be styled so many ways and love the streetwear vibe when worn with a pretty dress or cool high-waisted jeans and a crop top. Second would be high-waisted vintage Levi’s because they’re right for everything. You can dress ’em up with heels and a cool top, and dress ’em down for the beach. And then I’d say a cool wide-leg pant, especially a black for dressing up and going to parties.
What’s the next piece you’re buying for yourself?
I’m a shoe person and really love summer mules, big platform shoes, tops with giant sleeves and an oversized blue jean jacket.
What’s some advice you have for aspiring stylists?
Never give up and always work your ass off. Never expect to have a day off [Laughs]. Never expect to relax, especially when you’re trying to make it on your own. My best advice is if you want it, you have to work for it, and meet people and really push yourself to the limit because it rarely comes to you. But when it does, it’s amazing. You need to actually work hard, and I think a lot of people don’t know that about this industry. Even the top stylists carry their bags around; they just don’t want you to know that. [Laughs.]