What's that phrase -- if you want something done, ask a busy person? Case in point: Skyrocketing style star Ilaria Urbinati, whose plate is so packed, she's become the go-to gal for every Angeleno and their mother craving a piece of her fashionable assets. "I'm so swamped that I barely have time to eat, and I get about 50 work e-mails an hour -- not exaggerating." Urbinati's inbox could be filled with any number of pleas, from business partner Danny Masterson, blasting her with emerging designers to bedeck Confederacy, their chic Silver Lake shop, or clients like Emmy Rossum, Bradley Cooper or Chris Evans in need of last minute looks.
Armed with what she describes as an "insane meticulousness and total psychotic attention to detail," Urbinati's past is filled with elbow grease galore to prepare her for this deluge. After years of working for aunt Laura Urbinati's L.A. boutique, buying for a bevy of others and styling mountains of runway shows, commercials and print ads, she's learned that "it's important to know what you like and believe in it, and not be afraid to be incredibly vocal and assertive. Especially when you're getting paid for it."
What's perhaps most refreshing about Urbinati is that in a sea of "I die"-type stale stylists, this Rome-born, Paris-raised culture vulture remembers there's a wide world outside of just playing dress-up. She never lets a teeny detail pass without adding a poetic element or reference to her own past: "My European background is the reason why my biggest aesthetic fascination is with Americana. I aspire to dress all my male clients to look like '50s American icons like Paul Newman and James Dean." With a prominent art dealer for a mom, a shutterbug hub (Eric Ray Davidson, whom she met on a Paper shoot) and a novel-length inspiration list, Urbinati has more artistic allusions on the brain than just what her clients don. "For me, knowing your fashion and cultural references is everything," she says. "And never use the excuse that it's 'before your time.' Seriously, do your research. Know your shit."
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