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Our inaugural list of creative visionaries are the brains behind your favorite stars' favorite looks.
In Hollywood, your image is your currency, and so who you trust to craft and cultivate that is no small choice. And shaping said image is no small job. But the the brains behind the beauty—the creative visionaries who sculpt the iconic looks that captivate audiences, spark conversations, and inspire trends—often go unsung. InStyle's inaugural Imagemaker Awards honors those innovators: the industry’s most influential stylists, makeup artists, hair experts, designers, and more. This year's award-winners are responsible for the images of some of the most bold-faced names in movies, TV, music, and sports. They're pioneers who push boundaries, invent new techniques, and set higher standards.
But one's image isn't only about appearances, it's about how that visibility is used. When you have a spotlight, where do you shine it? Our Woman of Impact Award recognizes one celebrity who is using their platform to bring attention to a cause close to their heart and create lasting change.
Ahead, InStyle presents the 2024 Imagemakers who are building moments and movements. Who approach beauty and style with intention and influence. And whose work we can't wait to see more of on our stages and screens.
Warren Alfie Baker
British-born stylist Warren Alfie Baker has garnered industry acclaim for dressing Hollywood’s hottest leading men, including heartthrobs like Glen Powell, Andrew Garfield, Matt Bomer, and Monster star Nicholas Alexander Chavez. His sartorial creativity secured him a place on The Hollywood Reporter's list of Most Powerful Stylists two years running. This powerhouse stylist forgoes the stuffy dress codes of the past and instead embraces a more modern sensibility, incorporating lush fabrics, bold prints, and pin-sharp tailoring to make his clients stand out in any crowd.
Amadi Brooks
One of 2024’s biggest sports stories is surely the boom of the WNBA. And fashion has been at the center of it. Stylist Amadi Brooks is one of its main players, helping ballers like A’ja Wilson, Sydney Colson, and Jackie Young craft their personal aesthetics off the court. The 28-year-old studied fashion design and merchandising at Eastern Kentucky University (where she was a Division 1 basketball player herself), and in her sophomore year everything clicked: She would use her experience and creativity to bridge the gap between fashion and women’s sports. After stints working for the Atlanta Hawks and tennis great Serena Williams, Brooks started her own styling firm in 2022.
Molly Dickson
Molly Dickson is a celebrity stylist who knows how to have fun with fashion. Take a quick scroll through her Instagram and you’ll likely see posts of Dickson horsing around amongst racks of haute couture. This down-to-earth but fabulous approach to styling has cemented Dickson as a beloved figure in the fashion industry—and Hollywood. The Most Powerful Stylist listee has racked up a stellar client list that includes Hollywood It girls Lana Del Rey, Bella Hadid, Sydney Sweeney, and Kaia Gerber, among others.
Woman of Impact, Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn is a pillar of strength. In April 2023, just two weeks before she was scheduled to shoot a sci-fi film in Germany, the Newsroom and X-Men star was diagnosed with luminal B breast cancer, an aggressive and quick-spreading form of cancer found in both of her breasts. It was a particularly shocking diagnosis—she had recently tested negative for the breast cancer gene (BRCA) and also received a clear mammogram and ultrasound.
Munn soon faced an avalanche of challenging procedures, including four surgeries within 10 months, a double mastectomy, and medically induced menopause. She underwent lymph node dissection, a nipple delay, and egg retrieval, among other treatments. Rather than buckle, Munn decided to use her “terrifying” diagnosis for good, regularly posting detailed timelines and explanations of her cancer journey on social media, turning her platform into a resource and an uplifting, welcoming community for women facing similar life-altering health issues.
Munn has begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She and comedian John Mulaney exchanged vows during an intimate ceremony in July, and in September, the couple welcomed a baby girl named Méi via gestational surrogate. (The two are already parents to 2-year-old son Malcolm.) For her visibility and change-making in women’s health, InStyle honors Munn with the 2024 Imagemaker Woman of Impact Award.
New and Next Stylist, Katie Qian
At 26, Katie Qian is a wunderkind of the styling world. You probably know her work from the 2024 Met Gala, for which she styled Tyla in a Balmain number that turned the musician into a human hourglass. Or perhaps Camila Cabello’s recent sartorial transformation has caught your eye? Qian shepherded that, too, helping the singer go from vivacious and bright to moody and edgy for her latest album. To say her styling philosophy is innovative is an understatement: Qian is constantly pushing boundaries, helping her clients build new worlds and tell new stories through their wardrobe with an unabashedly maximalist, glamorous, and bold approach. The best part? She’s just getting started.
Mai Quynh
For more than 20 years, celebrity makeup artist Mai Quynh has put her unmistakable touch on major red carpet and editorial moments. While attending high school in the ‘90s, Quynh began doing makeup, honing her craft on family and friends before attending the Studio Makeup Academy in Los Angeles. Since, she’s worked on countless cover shoots and editorial spreads, collaborating with major photographers like Patrick Demarchelier and Annie Lebovitz. And her roster of clients will impress even the least starstruck among us: Ali Wong, Riley Keough, and Nicole Richie to name a few. InStyle Now’s Winter 2024 issue starring Wong illustrates that Quynh is truly a master of fresh skin and cool color statements.
Matt Rez
Crafting a viral hair transformation for Hailey Bieber or Angelina Jolie is all in a day’s work for Hollywood colorist Matt Rez. After attending beauty school as a teenager in Portland, Oregon, Rez moved to Los Angeles and continued his education at Vidal Sassoon. He eventually landed at Mèche Salon, where he began building his A-list client roster and pioneered his signature “midlights” technique, a color that connects your base color to your highlights for next-level depth, light, and balance. Today, working out of his own private studio space in Beverly Hills, Rez is constantly creating trend-sparking looks for the likes of Chrissy Teigen, Dua Lipa, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner, and more.
Jamie Richmond
Makeup artist and men’s groomer to the stars Jamie Richmond has done it all, from the silver screen to the red carpet. Having trained at the Westmore Academy of Cosmetic Arts in Burbank, California, she specializes in an array of makeup effects. Her IMDb page is a collection of projects that demonstrate her versatility, from Roaring Twenties blockbuster Babylon to indie horror film Black Spines. Whether creating clean-yet-glowing looks for leading men like Colman Domingo or bold, vibrant makeup for fresh young stars like Natasha Behnam, Richmond's work is eye-catching and awe-inspiring.
Tara Swennen
Whether styling for the red carpet, a talk show, or even a comedy special, Tara Swennen never fails to make a statement with the looks she crafts for her A-list clientele. For more than 20 years, she has been the highly sought-after creative mastermind behind the fashion sensibilities of many of Hollywood’s most prominent female innovators, like Ali Wong’s stellar red carpet and stage style, After Midnight host Taylor Tomlinson’s T.V. wardrobe, and the headline-making and boundary-pushing looks that Kristen Stewart has worn since entering the industry.