‘It makes you very close to people very quickly’: The influential style guru behind the stars’ red-carpet looks

As the Oscars approach, Kate Young – the stylist who dresses Scarlett Johansson, Dakota Johnson, Margot Robbie and others – talks risk taking, intimacy, and why method dressing drives her “nuts”.

On any given Oscar Sunday, Kate Young is sipping black coffee while perched in a movie star’s bedroom. “If the ceremony starts at 8pm, we’re there in the morning,” says the celebrity stylist, who has dressed Scarlett Johansson, Dakota Johnson, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez for some of their most iconic red-carpet arrivals. “We try on the dress one last time before the hair-and-makeup team begins their work,” she explains. “But also, I’m kind of a nerd about the Oscars. I treat them like a final exam.”

Young’s academic roots go deep. After graduating from high school in Pennsylvania, she studied English and Art History at Oxford University. “They had us write papers once a week, and then defend our arguments in front of the whole class. What great training to stand in front of a movie studio and explain why their biggest, most bankable star should wear something that might be a little risky!”

Those risks – like the canary-yellow Vera Wang gown she chose for Michelle Williams at her first Academy Award ceremony in 2006 – have helped propel Young to the status of a Hollywood fashion guru. Today she is among the most influential people in fashion.

After university, Young got a job as the personal assistant of Lynne Franks, the UK fashion publicist and one of the founders of London Fashion Week. A neighbour from childhood then set her up with an interview at Condé Nast, the parent company of Vogue. “Anna Wintour needed an assistant, but pretty soon, it became clear I should be working in The Closet,” says Young, referring to Vogue’s legendary walk-in wardrobe. “Back then, models were on the cover of Vogue, and celebrities were kind of an afterthought.” When an up-and-coming actress had a small story in the magazine, she would volunteer to dress them.

“There’s a real disconnect between high fashion and what people actually wear. Celebrities are the first place that most people see designer fashion. But they still have to be human beings – I mean, can they sit down in a couture evening gown? Can they walk in a pair of designer shoes without someone holding their hand? If not, then I’m not interested, no matter how famous the brand is.”

After shoots with then-emerging stars like Sienna Miller and Katie Holmes, Young would often field requests from Hollywood publicists – or sometimes the actresses themselves – for a last-minute gown. “They’d be like, ‘Shoot, I have this party, can I borrow a designer dress? Can you help?’ But I still never thought it could be a career.”

Young considers the vivid yellow gown that Williams wore when she was nominated for a best actress Oscar for Brokeback Mountain as an early professional coup. “It was her first nomination, and there was a lot of excitement. So we created this very sparkly moment, especially with the jewellery. Because of its colour, that dress was almost a spotlight in itself, and that was very intentional. We wanted people to keep wanting to look at her. That’s the job of a star.”