Fashion people love to gripe about the issue du jour in their group chats and DMs, and one thing stylist Austen Turner and I have had long discussions about specifically is shoes. We often lament how there are few great shoes out there, and why so many stylists err on what seems like such a simple choice. “If you ever spoke to my clients about me, they would say she’s insane about shoes,” says Turner. “Anyone will say Austen Turner is an absolute shoe psychopath.”

Her neuroses and obsessions have paid off in spades. Turner has one of the most discerning eyes in the business, and in an era where every star travels with a full glam squad in tow, the devil is in the details. After cutting her teeth assisting other stylists, Turner struck out on her own, lending her vision to Chloë Sevigny’s inimitable style. More recently, Turner’s sophisticated yet unstuffy approach has become synonymous with breakout actresses like Havana Rose Liu, Iris Apatow, and Ella Hunt. “I tell any new client that the point of having a stylist is to make you the best version of yourself, and that can’t get lost in translation,” Turner tells me. “It’s so important to understand someone’s aura, how they exude their self-preservation, how they present themselves and figure out a way to package that in the most concise way possible for the outside world.”

In practice, Turner does not identify as a minimalist, but the through-line in her work is a reduction to the essence of her clients’ “aura.” If it’s not a red-carpet event, the hair should almost always be down, she says. “These actresses are going to a full day of press with five things. There should be an effortlessness and a nonchalance that feels indicative of them. The hair should feel like she just walked out and, like, this is her hair.” When it comes to jewelry, she’s not big on it — as seen with Apatow at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, where her only accessory was a shoe (the right shoe, we should say) and a pinkish-red lip, while Havana Rose Liu’s Balenciaga Cannes dress needed only an updo to shine. “There’s a whole thing in styling where it’s a bit too contrived,” Turner says. “There’s something we are really missing from the ‘90s where you saw personal style when people dressed themselves for the carpet. But that’s not the world we live in anymore.”

The world of styling has become a rat race to be the first to pull from a new runway show, or dig up a dress from an overlooked collection from 30 years ago. Turner isn’t into the games, only excellent clothes. “On the red carpet, there’s a sense of refinement that’s so important because you let the work speak for itself.” The specificity of her looks, from emerging designers like Commission to Rodarte and Ferragamo, allows both the clothes and the girl to shine. She hopes her clients (even through day-of fittings and hand-carrying their looks for added security) arrive ready to work and at their best, without thinking about tugging at a neckline or fidgeting with a bra strap.

We sat down with the ever-busy New York-based creative to get a behind-the-scenes report on defining looks of her clientele. From lucky accidents, to last-minute jewelry removals, and sprinter vans requested for the sake of a wrinkle-free silk dress, we dive into the inner workings of her styling philosophy. After all, it’s a process of subtraction, where hair and shoes matter just as much as a knockout dress.

Havana Rose Liu

“This was for TIFF and Tuner. That’s a look from Commission. I love the boys [designers Jin Kay and Dylan Cao]. David [Siwicki] does their PR, and David’s a good friend — I love to support my friends where I can. The look felt perfect for her. It was something from an older season that David had flown in from Paris. I saw it and I was like, ‘This is perfect. I want to use it for her.’ She has a good relationship with them as well, so it felt congruent with the story we were trying to tell, to uplift creatives that align with us.”

“This was also for TIFF for the Tuner premiere. It was a Schiaparelli look I saw and was like, ‘It’s so striking and amazing.’ I emailed them, and they immediately said yes to her, and it’s a beautiful thing that they understand her. The moment it came in, I was like, ‘Oh, it is this look.’ Schiaparelli is a brand that speaks to a different world. What Daniel [Roseberry] does there is so special, and there’s something about Havana that is otherworldly and special. The two of them align.”

“This Schiaparelli look truly was liquid silk, and the moment it went on her body, I was like, ‘This is it.’ The dress juxtaposed with her character in the movie Lurker, which is a deeper, darker, more intimate indie character. Originally, when Havana and I spoke, she wanted to lean into the character, but then this dress got confirmed and led us down a different path. Once this dress shows up in your studio, there aren’t really other options, in my opinion.

Conveniently, there was this whole concept about Four Hands, which has to do with Elden Ring, which is what she’s currently filming. This dress came in, and it was the dress for what the secret project concept was, but the dress won’t exist by the time the secret project comes around. In terms of building her as a fashion girl, it was important to come hard at the Gothams.

It was so dramatic. We texted Alex [Russell], the director who Havana went with, and were like, ‘Hey, could we get a standup van?’ And he was like, ‘What do you guys need a standup van for?’ I sent Havana a GIF of a Mercedes-Benz standup van and was like, ‘This is what we need.’ It was dramatic to ask a director to get a standup van so that her dress wouldn’t wrinkle and would go down the carpet perfectly.”

“It’s just the best f*cking suit. I made her pack this suit in her carry-on because she landed the day of the event, and even though it was a direct flight, I was like, ‘Anything can happen. If this suit goes missing in your luggage, this will be a real travesty for us all and we can’t have this happen.’ I told her the suit is so the moment that hair and makeup will take away from it. I sent her a photo of the fitting and told her to emulate the hair and makeup at the fitting. It’s the most perfect thing because it is bare and it lets her shine through, and you feel Havana in it.

There was a belt that went with it, but we took the belt off because we thought the black lines were so clean and sleek. There’s a funny thing that all of my clients will tell you about me: I take off jewelry. I always try to put jewelry on them, and then I always find myself ripping it off of their hands and ears before they walk out the door. She wears the clothes here versus the clothes wearing her. The most important thing I’ve learned in styling is that whoever you are dressing has to wear the clothes.”

“This was really special. I knew for probably six weeks that she was going to Cannes. The idea for it came from a 1947 illustration. It was not a direct recreation, but there was this crazy illustration I found really deep in research one day and became fascinated by. The colors I like on the Cannes carpet are black, white or red [for impact]. We’d done so much black and white coming off Tuner, so it was really important that she was in a color, so we ended up going with red. She really is such a dream. She is a unicorn of a client.

Plus, the fact that all of Havana’s luscious locks are somehow tied up and magically folded into place where it created this luxurious bob. The moment we put the Balenciaga look on, it was so hot — but there was also something so classic about it. The old-school Hollywood bob with somebody who has hair that drapes down their back is so unexpected and important to me.”

“I mean, heaven. This is one of my favorite dresses. Shockingly, it didn’t get worn for a while. Karlie Kloss had worn it a few weeks prior, but I wasn’t plagued by that. That’s something I’d like to note: There’s something so cool about rewearing clothes. There’s not enough good clothing to go around, so there’s something important about a look getting a second moment.

We were coming off the Balenciaga, which was red, and I wanted to continue telling that story. There was this — delicious isn’t the right word, but — delicious side boob she had, and the shape we created around her covered and went around the arms. This was a total juxtaposition, but a continuation of the story because then you’ve got the DV that went in, then you’ve got the sheer. The red velvet picked up on the red from the carpet, but also brought it back to this black and white world we’ve been in for a while. A black look with a black shoe that lengthens the toe. There really is a story I was telling as it went on.”

“The hair was supposed to emulate the feathers, which you see exactly on the clavicle, that piece of hair perfectly emulates the feather. Wow, I’m so neurotic. [laughs] That shoe really lengthens a leg. I know that shoe’s not the most comfortable on the foot, but it’s so worth it. This is also another thing I made her travel in her carry-on with. This was the day after her photo call at Cannes, so I literally folded this in her carry-on and said ‘Good luck!’ You’ll see a paparazzi photo of her in the Cannes Airport with a carry-on bag that she was wheeling that has this dress inside of it. D*mn, I realize how much I make my clients work now that I’m talking about it.”

Iris Law

“I saw this dress go down the runway and I said to every person I know, ‘This is Iris’ dress.’ Iris actually put it on her story with the little dove emoji. I saw that and was like, ‘OK, obsessed. She likes it. This is the dress.’ It was going to an Oscar fitting. I kept checking in and I kept calling the PR. I fixate on certain things. The moment this dress became available, I was like, ‘Okay, this is the dress.’ It was the first and only dress we put on. I thought it was silk, but it’s a thin knit, which is so sexy. We did earrings and rings from David Yurman, who she has a great relationship with. They were starburst earrings that played into the hair. After our fitting, I looked at her and I was like, ‘I think you should go get eyebrow slits. They will play off the arm slits.’ They tell the full story with all the slits in the dress.”

“This is Lanvin by Peter Copping. She was going to the Vienna Ball and it needed to be so grand. Honestly, the shape of this skirt and the way there were lacings in it reminded me of the tiers in an opera room. I love something that’s off the shoulder and having the clavicles show with the jewelry draped down. It felt so perfect for the event in Vienna with Giovanna [Engelbert] and Swarovski.”

Iris Apatow

“Iris actually got off a flight that morning and I sent her into Rodarte. This was a quick turnaround. I wanted to do something super sophisticated, clean, simple, and old-school Hollywood. I was like, “Do you want jewelry? It’s last minute, it’s the day of.” She said, “Actually, I think it’s so cool if we do no jewelry,” and I said that’s actually speaking my language because I love no jewelry. I think her having no jewelry was cool with the red lip and the wisps coming out of her hair, because it brought her into a glam space I hadn’t seen her in before.”

“This is a Victoria Beckham dress. She was doing promo for Pretty Lethal, and when I started working with her, I wanted to elevate her in a way that didn’t make her feel so youthful and would put her on the map as an actress. There’s a difference between youth dressing, influencer dressing, musician dressing, and actress dressing. When you’re becoming a serious actress, there’s a sophistication you’re looking to build. That’s why people hire people like me when they start hitting these places.

I wanted there to be a sophistication to it, and she really liked the sandal with it, but I didn’t want a sandal with it when it was walking. Iris likes a sweater, and I love a sweater because I think it is the best safety blanket in life. I got this cute one from Dôen. This look started in the morning for The Today Show with just the one layer, then we added the sweater, then we added the jacket. It became three looks in one for the whole [press day], which was nice.”

Ella Hunt

“Oh, this was so fun. The show is called Not Suitable For Work, so there was a kitschy idea of playing into looks that actually aren’t suitable for work. This is a blazer dress that’s super short, but it also has this crazy contrived bridle on top of it that no one’s wearing into their office or to the barn. I think the juxtaposition is what feeds the narrative of this being not suitable for work.

Ella had spoken to me about how she loved what Ellen at Hodakova was doing and again, it’s a David Siwicki client, so I love to support my man. All of this goes to speak to the fact that David curates the most niche up-and-coming designers that are changing culture. I lean into his clients because I see the vision and what they’re doing. That’s a Jude shoe we overnighted the night before because it needed to have the perfect shoe, and it felt the perfect bit horsey. It felt like the shape of the shoe emulated the muzzle of a horse.”

“My first thought was a suit, but Ella said, ‘Well, I’ll be with men so I don’t know if I want to be in a suit.’ I’d gone out to Prada because I think they do office-wear the best with structural suiting: clean, refined shapes, what Prada has been known for forever. I went through the runway and I was like, ‘These looks with the bra tops, they’ve never been worn.” But I thought it was so strange that these had yet to have their moment. I requested this one and then the teal-green one. We ended up getting both, but the yellow shone so much more.

But I think this, again, was the least “suitable for work” thing. You’re in this classic suiting material on this bra top, but then you have underboob peeking out, which is completely inappropriate for your job. Then, you have this beautiful skirt with lace and a full leg and panty out. It was just the perfect blend of “this could be workwear,” but it was the least suitable for work look that could have existed.”