When I reach Victor Blanco over the phone in L.A., the celebrity stylist’s day of running between fittings, pulls and client meetings is just beginning. The SAG awards are less than four days away, and Blanco is dressing Canadian actress Amanda Brugel, who stars opposite Elizabeth Moss on the chillingly real The Handmaid’s Tale (which was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, btw). At the time of our chat, we don’t know which look Brugel would choose, so when I saw the gown she ended up selecting, I was glad to see that it was a striking black Stephane Rolland number Blanco was pushing for.

Blanco, who rose to fashion prominence in his native Spain before making a name for himself in L.A., has been working with Brugel since the Emmys, after he won the actress over with his aesthetic after a chance meeting at a photo shoot. Now, he dresses the actress for all her red-carpet appearances, parties and photocalls. Here’s what Blanco had to say about Brugel’s red-carpet look and what red-carpet season will look like after the Golden Globes blackout.

One of my all-time favourite looks for the @bafta Tea Party. Such a gorgeous choice, @victorblancostudio. Thank you, my love! #temperleylondon #baftatea #ysl #swarovski

A post shared by Amanda Brugel (@amandabrugel) on Jan 8, 2018 at 1:28pm PST

 

On Working with Amanda Brugel

“Amanda loves fashion, she loves very well done things. Even before I was working with her she was wearing amazing brands like Zimmermann. And speaking to her I realized she wanted to be in the fashion world, like all the big actresses who are wearing the big fashion brands.”
 

On Amanda’s SAG Gown

“I wanted her to wear Stephane Rolland, recently Celine Dion wore him to the Billboard awards. To me, he is one of the best designers in the world, his gowns are like pieces of art. This dress is a tuxedo jacket, very well structured, very deep cleavage, and then it’s a very long skirt with a lot of train. And there are flowers on the sides, in 3D. So it’s very sleek, very simple but it’s very couture, very amazing.”

On the state of the red carpet post #WhyWeWearBlack 

“As a stylist it was sad to see everyone covered in black. But at the same time it was a very important statement. At the end of the day, the message is the most important thing. Even me, I wore black that day, running around L.A. in 80 degrees. Amanda told me she wasn’t going to the Golden Globes, but she would be at the after parties and she wanted to wear black. I didn’t think anyone would wear black to the after parties, but everyone did. It was a strong moment for the industry, that’s for sure. Now that they have spoken out, I think there will be more joy on the red carpet. We’ll see more colour.”