Fashion
Doechii’s Stylist Sam Woolf on Her Show-Stopping Paris Fashion Week Outfits
Mar
Sam Woolf is still riding the high of Paris Fashion Week. The Los Angeles-based stylist has been making waves for his work with Doechii, the Grammy-winning rapper who seemingly took over the French city with her bold, character-driven looks. Working together, Woolf helped Doechii craft a wardrobe that felt less like styling and more like storytelling, from her sculptural Schiaparelli dress to going barefoot at Chloé. His approach? Be deeply collaborative and meticulously intentional. “It wasn’t just about her style—it was about committing to a vision,” he tells ELLE.com. Here, he breaks down the inspirations, behind-the-scenes moments, and creative process that brought Doechii’s Paris ensembles to life.
Everyone is buzzing about Doechii’s looks from Paris Fashion Week. What’s something people should know about her style?
[For Paris Fashion Week], it wasn’t really about her style. It was about her as a creative. She commits to a character or a look and embodies that DNA. That’s exactly what we did for each brand or show we went to. We committed to that brand’s DNA and put our own spin on it to make it Doechii. That’s why it felt so authentic, because we worked with brands she actually felt a connection to. People wouldn’t know this, but deep down, she’s a boho girl. [When she was a teenager] Chloé was very in line with her essence. So it was about really putting together a story for each brand.
How involved was she in choosing each outfit? What’s your usual process?
We are always talking constantly. Even if we’re on set doing something else, we’ll be talking about the next thing we’re doing. So when we were talking about the different shows we were attending, we would talk about what we’d want to convey. It wasn’t necessarily about the piece of clothing—it was about the storytelling and how we wanted the look to be perceived. From there, she trusts me to figure out the pieces.
One of the standout looks was the Schiaparelli dress with the big hair and gold hoops. How did that come together?
We had been speaking with Schiaparelli, because we were attending the show, and she also wore a Schiaparelli look to perform at the Louvre. That performance look was something we texted back and forth about; she felt it conveyed hip-hop, preppy, and an African princess all in one. We even discussed the head wrap before going to Paris. It was something her hairstylist and I collaborated on.
For the next Schiaparelli look, we wanted the opposite—very sexy and feminine. As soon as she put it on in the fitting, it was literally perfect on her body. She loved it and wanted to embrace the feminine shape and body and beauty.
The second Schiaparelli look
Another viral moment was the bodysuit with the feathered jacket.
That was Tom Ford, and we just wanted to make [her] that smoking-hot, sexy, classic Tom Ford girl. We actually got changed in the car for that. We were at the Acne Studios show before, which ran late, so we had no time. She did a glam change in the car. Four of us—me, my assistant, her hairstylist, and her makeup artist—all doing things on the way. We had been emailing back and forth with Tom Ford, deciding between that and a suiting route, but we really wanted to lean into the smoking-hot girl aesthetic. I even bought Vogue cigarettes that day as an accessory to complete the look.
Doechii in Acne Studios
Doechii in Tom Ford
Was there a look that was particularly out of her comfort zone?
I think the Valentino couture dress she wore at the Louvre was very unexpected for her. She never really wears a princess gown like that. But again, she really embodied that character—being the princess arriving in Paris. From the moment the Louvre event was confirmed, that’s what we wanted to convey. It was her debut in Paris Fashion Week, and we wanted that first look to say: “I’m here.”
Arriving in Valentino couture
Were there any challenges while styling for Paris Fashion Week?
It was more about time, because we fit so many things into one day. Doechii is passionate about committing to a look fully. Her hairstylist was really able to plan styles that could convert into other things to make quick changes possible.
Outside of Paris Fashion Week, what is your working relationship like with Doechii?
We are constantly sending each other different things. It doesn’t always have to be a fashion look—it could be a carpet, a painting, a pattern on something, even a movie reference. When I’m prepping jobs, I go back and read my texts and DMs with her.
For Paris Fashion Week in particular, was there an overarching inspiration?
It wasn’t about one specific reference. It was about creating a character or story for each brand. For Chloé, we knew we wanted her to look “boho bag lady chic.” The barefoot moment was something we talked about before we even got to Europe.
Barefoot in Chloé
What was that conversation like?
It was about embodying the free nature of the boho aesthetic. Chloé represents an elevated, expensive boho-chic woman. We love exposing things that are usually hidden, and the free nature of a boho girl is running in the park with no shoes on. So we brought that to a high-fashion level.
How do you navigate differences in vision? Do you ever disagree?
We have very long fittings. We try on a lot of options. Even if the first pair of shoes works, we’ll try on five more just to see if we can do better. We sometimes disagree, but we’re both very respectful of each other’s visions. I don’t ever want her to not be completely satisfied, and she doesn’t want me to feel that way either. It’s always very collaborative.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
