Jessica Simpson's Stylist, Nicole Chavez, Reveals the Top Fall and Winter Trends

Welcome to our podcast, Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr. Think of it as your direct line to the designers, stylists, beauty experts, editors, and tastemakers who are shaping the fashion-and-beauty world. Subscribe to Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In our opinion, celebrity stylists don't get enough credit for all of the behind-the-scenes work they do to create looks for their clients. Sure, you may see the beautiful final result on the red carpet, but are you aware of how many pounds of garment bags had to be schlepped around, how many buttons frustratingly fell off, and how many alterations had to be done in order to achieve the look? Well, celeb stylist Nicole Chavez, for one, is fully aware of the blood, sweat, and tears required to do this job.

On this week's episode of Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr, Chavez reveals fascinating information about how red carpet looks come together. Of course, we also took the opportunity to ask Chavez her expert opinion on the season's best trends. Read on for a sneak peek at some of our favorite moments, and listen to the podcast for the full interview. 

I want to kick things off by talking about fall and winter trends. What are some of the biggest trends that you're noticing?

So I am obviously wearing a very bright-colored sweater today, so I'm going to kick off with color. Obviously, the last year and a half has been tough on a lot of people, and I am all about mood-enhancing outfits. I think color is going to be all over this fall and winter, and I love it because it's usually a time where people tend to wear darker tones, but this season, you're going to see a lot of bright, happy moments and a lot of fun color-blocking combos. I'm obsessed with pink and red right now. I love mixing those two together. I also love seeing orange and green together. I'm also obsessed with yellow and purple. So I think it's going to be a really fun season for color.

I would say the next trend that I am wearing and vibing very much is the quilted puffer. I'm very into functional outerwear. It's like wearing a blanket coat out in the world, and I'm all about comfort. And to me, it's really functional. I have kids, so it's like, "Just wipe that stuff down and keep it moving." I love the proportions of the oversize puffer vibe, too. I like being cozy and snuggled into something. So I'm excited about that.

Also, again, I'm wearing chunky knits. I'm all about knitwear this season. I love it in the two-piece sets I'm seeing; I love it in dresses. I'm always just looking at everything and taking it all in, but leather has been a trend that I'm seeing in street style everywhere, and I'm all about it. And I'm excited that it's not just about leather pants or a leather moto jacket. It's really about head-to-toe leather—leather trenches, leather dresses, leather sets—and in color. So I think we can have a lot of fun with leather this season.

You've also been instrumental in so many incredible red carpet moments over the years that we have covered extensively on Who What Wear with women like Kristen Bell and Jessica Simpson. Can we talk about some of them? Can you give me the behind the scenes of how they came together?

[Jessica Simpson's book tour in early 2020] was such a fun press tour. And it was right before the pandemic. Jess and I got together and brainstormed about what this tour was going to be. It's a memoir. It's about her and a new way of expressing herself, and I felt like I wanted this tour to be strong, and I wanted it to be bold—really tailored suiting, bold colors, very strong silhouettes. It was really powerful. It was really, really fun. It took many, many fittings just because there were so many looks. Jessica loves fashion, so she was down to do whatever we needed to do to get it right. 

Shop Nicole Chavez's Top Fall and Winter Trends

1. Bright Colors

2. Quilted Puffer Jackets

3. Chunky Knits

4. Head-to-Toe Leather

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next up, check out our previous episode featuring TikTok fashion influencer Remi Bader.