Meet the Stylist Behind Lola Tung and Myha'la's Best Looks
We speak to Britt McCamey about working with two of the industry’s biggest rising stars.
For every actor whose style we’re obsessed with, an incredible stylist is working their magic behind the scenes. For Lola Tung, aka The Summer I Turned Pretty dreamgirl, and Myha’la, Industry‘s baddest b*tch, that incredible stylist is Britt McCamey. Australian-born and everywhere-based, McCamey’s styling career was anything but predictable. Over the years, she’s built a name for herself by dressing some of the entertainment industry’s coolest girls.
As we struggle to fill the TSITP and Industry-shaped holes in our hearts, we invited McCamey into Hypebae’s studio for a conversation about her journey into styling, the most memorable looks and what it’s been like to work with two of our fave actors.
Read on for the full interview.
Tell us a bit about how you got started in styling. Was it always what you wanted to do?
I didn’t grow up thinking I’d work in fashion. My mum and grandmother thrifted most of what I wore out of necessity. I had this one pair of semi-punk plaid pants and a tank top that I’d wear on repeat on Mufti days (Mufti Day is a rare uniform-free day in Australian schools). Looking back at those moments now, feels oddly significant. I think there was a real yearning to express myself through fashion that I couldn’t explore.
I see it now in my 9-year-old niece, who is really similar to me—she plays with her style in this completely instinctive way, like wearing bow elastics on her ankles or using food as makeup, and it reminds me how early on that impulse starts. I think a lot of what drew me to styling as a career is the storytelling aspect. It’s about shaping a point of view, helping clients hone their archetype, and articulate who they are through what they wear. In some ways, it feels connected to that earlier gap in my life, like I’m making something out of what I didn’t quite have growing up.
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How did you start working with Myha’la and Lola?
Lola came to me through my team. We had a call, which I had to take in an Uber while driving to LAX. We were both nervous. I came from an editorial background, and she was my first red carpet client, so it was new for both of us. We figured out a lot together, and I’m so proud of her. I met Myha’la while we were working on an editorial together, and we just clicked. After I moved into celebrity styling, I kept seeing her around, most recently in Berlin. She was like, “We really gotta just do this,” and we kicked it off. It was so organic. She’s a wonderful actress and person, and I feel so grateful to be in her orbit.
How does it feel to have worked with some of TV’s biggest stars?
I feel deeply privileged and creatively fulfilled.
What was it like for you to work with Lola around the TSITP fandom?
It’s a delicate balance when you have such a hugely beloved character, especially when that character sits quite far away from the actor playing her, which is the case with Lola and Belly. Lola is naturally more experimental with fashion, and she’s at a point in her life where she wants to try new things—and so she should! But we love Belly, so we have a lot of conversations about how to honor her, while also letting Lola express herself. Sometimes that means creating a more “Belly” look, and other times we lean into something a bit more personal and unexpected for Lola.
We developed Lola’s personal style to the beat of the show, just in a much more directional way. I love it when people message me asking for a Kiko link or to say that they are engaging with smaller independent designers or vintage because of our work together. They are such rewarding moments, where you see that the work, like fandom, has a life bigger than us.
Towards the end of the last season, we had just finished fitting Lola’s TSITP finale dress, it was summer in New York City, and my team and I walked downtown to debrief. Just before Houston St, there were hundreds of people in the street, and we were like, “What is going on?!” We realized it was a TSITP watching party, and there were all these TVs everywhere and people on the street partying. We all stopped dead, and I think that was the moment we really realized the show’s reach. Jenny Han is very impressive; she not only tells stories but creates a world, which is something I deeply admire about her and would like to emulate in the work I do with my clients.
What’s your favorite outfit you’ve styled Myha’la in, and Lola in?
I keep coming back to the chandelier look that Lola and I did for the CFDAs. It was her first time attending, and it took place at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, which is so grand, so I wanted her to feel like a part of the environment. Because I felt the whole look needed to be really cohesive in order to achieve the chandelier concept, it took us weeks to find the perfect earrings. We found the Alexis Bittar ones she wore (which in my opinion were perfect) an hour before she left! My assistant was running them uptown, and Lola’s mom and I scrambled to get them on while she was walking to her car. I should really post that look…
Myha’la’s Valentino dress for the Vanity Fair Oscars after party is really close to my heart. We’d both come off a long press run, including flying between Europe and LA twice in as many weeks. The look was so light-hearted and joyful, which is what I needed at that moment. It was an unbelievably technical look, with a lot of fine detailing and hand finishing to make it so seamless. We even tailored the thong! I love the details.
What’s the coolest piece you’ve ever pulled?
Oh, this question is hard; there have been so many. I had the top version of that purple sequinned 2012 Comme Des Garçons dress that Ayo Edebiri wore to the W Mag party. It was in my studio at the same time, and she wore the dress DAYS before my client was slated to wear the top, so we pulled it. I still feel sad about that, but if anyone was going to beat us to it, I’m glad it was Ayo; she’s so talented, and I’ve been yelling at everyone I know to try to see Proof.
Finally, what’s an event or project you’re excited for this year?
I’m really excited for the rest of this year. Lola and I are doing a method concept for her Osgood Perkins ‘ “Young People” release. We haven’t worked on the method yet, and that level of research really speaks to the nerd in me. More immediately, Myha’la and I have schemed up a concept for this summer. I’m so curious about who figures out what we are doing first! I’d also really like to take on a musician this year. I have a ton of custom ideas that I would love to see come to life on stage.
