Celebrity stylist and Co-Owner/Creative Director of LAPALME Magazine Derek Warburton was not always sitting in the lap of luxury. Homeless for 8 months during his adolescence, Warburton said his personal experiences and career as a stylist has changed his mindset from “me, me, me” to “how can I use my platform to help others?”
Warburton's not only the style ambassador of the city of Los Angeles, he's also an ambassador for Good Will. Last month, he went to Nicaragua with the Just a Drop organization, helping the families there establish clean water supplies. He also styled “The Arrangement” star Josh Henderson and “Pretty Little Liars” star Shay Mitchell for the dual cover of LAPALME's April issue.
This past Easter, he spent the day giving 1,300 Easter presents to Los Angeles' homeless at the Union Rescue Mission, and this coming Sunday, April 23, he'll host LAPALME's first Artist Brunch at Obica on Sunset Blvd., in which half of the proceeds and all of the donated clothing will go directly to the Mission.
“Now that I'm in a prosperous place where my voice matters, I want to be able to give back,” Warburton told TooFab.
Here are TooFab's favorite tidbits from the interview:
What was it like shooting Josh and Shay?
I had never met Josh him before, and he's a doll. Good guy, very photogenic, super handsome. He's so sweet and really fun and very, very, very funny. We just had a great day. And when you're collaborating together, it's totally cool.
And I love that show, by the way. It's soapy with integrity. And I love the undertone of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
And when we did Shay's shoot, that was on my friend's yacht. She was wearing my new jewelry line, Mr. Warburton. She's great. The team was wonderful. Mike Rosenthal (pictured above) shot it, and he's a great photographer. But Shay is a pro, man. I mean, that girl, she knows how to throw that hair and make it work.
But it all turned very dramatic when my very expensive gold and diamond bracelet that Shay was wearing went flying into the ocean. And I went to jump in, and I was like, 'Derek, if you can't find that, you're ruining your Louboutin sneakers, your Hermes watch…' I was going through the entire cash register, and I was like, 'Nope!' So my assistant at the time stripped down to his underwear, jumped in and found the bracelet.
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Get it. Why not? Fashion is about personal expression, so why wouldn't you? If you want to protest or if you have something to say, fashion is the perfect way to do it. You're your own brand, so of course. Do it. Get it.
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View StoryWho is your dream client?
I'd love to work with Beyoncé again. She was my first big gig, in like, 0 B.C. It's gotta be 10 years ago by now. So I basically recreated her grandmother's living room for a House of Deréon campaign and I did some of the jewelry. But I also love the Cate Blanchetts of the world, so maybe Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Keira Knightley. But a dream dual cover for me for the magazine would be Kate Hudson and Zac Efron.