Sunday, Jul. 26, 2009

'What Not to Wear' gets new stylist

Ted Gibson, hairstylist for celebrities and catwalks, is giving "What Not to Wear" its own makeover.

TLC has added Gibson as one of its advisers to join fashion stylists Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, and makeup artist Carmindy. He replaces Nick Arrojo.

The switch was made in an effort to freshen up the 7-year-old reality series, according to Nancy Daniels, the network's senior vice president of production and development.

On the show, participants trade in their old wardrobe in exchange for a shopping spree, new hairdo and makeup consultation. They also give up control of their look -- and that can be the hard part, especially when it comes to their tresses, says Gibson.

"You can take off the clothes and makeup, but the hair is going to stay with them after the show is done," he says.

Gibson has shot five episodes so far (which start airing Friday), and he says he's enjoying it -- even when the women don't quite appreciate their new look as much as he'd like. "My role is to make the girls feel pretty, to change their hair from being drab to being beautiful and sexy."

The actual work isn't all that different from what he does at his namesake salon in Manhattan, for stars like Anne Hathaway and Renee Zellweger or fashion houses such as Chanel and Prada. But with the TLC participants on such an emotional roller coaster, he finds himself feeling their ups and downs.

Still, Gibson says, at least everyone has left his chair with an understanding of the difference one's hairstyle makes to overall appearance. "I can see the transformation and potential beauty in each of these women."

This season has had the most vocal and volatile participants, agree the fashion experts. "It's been a baptism by fire," Kelly says.

London gave Gibson a pep talk after his first taping, she recalls. "I don't think he was expecting the reaction he got at the first makeover," she said. "I sent him an e-mail explaining the psychology of it all, that people become attached to their identity and you're not criticizing them but the image they are projecting."

Even London admits she was relieved when Gibson, whom she calls "the hair extraordinaire," gave her own 'do a thumbs-up. "He likes my hair. I think I want to grow it all one length, but he tells me I should keep the layers. ... It would have crushed me if he said, 'Girl, what are you thinking?"'