Beautycon’s Beauty Looks Like Me panel brought together three disruptors on one stage – image architect Law Roach, rapper and entrepreneur Saweetie, and professional tennis star and entrepreneur Sloane Stephens. In conversation with Unbothered’s Chelsea Sanders, the three trailblazers shared advice on confidence, the pressure to be a role model, and the importance of rest.
Early in the panel, Sanders asked the panelists how they manage the pressure of being seen as role models. Roach, an award-winning personal stylist to Zendaya and Celine Dion, has achieved a number of “firsts” in his career. Not only was he named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s most powerful stylists in 2017, but he was also the first Black stylist to appear on the cover of the publication.
“If you’re the first, you always want to make sure that you’re not the last,” Roach said. “When you start to lead that way, people expect that from you again.” He went on to share a poignant moment he experienced walking down the street in New York. “This boy told me, ‘I just want to tell you, because you did it, I know I can,’ and that has never left me.”
All three panelists emphasized confidence as their guiding principle, especially in the way they present themselves—whether it’s through hair, clothing, or business decisions. Roach referenced wisdom from his recent memoir How to Build a Style Icon, where he encourages people to find their “power piece,” an article of clothing that can instantly boost your mindset and confidence.
Recording artist and brand mogul Saweetie shared that a spiritual journey led her to make a bold decision in December 2023: she chopped off her hair. Before doing so, people close to her discouraged the change, but that only fueled her determination to follow through.
“My beauty isn’t external, it’s internal, and I really wanted to go on this journey,” she said, now sporting a sleek top knot. She learned to filter out the doubts that weren’t even hers and trust her own instincts.
“Focus on yourself,” Saweetie advised. “When you’re in your own lane, driving forward with your face set ahead, nobody can stop you. It’s when you start looking around at what everyone else is doing that your car crashes.”
Tennis champion and Doc & Glo skincare brand founder Sloane Stephens, on the other hand, finds power in having a strong support system, particularly because tennis is such an individual sport.
“My community is online,” she explained. “I’ve grown from Twitter to Facebook, and I feel like I’ve built such a great community. People know me as a tennis player, but as I’ve evolved, it’s taken a lot to accept that people like me for who I am. That’s been a huge transformation. Playing a solo sport means everything is so independent, but I feel so loved.”
As a multi-hyphenate, Sloane travels 40 weeks out of the year for work, so rest is crucial for her well-being.
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘If you rest, you will rise,’” she said. “Rest and recovery are the roots of everyone’s success.”
Both Roach and Saweetie, with their staunch hustle mentality, agreed that they are still learning how to strike a balance between work and rest. After the panel, fans lined up for a signed copy of How to Build a Fashion Icon and had the opportunity to meet and greet the panelists.