The famous stylist known for creating iconic looks like Liz Hurley’s safety pin dress and dressing Princess Diana appears to be feeling quite sad.
It might sound odd, but Dean Aslett is grieving the loss of a coat hanger. More specifically, he’s sad about what that particular hanger – a well-made, solid, and rather pricey one – symbolized to him.
Over the last 35 years, Dean has styled and shopped for a remarkable collection of famous faces from the entertainment industry – both current stars and legends of the past.
Dean has worked with some incredibly famous clients, like Elton John and Prince William. But he’s now sharing the story of when he realized his successful career as a personal shopper for celebrities was starting to go downhill.
Last year, while working at Harvey Nichols, he noticed a younger coworker had displayed clothes on inexpensive, basic hangers, which he thought looked out of place in the high-end store.
Elton John would have freaked. So Dean, 55, did, too.
He explained that personal shopping is all about how things look and the little things you do to make it special. He used to have a dedicated personal shopping area and would spend a lot of time making sure everything was perfectly displayed – like a small, high-end boutique – when clients arrived.
The presentation needs to be really impressive and carefully chosen. But I noticed some careless details – a younger colleague had hung a Celine skirt on a simple wire hanger, and there was even a coat on a plastic hanger elsewhere.
He stopped, clearly shocked. “That’s just unacceptable,” he said. “It looks awful, and these clothes are worth better treatment – my clients deserve better, too!”
When I mentioned this to my manager, she told me, “We don’t do that here at Harvey Nicks.” I couldn’t help but think, “If you’re selling high-end clothes, you shouldn’t be using plastic hangers!” It just didn’t make sense, considering how much customers were spending.
Dean has left his job at Harvey Nichols, the famous London department store known from the TV show Ab Fab, likely after a final disagreement with his manager.
He lost his job in December 2024. He had been working in the store’s personal shopping department since January of that year.
He’s not going discreetly, however, in the manner the job always required.
He’s filed a lawsuit against his previous company, alleging he faced discrimination due to his age. He claims they intentionally prevented him from working with the company’s newer, wealthier, younger celebrity clients, like professional athletes.
His case is due to be opened next May, but the full hearing isn’t likely to be until 2027.
He’s taking legal action because he believes he wasn’t treated fairly, especially considering the sales targets he was expected to meet. He points out that his younger coworkers were assigned high-profile, wealthy clients – like footballers Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney – who were quick to spend large amounts of money, often over £10,000 at a time. He also notes that these clients were relatively easy to sell to, as they primarily wanted designer brands and had straightforward physiques to dress.
Unlike those customers, my clients were typically older women, often mothers of the bride, making a single purchase and usually with a limited budget.
It felt a bit like a mixed message. After working with many different clients for 35 years, I was confident I could really help these women. However, it didn’t seem right to then hold me to the same sales goals as everyone else.
It used to be harder for women who needed larger sizes to find clothes. There simply weren’t as many options available, and the entire shopping experience was more challenging.
While the legal details of this case are complex and involve employment law, Dean himself is anything but ordinary.
This is a man who, for more than three decades, had a ringside seat on Planet Celebrity.
He rarely had a proper chair, preferring to work on the floor, often with pins in his mouth, skillfully managing both clothing and the personalities around him. Throughout his career, he collaborated with designers like Versace and Gucci, and his current sadness stems from the loss of people he cared about.
Antony Price, a major influence and designer who recently passed away, represented the end of a significant period in fashion. Dean credits Price with teaching him everything from sophisticated style to the importance of meticulous detail. While Dean’s work helped make Elizabeth Hurley famous, he has styled many other prominent women.
I love hearing stories about him, especially the ones about Elton John. Apparently, before credit cards were common, Elton would shop with his manager, who famously carried a suitcase of cash locked to his wrist for security.
Oh my god, it was insane! They didn’t even have sales goals back then, but honestly, Elton would have crushed them, easily. He just…collected. I mean, he’d buy three of everything! Three of the same suit, three watches, tons of art and furniture for all his different homes. He just couldn’t help himself, he had to have it all. It was amazing to watch, truly!
Dean needed to get a suit to Elton quickly, so he was sent on a flight to Atlanta to deliver it.
‘My God, you wouldn’t get that now,’ he says sadly.
As a stylist to the stars, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredible people over the years. Let me tell you, everyone has their quirks! With Joan Collins, it was all about drama – she had this amazing presence, but definitely knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to spend! Angelica Huston and Jack Nicholson were always fun; I even helped Jack’s daughter find a dress once, and he was a total charmer. Kate Winslet, Meg Mathews, and the Beckhams – oh, they were sweethearts back in the day! Bryan Ferry was always a classic, and David Bowie? The absolute definition of a gentleman. Then there was Jamie Oliver, and Naomi Campbell, who was a dream to dress, though I did witness a slightly…spirited moment with an ashtray at a party once! It’s a glamorous life, but never a dull one.
There were many parties, and he remembers attending one hosted by the Beckhams during the World Cup. He arrived in Mohammed Al Fayed’s helicopter – a typical mode of transport for him, apparently (‘He wasn’t just interested in women, you know – he playfully patted my bottom’). He ended up sharing a table with a surprising mix of people: Boy George, the famous footballer Sir Geoff Hurst, and even David Beckham’s grandmother.
It was absolutely hilarious! Boy George and Philip Sallon showed up dressed as traditional pantomime characters, and David Beckham’s grandmother actually leaned over and told them to find nice girlfriends and get married. I have no idea what Geoff Hurst thought of the whole thing, though.
Dean transitioned into personal shopping after starting out on the sales floor. He credits some work he did for designer Tom Ford as being crucial to this change. Ford actually asked Dean to do his personal shopping, and Dean even remembers carefully arranging the Diet Coke in Ford’s refrigerator – a detail Ford particularly appreciated.
But he says the high-end personal shopping industry has ‘died a death’.
Things have really changed. Top celebrities aren’t spending money like they used to, and the fashion industry is very different now. Instead of buying clothes, designers are just sending them free to celebrities. And he’s frustrated with influencers who seem to be taking their place, constantly showing off and seeking attention.
Dean shudders.
Personal shopping used to be very private. Clients would enter through a back entrance, avoiding any public attention. They specifically didn’t want anyone to know they were there.
Influencers? I felt like rigor mortis was setting in because it was all so predictable.
These businesses function under a completely different philosophy – they don’t care about product quality or the effort involved in making them, and they prioritize avoiding expenses.
I’d spend ages picking out dresses, getting everything ready, and then they’d just try them on, take a ton of pictures, pose around, and leave without buying anything!
Despite wanting to work with wealthy football players, he found them surprisingly uninspiring.
Someone like Bryan Ferry – who I always considered incredibly stylish – really cared about the craftsmanship and quality of what he wore. He genuinely appreciated fashion and style. But a lot of footballers today just seem interested in the brand name, and honestly, they could just as easily buy everything online.
It’s really struck me how much has changed; a lot of what I used to do just isn’t relevant anymore. Even shopping at big stores feels like getting a grocery delivery now, and that’s disappointing. I feel proud of the work we used to do. It’s especially painful to be saying this to Dean in December, when personal shoppers are usually at their busiest.
During the 2000s, he led the personal shopping team at Selfridges, and his most notable client was Prince William when he was younger.
When I worked with Gianni Versace, I used to help his mother get dressed. She always did her Christmas shopping at Selfridges, using their personal shopping service, though I wasn’t employed there at that time.
I remember when Prince William started shopping here, roughly five years after his mother passed away. He was a regular customer for about four years after that.
He remembers it all starting with a phone call from Special Branch. It was a secretive and cautious approach – they called his home, likely to make sure he wasn’t involved with the IRA.
He encountered Prince William in the store’s parking lot and led him through a back entrance, then gave him a tour of the shop, collecting presents along the way.
Dean couldn’t recall what he’d purchased, explaining that it was all very commonplace. The royal family generally avoided anything flashy, perhaps to avoid unwanted attention, but the Queen herself was known for being thrifty – even saving her cereal in Tupperware containers.
‘There was nothing bling about anything William wanted. It was DVDs, fragrances, little trinkets.’
He definitely remembers – and it’s a memorable story – that the Prince gifted his grandmother a Doctor Who box set. He found it amusing because he also enjoyed the show, but he was surprised to imagine The Queen watching it.
Who else needed a hand with their shopping, Christmas or otherwise?
I’ll never forget when Jamie Oliver walked in – he was known for spoiling his wife with incredibly generous gifts. And then there was Jamie Redknapp, always showering Louise, his wife at the time, with lovely things too.
Katie Price and Peter Andre were actually very pleasant to work with during their marriage. Katie especially appreciated being able to park her Land Rover and use a private entrance.
Kate Winslet only asked for a single dress for the occasion, so it’s not a fair comparison. The same goes for Sarah, Duchess of York.
I wasn’t directly working with her, but this shows how we used to always go above and beyond for customers. She chose a strapless dress and asked if we could add something to cover her shoulders.
I couldn’t find anything quite right, so I quickly went to Borovicks, a shop that supplied theatrical costumes, and bought a lot of beautiful emerald silk and organza. We used the fabric to make a shawl, but you wouldn’t be able to do something like that today.
Many personal shoppers suggest Amazon as a first stop. However, after Elton John, the biggest spenders were members of foreign royal families.
Dean remembers being amazed by the Qatari royals, who would rapidly point out items they wanted – constantly saying “that, that, that” and urging staff to “quick, quick, quick!” They were big spenders, easily dropping £30,000 in a single purchase, and all their chosen items were delivered to their hotel.
He recalls Kanye West as his most challenging client. A stylist friend contacted him around 2006, asking for help with West, even though it wasn’t a scheduled work day. Back then, the internet wasn’t as readily available as it is now.
I didn’t know who he was and couldn’t find much information about him, but a coworker told me he was a world-famous rapper. Honestly, he turned out to be incredibly rude. He showed up with a large group of people and had a bad attitude, barely acknowledging anyone with a simple ‘please’ or ‘thank you.’ He treated everyone around him with disrespect.
‘I said: ‘This guy is going to be a nightmare.’ And he was. He still spent about £45K, though.’
Everything changed recently. Dean rediscovered his passion for music and has been hard at work recording his own album.
Looking back, it wasn’t such a surprising career path. I became interested in fashion thanks to artists like Bryan Ferry and David Bowie, because back then, music and fashion were closely linked.
He really misses those glamorous women, even Joanie. He wonders if she would have accepted a cheap, plastic coat hanger, but adds, ‘I would never have tested her by offering one.’
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2025-12-27 04:06