Hollywood’s power shoppers know what the rich want and they’ll do anything to get it

Back in 2019, Gab Waller would never have expected that her first client as a personal shopper would be the English model and actor Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Based in Australia and working for the local government at the time, Waller couldn’t have been further away from the world of high fashion that she wanted to break into.

The turning point came when Huntington-Whiteley posted on Instagram that she was looking for a particular Celine coat. “I had spoken to a boutique in Denmark a week prior who had the coat. I messaged them straight away asking if they still had it, and they said yes, but I wondered how I could possibly get in touch with Rosie,” said Waller, noting it was unlikely the celebrity would see, let alone respond, to her message.

But that didn’t stop her, and a few days later Waller was able to make contact with Huntington-Whiteley through another fashion influencer on Instagram – and the designer coat was successfully acquired. “She paid full price,” said Waller. “And she did a 10-part Instagram Story telling her followers that I had found it. It was truly like an overnight explosion – the immediate influx of requests and demands and everything in-between. Not only did she put my name in the spotlight, but also the role of fashion sourcing. People were like ‘oh wow, there is a girl that can find you things that are sold out.’”

Gab Waller has built a lucrative career as a personal shopper to the social elite including Hailey Bieber, the Kardashians, and more. Gab Waller

For the rich and famous, getting dressed is a high-stakes business. A single look can elevate one’s social and professional status, or put them on the path of viral meme infamy. Then there’s the growing public fascination with how the ultra-wealthy are spending their money (remember the frenzy around the $50 million Bezos wedding?) – and social media’s “rich people who rich right” sub-genre.

“We had to wake up the hanky person in Switzerland.” Catherine Bloom, director of luxury styling at Nordstrom

The job of dedicated luxury shoppers like Waller is two-fold: make specific product recommendations, and source those impossible-to-get-your-hands on items (for example, a rare piece of vintage or a very limited editio