Dean Aslett, the renowned celebrity stylist famed for putting Liz Hurley in the legendary Versace safety pin dress, is taking legal action against luxury department store Harvey Nichols, alleging he was a victim of age discrimination. The 55-year-old, whose client list spans from Elton John to Princess Diana and Prince William, claims his career as a personal shopper to the stars was deliberately sidelined.
The Final Straw: A Plastic Coat Hanger
For Aslett, a man whose career was built on meticulous presentation, the symbolic end came down to a coat hanger. While working in Harvey Nichols' personal shopping suite last year, he was horrified to see a younger colleague displaying a Celine skirt on a wire hanger and a coat on a plastic one. "You just don't do that," he laments. "Visually, it's a mess and these clothes deserve more, never mind the clients!" When he raised the issue, his manager dismissed his concerns, a moment that crystallised a wider cultural shift he believes has devalued his profession.
Aslett was let go from Harvey Nichols in December 2024 after less than a year in the role. He is now preparing for an employment tribunal, with a preliminary hearing set for May next year and a full hearing likely in 2027. He claims he was unfairly denied access to lucrative, younger clients like footballers Bukayo Saka and Ivan Toney, who could spend £10,000 in a single visit.
A Glittering Career Now "Obsolete"
Aslett's career offers a window into a vanished era of discreet, ultra-luxury service. He recalls Elton John shopping with a manager who had a suitcase of cash handcuffed to his wrist, buying "three of everything" for his various homes. He was once dispatched on a plane to Atlanta to deliver a suit to the singer. He helped a young Prince William with his Christmas shopping at Selfridges, remembering the Prince bought a Doctor Who box set for the Queen.
His client roster reads like a cultural history of the last three decades: Joan Collins ("Terrifying... but my goodness she spent"), David Bowie ("the ultimate gentleman"), Naomi Campbell, Kate Winslet, and the Beckhams in their early days. He even fashioned an emergency shawl for Sarah Ferguson from theatrical fabric. Today, he believes this world has "died a death," replaced by influencers who "don't spend money" and celebrities who receive clothes for free directly from designers.
Legal Battle and a Changing Industry
The core of Aslett's legal claim is that he was set the same sales targets as younger colleagues but was deliberately given an older, less free-spending clientele, such as mothers-of-the-bride shopping for one-off occasions. "It wasn't fair to then expect me to meet the same sales targets," he explains.
His grievance is also cultural. He mourns the loss of grace, detail, and discretion, qualities he learned from mentors like the late designer Antony Price. The rise of a transactional, label-obsessed culture—exemplified by footballers and his "most nightmarish client," a rude Kanye West who spent £45,000—stands in stark contrast to the style-centric approach of clients like Bryan Ferry.
Now, Aslett has returned to his first love, music, and is recording an album. But his legal action is a final, un-discreet stand for a profession he feels has been rendered obsolete, where even the humble wooden coat hanger has been replaced by plastic.
