“I redirect PR swag and designer shoes, handbags and clothes to everyday women with amazing stories. We should celebrate them just as much as we celebrate the household names who walk the red carpet.”
– Sam Russell, Celebrity Stylist and Founder of Giving Closet
Hollywood celebrities don outfits and endorse brands that an average woman can only dream of having. Hollywood image-maker and stylist Sam Russell wanted everyday women who are heroes in their own right to have access to expensive brands to help boost their confidence.
Finding a New Calling
Although a celebrity now, Sam’s childhood was full of struggles. Having survived domestic violence as a child, he knew how far powerlessness, shame, and fear could stop a person from building their lives again and fulfilling their potential. He and his mother suffered physical and emotional abuse from his father until Sam turned 15.
Having already made a big name for himself as a celebrity stylist, Sam wondered how without the means to buy even decent clothes and other accessories could a woman in a rock-bottom situation boost her confidence?
Sam’s styling career over 12 years includes Stevie Wonder, Sophia Bush, and Colin Farrell. He always noticed how having a designer handbag could instantly boost an actress’ confidence level. He started thinking how this experience could affect women without the same means and privilege. “For a single mom with four kids, what would a handbag from a topnotch brand do?”, he thought. He had access to a lot of free merchandise from top fashion and beauty brands. “I have requested so much swag over the years for celebrities, their girlfriends and boyfriends, handlers and family—I basically became the ‘Swag Guy’,” he says.
The Birth of Giving Closet
With a zeal to help the real-life women hero, Sam started Giving Closet in 2011. The non-profit organization empowers underprivileged women who want to enter the workforce by smartening up their work wardrobe. The organization surprises all kinds of women, from cancer survivors, survivors of domestic abuse and single moms to plus-size individuals, with fashion merchandise.
Many support Sam’s charitable endeavors and help these women get the much-needed confidence boost. However, not all brands were on board; others did not want their product associated with underprivileged or plus-sized women. But, Sam was unstoppable. He reached out to nonprofit organizations across the US. As a result, Sam came across many other people who now contribute to Sam’s mission by offering their services to help the underprivileged women.
Sam’s journey from being at the receiving end of life’s hardships, overcoming odds to be successful, and then making it a mission to uplift and help the underprivileged has inspiration written all over. He exhibits the true spirit of Strive and making the world a better place.
