Exclusive: Enrique Melendez Says It's a 'Blessing' to Be a Top Stylist in Hollywood: 'It's a Great Form of Art'

Growing up, Enrique Melendez, who was not part of an "affluent family," was always interested in the fashion world, but he had no idea he could pick out someone's outfits "for a living."

"I would watch the videos and musicians and be like, 'This actor has such great style.' I thought, 'They have great style because they go out and purchase these things or have their assistants go and purchase these things.' I didn't know there was an actual dedicated individual that said, 'Hey, I'm going to go out and bring your vision to life and pull all these clothes together and then have a fitting.' I thought I was going to go into real estate!" Melendez, who is partnering with Marshalls as part of the Marshalls Good Stuff Style Collective, where he continues to champion his belief that great fashion can be accessible, exclusively tells Morning Honey.

"I needed the money, and I knew going into real estate would pay my bills, and a good friend of mine was like, 'Are you really passionate about real estate?' And I was like, 'I'm passionate about paying my rent and eating, so if I need to be passionate about it, I will be.' He was like, 'Why don't you do something in fashion? Why don't you become a stylist?' I was like, 'What's that?' He was like, 'You basically go out and source clothes and dress clients, whether it's for a photoshoot, press event, a movie promotion or a concert.' He then connected me with a stylist that I interned under, and I fell in love with it," he continues. "I'm still here 15 years later, and it's truly a blessing I'm able to partake in something like this. It's a great form of art that more people are getting into."

The stylist, who works with Jenna Ortega, Josh Rivera and more, knows he could have easily "given up" on following his dreams, but he is not that kind of person. "I was like, 'Wait, I want more of this.' I kept falling more into the next cycle of what I was doing. There were a lot of moments where I was like, 'I don't think I'm supposed to be doing this,' but it was always something I loved. It's important to find avenues of work that you enjoy doing — that's what made me want to keep going. I'm passionate not only about fashion but working with people and making them feel good about themselves via fashion and style. Those types of feelings you can get addicted to. I love making people feel great about themselves," he shares.

Working with Marshalls is a full circle moment for Melendez since he would often would go shopping there with his mom when he was younger. "I was able to find those high-end designer pieces at the store, so I was still able to take part in this high fashion world at Marshalls even though I didn't grow up in an affluent family," he notes. "I was so happy when the brand reached out because shopping at Marshalls stemmed from my childhood and meant something to my family. The company has always provided to me, so it made sense to be a part of the Marshalls Good Stuff Style Collective.

Along with Melendez, top stylists Molly Dickson and Zerina Akers partnered with Marshalls to bring fashion expertise to shoppers, highlighting quality, on-trend fashion at accessible price points. They’ve curated the Edit Shop on Marshalls.com, a simplified shopping tool to help shoppers score trending pieces in real-time, directly reflecting the same fashion you’ll see on the red carpet and beyond.

"Marshalls enlisted us to be part of this to identify a lot of different trends — things we look for not only for ourselves but also for our clients," he explains. "It also gives a peek behind the curtain of what we do. Marshalls does so much with their clientele that we do with ours — making sure we are picking the hottest pieces, whether it's off the runway or from pop culture moments. Whether it's Barbie pink or gothic lace, these are all things that Marshalls is able to go out and get in real time, just like we do for our clients. We pivot and go and pull those things, and Marshalls does the same thing with their buyers," he shares. "I ask my clients, 'What story do you want to tell?' and we go from there. They might have some great ideas, and I might have some, and I feel like Marshalls does the same."

Working with Marshalls, the Style Collective recently identified trends for this fall/winter season, including: Standout Details — choosing high-quality accents like gold, beading, and hardware is the perfect way to add impact to any outfit or space in an on-trend way — Layer Up — pairing a collared shirt under an oversized knit or throw a sweater over your shoulders — Luxe Textures — investing in quality pieces is a must — Down to Earth — high-quality pieces and earth-tone neutrals can elevate your everyday looks — and Less is More — compliment natural looking skin with the earthy, neutral makeup shades of the season.

"I'm a fan of simplicity. I like clean lines, but I also love putting a gold belt on a plain, simple black dress," he explains of what he's leaning toward this season. "I like to pair those pieces together to create a luxury aesthetic. Going to Marshalls and finding these different pieces and styling them together for a fraction of the price is everything."

"I'm also a huge fan of monochromatic as well. Whether it is matching a gray turtleneck with a pair of gray slacks and then pairing it with a gray overcoat. It makes styling easy and it's easy to pack if you're traveling!" he continues. "I also pack blocks of colors when I travel, whether it's brown — camel brown or dark brown — or neutral nudes. You can then mix and match those colors."

With these tips and tricks, Melendez is happy to help others feel like a million bucks. "The Edit Shop on Marshalls.com has all these looks you can achieve," he says.

Ultimately, Melendez hopes to show others they can follow their dreams. "I want to inspire people and use my voice and my platform to help the next generation of creatives," he says. "In order to make it, it's not always easy and all glitz and glamour. I want to teach them that."