Calyann Barnett, Dwyane Wade's Stylist, Has a New Venture

Calyann Barnett decides what Dwyane Wade will wear. A mom, creative director, celebrity stylist and all-around powerhouse, her new venture—a venue for short-term, flexible leases for 20 individually designed pop up shops—opened recently in Miami’s Wynwood district and marks the next phase of Barnett’s career.

Hosting major events this Super Bowl weekend, The Shop In Pop Up Shop is one to watch. Here, Barnett discusses her inspiration for creating an ever-changing retail location and her favorite DWade outfit moment of all time.

Tell me a little bit about your new pop up shop in Miami.

Barnett: The Shop In Pop Up Shop is a turnkey solution for brands trying to enter the Miami market who don’t have a brick and mortar presence, but who want to launch a product. We house multiple brands. They come in and allocate their product to us, and we do everything for them: their point of sale, hiring all the sales staff, all the fixtures, the design, the inventory, everything for them. It makes a seamless solution for a brand to try out the Miami market or to test a brick and mortar location to see if it resonates with particular customers.

Definitely. How’d you come up with that idea?

Barnett: I’ve been a stylist for 13 years on the purchasing side of retail. I started to perceive this change, where stores started closing; The retail business was dying. When you have places like Barneys closing because they’re holding too much inventory, you realize things need to change. You look at the Airbnbs of the world or companies like Uber. They are providing services without actually holding any inventory.

As I started shopping it around and asking people if they wanted to be a part of it, I got a lot of great feedback, and they were like, “Wait, will you be here in March, and will you be here this month?” And I was like, “No, it’s just for two months.” And they were like, “Oh, no. People need access to these shops year-round; everyone has different drops; everyone has different programming.” I needed to be able to provide that for them.

You are Dwyane Wade’s primary stylist and his creative director. What’s your favorite Dwyane Wade style moment of all time?

Barnett: Oh, there are so many. We’ve had such good moments—even the crop pants. I just talked about it yesterday on a panel at my shop. That moment was an accident! I loved it because I knew it was an accident. His pants were too short, and I suggested that we cut them. We went with it, and it’s turned into a major style trend. I also love a lot of monochromatic looks; We do a lot of all white. We just did it for the ESPYs, an all-white look. That sash was killer.

What’s your one biggest style tip you would give to every man if you could?

Barnett: Confidence. Make sure that confidence is the first thing you put on every single day. If you’re not confident in yourself and what you’re wearing, then you look won't make sense. The other is fit; Fit is so important. You don’t have to wear expensive clothes, you don’t have to buy all designer, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. As long as you wear items that fit. So go to your local tailor, go to your local dry cleaner, get clothes tailored properly.

What's the most important lesson you've learned as a founder?

Barnett: The most important lesson is that when you hear the word "no," hear “no” now.

People are gonna tell you no all the time, and that your idea is not going to work. They're going to say so many reasons. Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.