The Power of ‘Abracadabra!’

Like many creative professionals born and raised in Oklahoma, Chloe Royer found herself relocating to Los Angeles a year after graduating college, in pursuit of greater opportunities after establishing a strong following online. 

“It’s hard to get started and it’s scary,” she says. “You have a lot of obstacles and hurdles, coming from a place like Oklahoma, and you really have to prove what you’re doing and that it’s worth it.” 

From having her own brand, Chloething Store, to becoming a styling assistant for a roster of pop powerhouses including Lady Gaga, Chappel Roan and former Blackpink member Lisa, Royer is a prime example of what can happen when you stay true to your creative calling.        

After graduating with a degree in forensic science from St. Edwards University in Austin, Royer returned to Oklahoma City for a year before making the move to California. However, moving halfway across the country is not always the ideal choice when that decision comes at the cost of leaving behind close friends and family. 

“Some of my best friends are still in Oklahoma, and some of them have moved away, but I still have people there that I would love to be around, and all my family is there,” she says. “I feel like, and sometimes people misunderstand that too, like they make it seem like you think that you’re too good for Oklahoma or something, and it’s not like that at all.”

Royer’s best friend, Genesis Webb, pursued a similar career path — and through the common bonds of working in fashion and being raised in the Midwest, found resonance with pop icon Chappel Roan, who hired Webb as her stylist and creative director. 

From attending Classen School of Advanced Studies together to now styling some of the most iconic fashion moments in pop culture, their friendship and commitment to building a creative world of their own has garnered them opportunities far beyond what they could have imagined when taking the initial leap of faith and leaving their home state.

One of their most recent gigs was styling the cast for the “Abracadabra” music video for Lady Gaga. “We did the Lady Gaga shoot together, and that feels very full-circle, because we were listening to Lady Gaga when we were like, 13, and now we’re working with her. I cried multiple times on set. Just to even be in the room with her is powerful. You can feel her energy, and it still just feels very surreal.” 

Royer reflects on the overwhelming feeling that comes from helping to realize the creative vision of one of the world’s biggest pop stars: “The process itself was crazy, because we started out with, I think, around 20 main dancers for the ‘Abracadabra’ music video. We had originally had these outfits designed, and everyone was going to wear matching outfits … so I’m helping sew until like 2 a.m. every day, and then going to set at 7 a.m. the next day. The day before [shooting] they added almost 80 total dancers, and so we didn’t even end up using those outfits.”

Having only a week to prepare for a two-day shoot means working under tight deadlines and creative pressure, but it is all about being flexible and resourceful if all of that goes out the window once inspiration spurs a change at the last minute.

“I love, like, a full moment — outfits, glam, props, like a full world-building moment.” –Chloe Royer

“Gaga was like, ‘You know, I want them to kind of all have a different style,’ so every person instead had to have a completely individual look. So we sourced a lot of thrifted and second-hand pieces, and then just went to town by cutting off sleeves or little lace pieces, and each person would come up and we would just throw some stuff on them and then be like, ‘OK, good.’ It was just a conveyor belt of people to style.”

This experience was still a dream for Royer. “She [Lady Gaga] is just so nice, and so ethereal. They always say, like, ‘Don’t meet your idols,’ but I’m like, ‘No, I want to meet them!’” Royer laughs.

Another full-circle moment came during the release of Gaga’s music video as they were back working with Chappel Roan and her team. “When we did the Grammys with Chappel, the Lady Gaga video premiered during the Grammys on a commercial break. So that was just like a crazy day: to, like, be at the Grammys working on this project, and then to also have this other major project we worked on debut at the same time. That day, in of itself, was like one of the best days.”

Beyond styling clothes, Royer is also interested in conceptualizing an entire artistic experience: “I love, like, a full moment — outfits, glam, props, like a full world-building moment.

“For the past couple of years, I was doing work for my own brand, Chloething Store. So that was what I spent most of my time doing, like selling, shipping, it was just like a one-woman show. I’m still taking those skills and applying them to other things … I just think if you’re good at business and you’re good at being creative, you can apply that to almost anything in life.” 

Looking ahead, Royer is hoping to move back to OKC in the near future and begin expanding her endeavors beyond fashion and styling to empower the next wave of creative professionals in Oklahoma. “Eventually I want to do something a little outside of my comfort zone, like teach business classes or something — just doing things that could especially help younger people, queer people and women in the community.”

And that community here is expanding, she says: “Oklahoma is obviously very different from L.A., but … it’s definitely grown a lot since I graduated high school a little over a decade ago. I’m excited every time I come back that there is more and more stuff going on. So I feel very confident that it’s going to continue in that direction; and one day it will be like a creative hub for people so they don’t feel like they need to leave.”

Follow her journey @killedbychloe and her brand @chloething.store on Instagram.