What’s here,” says Jesse Garza, passing his hand before his face, “is an illusion. If we can learn how to manipulate the illusion, it gives us a sense of empowerment.”
Garza manipulates the illusion with the greatest of ease. Through his New York-based service called Visual Therapy, he brings carefully selected designer clothes, a top-flight hairstylist, makeup artist, manicurist, personal trainer and massage therapist to his clients. He has orchestrated transformations so dramatic that one client walked, unrecognized, right by her daughter.
Well known to many Chicagoans from the nine years he worked for Joan Weinstein at Ultimo (an education he describes as “the Harvard school of fashion”), Garza has taken personal shopping to the next level. He has brought the concept of the personal stylistsomething common in the celebrity worldto non-celebrities who don’t have the time or inclination to constantly reinvent themselves.
“My clients aren’t (fashion) victims,” says Garza, 32, who started the service with his partner, Joe Lupo, about 15 months ago. “They don’t want to spend their lives going from store to store, from hairdresser to hairdresser.”
The roster of talent Garza represents is an A-list variety not readily available to those who aren’t connected, giving women of means access to the same stylish edge they see on, say, Elizabeth Hurley or Jada Pinkett at a movie premiere. One of Visual Therapy’s hairstylists works on music videos and has frequently arranged Elle MacPherson’s tresses. The massage therapist works with the New York City Ballet.
Garza bases his fees on either an hourly rate of $150 or on 15 percent of sales, whichever is higher. Massages and other individual services are extra. Clients also pay for clothing selected.
Garza orchestrates shopping expeditions for clients; for example, this summer he accompanied Annette Caleel of Burr Ridge to the haute couture shows in Paris, where she watched designers from John Galliano at Dior to Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel unveil their fall lines.
But mostly, clients seek services on a smaller scale. “Jesse provides me with all of the special touches,” says Caleel; his finds might include a wonderful handbag or a necklace.
Garza’s service has already caught the attention of Harper’s Bazaar, which featured him earlier this year, and he has been approached about opening branches in other cities.
For women who are “too busy doing things they find more interesting” than shopping and keeping up with every shift in fashion, says Caleel, “Jesse helps you find your way through all this nonsense to find a look that works for you and is still beautiful and classic.”
