Dressing the Part: How stylist Ellie Burns turned The Traitors’ Gabby Windey into a fashion star
Last month, Gabby Windey appeared on The Jimmy Fallon Show to discuss her victory on season three of Peacock’s hit reality show The Traitors. While Gabby dazzled the late night crowd, the real star of the show was the silky purple, mid-length Wiederhoeft dress she arrived in– corseted perfectly and glittered to the gods. The mastermind behind the ex-Bachelorette-turned-social-media star’s styling operation? Twenty-three-year-old Los Angeles native, Ellie Burns.
Ellie Burns. Instagram @ellieburrns
Burns is an up-and-coming celebrity stylist with a singular perspective on the pop culture moment. Based out of both New York City and her West Coast hometown, Burns has a stacked portfolio. She’s assisted on such high-profile projects as SZA’s Super Bowl LIX performance and Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em music video. And spearheaded her own styling undertakings, like Gabby Windey’s editorial feature for Interview Magazine. While she still assists other stylists in the industry, she’s branching out– and her work is demanding attention.
Gabby Windey at The Jimmy Fallon Show. Instagram @gabbywindey.
Growing up in the San Fernando Valley region, Burns’s childhood was surrounded by the Hollywood Hills and its affiliated stars. Her family still passes around a photo of her in a Juicy Couture t-shirt, noting her draw to fashion from a young age. Her mom, an entertainment industry publicist, unintentionally introduced her to the world of styling.
“[My mom] had asked me to come work an event with her… I don’t remember what celebrity it was, but I remember seeing them on the carpet and their stylist walking the carpet behind them,” Burns says.
She recounts thinking, “That needs to be me. I don’t want to be at the check-in desk, I want to be dressing the celebrities.”
Ellie Burns in Juicy Couture. Image ℅ Ellie Burns.
While studying communications at California State University in early 2022, Burns sent a slew of cold emails to stylists around the Los Angeles area, trying to land an internship. Amongst the outreach was Chloe and Chenelle, a styling duo known at the time for their work with Olivia Rodrigo and Willow Smith.
She remembers thinking, “I don’t have any experience whatsoever, but why not give it a shot?”
An email came back within a matter of hours, asking if she could come in the next day. “At the time I was working at a restaurant as a hostess. I called in sick [to the restaurant] and the next day I was on set with Willow Smith,” Burns recalls.
Within five months, Burns was promoted to an assistant position with Chloe and Chenelle. She soon picked up additional intern work with Dani Michelle and Alejandra (Ale) LaPilusa, supporting projects involving Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and SZA.
SZA at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Style by Alejandra LaPilusa, Assisted by Ellie Burns.
“I was just bouncing around, really trying to get my foot in the door, working crazy hours from 7am-to-midnight. Crazy grinding. Just going,” Burns says. Running from studying and school work to clothing pulls, showroom appointments, and on-set assistance, Burns began making her own personal connections in the industry.
“[While in school] I worked on my first tour (with SZA)… I did a lot of SKIMS shoots, I went to my first talk show … “You work your f***ing ass off, and to see the result in person is so rewarding.”
As an assistant, Burns’s main focus is market work– outreaching to one’s network for potential pieces for upcoming projects. “[My stylist] will say ‘Ok, SZA is going to the Grammy’s. We need to start doing market for her.’ So I am reaching out to all the brands and looking for [clothing] samples, keeping track of everything.”
SZA’s look for Super Bowl LIX. Instagram @ellieburns.
On May 10th, 2024 –her 23rd birthday— Burns received the Instagram DM that would change her life. Gabby Windey had reached out looking for a stylist to work with her on an upcoming television show.
“She couldn’t tell me, so I had no idea what the show was,” Burns says. This would be Burns’s first gig as independent stylist, stepping out of an assistant role. “It was such a last minute thing– she reached out to me on a Tuesday and she was leaving that Saturday to go for the show. My partner, Sade, and I tried to put together as many outfits as we could through her closet,” she said.
Burns found her footing and professional aesthetic via her work with Windey. “I’m not a super girly person at all, but I am drawn to very girl brands [for clients],” she says.
Windey’s Ellie Misner gown moment, featuring a red velvet cutout bodice and sleek silhouette, at The Traitors reunion exemplifies Burns’s specialty– independent and small brand pulls. “I think it’s great to put a client in Gucci, Louis Vuitton, or a big brand name… but I also think it’s really cool to put someone in a lowkey underground brand. Another part of the job that is so fun is helping a brand pop off and giving them that moment.”
Gabby Windey at The Traitors Reunion. Jay L. Clendenin/Peacock.
Today, Windey is a social media sensation– her fashion choices on The Traitors adored by her 1.3M Instagram and 980K TikTok followers. “People are begging for her right now,” Burns says.
“When you work with clients like [Windey], it just makes you love what you do,” she notes “When someone is so appreciative of your work, it just makes it 10 times better to continue that relationship.”
Gabby Windey // Interview Magazine
“The goal is to have my own business and clients,” Burns adds, looking to the future.
“I’m definitely not a Juicy Couture girl any more.”
