As far as Stacy London and Clinton Kelly are concerned, feuds are so out, and friendship is in.
The former hosts of TLC’s surprise makeover show that ran for 12 seasons and dictated “What Not to Wear” have squashed their beef and reunited for a new series revamped for modern times. “Wear Whatever the F You Want” drops its eight-episode season April 29 on Amazon Prime Video.
This time, instead of being ambushed for their fashion choices after being nominated by friends and relatives, participants share their vision for a “fantasy look” with the hosts, who gently guide them through a warehouse decked out with duds they might like. (Items featured in each episode are available for purchase on Amazon.) In the premiere episode, Jessica, 36, hopes to shed her youthful wardrobe because she’s mistaken for being a kid. As a young mom, she says she “got stuck in whatever’s comfortable: leggings, t-shirt and a hoodie. I feel like I’ve never really invested time in myself.”
Kelly, seated beside his cohost, says he came up with the idea for the series when asked to bring back “What Not to Wear,” which ran from 2003–13.
“I was like, ‘I don’t own that show,’” he says with a laugh.
“And never again!” London, 55, chimes in.
“Never again!” Kelly, 56, agrees. “I’ve changed as a person. The world has changed, and I said: ‘Any show that I would ever do right now would have to be called ‘Wear Whatever the F You Want,’ because that’s what I honestly believe. And then I said, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea for a show.’”
So he shared the concept with London, who agreed to collaborate. Both are executive producers.
“It is contemporary to what we need to see in terms of makeovers, because there are no rules anymore,” London says. “To apply the same kind of framework of ‘What Not to Wear’ to a show like this makes no sense. It doesn’t give the client any agency. On ‘What Not to Wear,’ we were like, ‘Here’s the rule, here’s your waistline, here’s this leopard toe shoe.’ Instead of hearing what people actually wanted, we were just telling them.”
London has seen the clips of “What Not to Wear” on TikTok critiquing the hosts’ feedback and wanted to avoid providing more fodder.
“She loves telling me that we’ve been ripped apart on TikTok,” Kelly says with a laugh.
“Somebody said I was the OG mean girl,” London says.
The pair, with lots of history, answer questions like dance partners rarely out of step.
“From the second I sat next to Stacy during my audition (for ‘What Not to Wear,’) we had an instant chemistry,” Kelly says. “We were finishing each other’s sentences. We were laughing at each other’s jokes. It was like that for 10 years of ‘What Not to Wear.’ And it was like that for eight episodes of ‘Wear Whatever the F You Want.’ When we got back into the studio together, it was laughter, camaraderie supporting each other and our client.”
It’s hard to believe the two ever had a falling out. London blocked Kelly on Twitter, now known as X, after he published a collection of essays in 2017. “Why did I love and loathe Stacy?” Kelly wrote in “I Hate Everyone, Except You.” “I loved her, I think, because she’s charming as hell. I’ve met few people so good as she at making others feel decidedly special. … I loathed Stacy because … well … maybe there was some jealousy on my part. She really seemed to enjoy, nay, need the attention of others, and I felt that she was almost constantly jockeying for it.”
‘What Not to Wear’ co-hosts Stacy London, Clinton Kelly reunite after 10-year feud
From 2011–18, Kelly served as a cohost on ABC’s daytime show, “The Chew,” a food-focused play on the network’s long-running “The View,” where London appeared as a guest host. She launched her podcast “Hello Menopause!” in 2022, and in August 2024, she debuted a clothing collection for QVC.
The hosts credit their new show with bringing them together.
“Clinton talks about the fact that we really challenge anybody to sit next to somebody for 10 years every day, day in and day out and get along just fine,” London says. “When we describe our relationship, really, it’s like a brother and sister on a long car trip.”
Sometimes it’s like, “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,” Kelly jokes. “We love each other. The thing is, my husband, who’s a psychologist, says you can’t have love without hate. And a lot of people don’t like to hear that, but it’s the truth. Because when you have strong feelings in the positive towards somebody, you’re going to have some negative feelings about them as well. That’s just the way we are as human beings. We love hanging out with each other, and sometimes …”
“We want to kill each other,” London says, finishing the sentiment.
“This is being a human being,” Kelly says.
“But it is much more fun to work together than not work together,” London adds. “I will tell you that.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stacy London and Clinton Kelly’s new makeover show helped mend rift
