Who Are the Anonymous Users Running Instagram’s Most Famous Celebrity Style Accounts?

The celebrity style Instagram account is a boon for superfans of famous street style regulars such as Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Bella and Gigi Hadid. (Often, the account names follow a Stepford wife–style format: @KendallJennerCloset, @HadidsCloset, @BaldwinsCloset, and @EmilyRatajkowskiCloset.) Their followings are typically comparable to those of a micro-influencer, starting at around 50,000 subscribers like @Bellah.Closet, an account dedicated to, well, what Bella Hadid wears, but can also reach numbers akin to an up-and-coming celebrity like @SelenasCloset, which has garnered around 381,000 followers. These feeds often serve up images from the wires before they’ve even hit the gossip sites. Turn on the post notifications for these accounts and within seconds the world of celebrity style is easier to identify. The best accounts feature a detailed breakdown of each look, whether you’re searching for the label behind Gigi Hadid’s rave-ready sneakers or trying to work out what brand of iPhone case Kendall Jenner is carrying. (It’s Apple, FYI.)

For the creators of these accounts, managing the feed is almost like a second full-time job. And many of the Instagram managers do not work in the fashion industry. Take Julissa Soleece, for instance. The 26-year-old started @SelenasCloset in 2012 while she was attending New York University. (Soleece notes that she once ran the account with a cocreator, Katie Jerkovich, who has since stepped down.) Currently, Soleece is a New Jersey–based pharmaceutical rep and is also pursuing her master’s degree. Soleece cites @HausofRihanna as an inspiration as well as @TaySwiftStyle. “Those were the only two other style-related fan accounts at the time and their work was impeccable,” writes Soleece. Sheena Ward is the woman behind @HausofRihanna. She works nights as an auditor for a hotel in Barbados, dedicating her days to scanning whatever Rihanna is wearing. Nicole Medenblik of @HadidsCloset is another heavy hitter among celebrity fashion Instagrams. A university student living just outside of Amsterdam, she began her Instagram account and blog in 2014.

While their career paths differ, their reasons for becoming the content curators of these mammoth celebrity fashion accounts are relatively similar: They like the style of the celebrity or model and get their kicks playing the name-that-garment game. “I always loved Selena’s style as she had a great eye for some pieces,” says Soleece. “So I always looked for it on my own.” For Ward and Medenblik, it comes down to cultural kinship. Medenblik first saw the Hadid sisters with their Dutch-born mother, Yolanda Hadid, on a Dutch television show several years ago. Ward references the fact that she shares a similar background as Rihanna. “We went to the same school. I genuinely do love her music,” says Ward. “And as her style has changed over the years, I started to pay attention.”

So how, exactly, do they manage to identify the brands that these celebrities are wearing down to the smallest details (phone cases!)? According to Ward, the process can be pretty laborious. Over the years, she has learned to fine-tune her method using fashion search engines tools including ShopStyle. On the days that Rihanna makes multiple public appearances and outfit changes, Ward will spend up to three or more hours tracking down the fashion credits. In addition to @HausofRihanna on Instagram, Ward runs a blog and a Facebook account dedicated to Rihanna’s style. “Sometimes I impress myself,” she says. Medenblik has a similar modus operandi, using both ShopStyle and RewardStyle. “You can type in ‘red bag with a handle’ and find it.” Soleece compares the search to a “scavenger hunt . . . We made a sport of it.”

Clearly, practice makes perfect. Soleece has closely observed Gomez’s style develop over the years with the help of stylist Kate Young, who began working with the superstar circa 2015, and that encyclopedic knowledge of her fashion repertoire makes it easier to anticipate what she’ll wear next. “She used to shop at Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters, so that’s where I would look,” says Soleece. Much like editors, stylists, or buyers, each Instagram user scans the shows during Fashion Week to narrow down what each celebrity could potentially wear in the months ahead, a task that also takes, well, hours.

Public relations teams have caught on to the importance of celebrity accounts, too, and will often send their credits directly to the Instagram users. David Siwicki, who runs a private fashion consulting company out of Paris and works with Ritual Projects, the Paris-based PR agency that handles Rihanna- and Hadid-beloved labels including Vetements, Andy Wolf Eyewear, and Y/Project, will religiously watch celebrity fan accounts and send them credits. (He kindly sent me a screenshot filled with post notification alerts, noting, “You need different fan accounts in different time zones so you never miss a thing!”) For Siwicki, a celebrity style account gives maximum exposure for his labels with stylists and editors. “Celeb fan accounts almost fight to get up new content first, so it works well for interested PRs,” he says. “Editors and stylists can discover and find brands much more quickly this way and it feels more organic than a stuffy pitch email.” For Ward, who often works with Siwicki, the participation of a public relations firm works in her favor. “A couple do DM me, ‘Okay, she’s wearing whatever from this designer,’ ” she says. “They’ll give me details and include photos so I don’t have to go searching.”

Naturally, the search gets a whole lot easier when you have a direct lifeline to the celebrity’s stylist. Medenblik often communicates with the Hadids’ stylist, Mimi Cuttrell, and Soleece has been in contact with Gomez’s aforementioned stylist, Young. Ward regularly corresponds with Rihanna’s two stylists, Jahleel Weaver and Mel Ottenberg, and has developed a close working relationship with Ottenberg in particular, who helps hone the singer’s red carpet style. “In 2012, Mel [Ottenberg] contacted me. We spoke over the phone and he was amazed at what I was doing on my own. He said, from then on, ‘When I style her for anything, you can call me to give you that info.’ ” she says.

While there are perks—access to hard-to-reach stylists, a following in the tens of thousands that often includes the celebrity themselves—there is relatively no monetary return. Users were able to make some ad revenue in the early 2010s with their blogs, which at the time were heavily trafficked. These days, most celebrity superfans head to Instagram instead where there is currently no way for users to monetize their posts. The small payoff for their passion projects usually comes in the form of fashionable gifts. Ward has received presents from brands such as Jacquie Aiche, Zoe Karssen, and Pade Vavra, for example, as well as items from Rihanna’s collaborations with Stance socks and Puma. Medenblik often coordinates giveaways on her blog with labels like I.Am.Gia and Urban Sophistication, who have both sent her pieces, too. (Hadid has long been using the Urban Sophistication case that reads “Social Media Might Be Harmful to Your Health.”) That said, for the likes of Ward, it’s not just about money or free swag. “During the Grammys, Mel messaged me on Instagram and was like, ‘You know the credits better than I do and I styled her!’ ” she says. Recognition like that has to be worth something, if not thousands of likes.