The Scoop With Modesto Abreu: On Dressing Housewives and Other Bravolebs

September 4, 2026

Photo: Courtesy of Modesto Abreu/ Thomas Mundell

Welcome to The Scoop, a weekly email series in which I quiz fashion insiders on the stories of the week.

This week’s guest is stylist to the (reality) stars, Modesto Abreu, whose roster of (past and present) clients includes Vicki Gunvalson, Meredith Marks, Madison LeCroy, Alexia Nepola, Lindsay Hubbard, Dolores Catania, Brynn Whitfield and Katie Ginella. All names that will mean a lot if you are a Bravohead.

Modesto’s storyline began about four years ago, when he and his partner, Coulson Bingham, put together a personal shopping business. One of their clients happened to be friends with former New York housewife Brynn Whitfield, who, in turn, asked if they could style her for her first Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. They put Brynn in a red House of CB dress, and a couple of days later, he was also dressing Southern Charm’s Madison LeCroy for BravoCon.

This year, Modesto began working with Real Housewives of Orange County (RHOC)’s Vicki Gunvalson (who truly is the OG housewife) for her return to the franchise as well as her part in Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip — both shows are currently airing. But he also worked with some new blood on other franchises, and that’s today’s scoop.

Hi Modesto, what’s the scoop?

I’m working with two new housewives. I can’t share their names yet, but one will join Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) and the other is a new Real Housewives of New Jersey (RHONJ) housewife. So far, I’ve done confessional looks for both of them and the big cast photo for both cities.

New Jersey is known for gowns and glitter — they aren’t known for their fashion. But this time around, they really tried to do something fashion-forward and quite vampy. Bravo didn’t want any big gowns; they asked for sexy short dresses or separates instead, and a lot of black, gold, and leather. It’s such a departure for Bravo, who tend to want the women in neon and sequins — you usually have to really fight for a black look.

My client and I went for an amazing gold corset, a mini skirt, and massive Christian Louboutin shoes. I think they should be announcing it all soon. I also heard from someone working on Jersey that we might finally get the Housewives holding something.

That’s right. RHONJ Housewives are the only ones who don’t hold a diamond or an apple or a snowflake… in the opening credits.

Well, they hold their hand on their hip... that’s what they say. But we will find out for sure in a couple of weeks or so.

Who sets the concept for the cast shoots?

Bravo has two stylists they’ve been working with for years — they work on the title shoots, the cast shoots, and the reunions. They will create a mood board, send it to the ladies, and then each lady will send it to her team — that would be glam, styling, and hair. We, in turn, have to put together some look options and send them to production, and production will say yes or no.

My sense is that sometimes, some producers will want to make a joke of the women. Especially when it comes to confessionals, every now and then I can tell a look has been chosen not because it makes her look good, but because it’s a little ridiculous. In those cases, I work with glam to turn it on its head and make it work for our client.

Do you discuss that type of thing openly with your clients?

It depends on the client. But I tend to be super honest. I’ll be like, “Hey, I think they want you to look crazy.” I don’t really talk to production, so I need the client to stand up for themselves. At the end of the day, it’s their body, their face, and their name. Nine times out of 10, it works. There are some clients who always do what production says, and those relationships don’t last the longest.

I’m pretty sure it was at the tenth RHOC reunion where Vicki Gunvalson, who is your client, spoke about how much the cast’s fashion had changed over the years. The first-ever reunion in 2006 was so casual… Jeana Keough was wearing jeans and a nice top.

And it was in Vicki’s backyard! They didn’t know what they were doing. It’s crazy how things have evolved: now you have people wearing custom looks and some really high-end designers. They are no longer going to the mall and getting a little top.

Reality TV is slowly becoming more accepted than laughed at. Also, a lot of fashion people watch those shows. Still, I think it was Ariana Madix who recently said in an interview that she was having trouble convincing brands to dress her for Love Island because they are hesitant to associate with reality TV. Are you meeting the same challenges?

It’s true, so many people still look down on reality TV. I still send emails in the dark and face a lot of rejection. My way around that is to work with retailers like Moda Operandi or Nordstrom, who house those big brands I might want to use, and we do a big consignment.

But I think that will change in the next few years. These women are cultural icons, and they’re making an impact on fashion.

We recently wondered whether luxury should invest in romantasy, which isn’t a million miles away from reality TV, since both are considered lowbrow. Are there any other industries you think fashion should be paying attention to?

The only one that comes to mind is sports, though it’s nothing new. But these men are truly becoming fashion darlings — they are all so tall and built, and it’s great to see them in cool, fashion-forward looks. And I love when they carry these massive travel-sized Birkins and Bottega totes... or one of those NFL and NBA guys in a Chanel tweed jacket.

Are there any brands you gravitate towards when dressing your clients?

Lately I’ve been pulling a lot of LaQuan Smith. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (RHOSLC) star Meredith (Marks) wears him a lot — they just posted a preview of the season, and in it, she’s wearing a runway look from 2025. It’s a rainbow python dress with a bubble skirt. When I saw it on the runway, I was like, “That is sickening. I need it.” They were able to send it to me, and she wore it for the cast trip to San Francisco, in the season that’s about to air.

On that same trip, she also wore a fully sequined LaQuan look that had just walked the runway in February. We pulled it in March. It’s one of those instances where working really hard to build relationships with the brands is paying off. I go to the brand dinners, the parties... I make sure the PRs know and trust me.

Any emerging designers on your radar?

I’m really into Fanci Club right now. I just emailed their PR asking to pull some of their looks for a confessional. If they don’t answer, we are just going to buy. There’s a particularly fabulous look, a corset with an off-the-shoulder bra... I feel they’re a brand that people are really interested in at the moment. I also like Ashi Studio, Matières Fécales, and Do Long, who’s dressed Teyana Taylor and also Maura Higgins from Love Island and The Traitors. I think her stylist is really killing it right now.

My Explore page on Instagram is truly just like dresses, dresses, dresses, corsets, corsets, corsets. When I see other Bravo stylists follow a brand, it’s a bit of a stamp of approval. Some of us will text each other too, asking “Babe, where did you get this from?” Or “Who is your photographer?” We are a small community, and we try to help each other.

Do you also work on custom looks?

That’s a route I’m trying to take now. Like the rest of the world, I use ChatGPT for certain things. I just got the moodboard for the RHOC reunion yesterday, and it’s basically pinks and florals, which isn’t exactly mine or Vicki’s style. But she sent me a screenshot of Nicole Kidman’s custom Chanel look at the Practical Magic 2 premiere in London — the silver gown with the pearl chain coming off at the décolletage. And Vicki said, “Could we make this for the reunion?” I asked ChatGPT to make it pink and, instead of the pearls, to have floral chains coming off of it. The result was sick. So that’s something I might try to get made.

My final question is: you have so many clients across many franchises. Do you actually have time to watch the shows?

Yes, and I watch it all while I’m working too. I’ll be emailing brands, pulling looks and links, and the TV will be on. Right now, I am watching Next Gen NYC and Ultimate Girls Trip, obviously, because I worked on it. I even filmed a scene for it, though I don’t know if it will make the cut. It was my first time being mic’d and filming.

I was in the bathroom with Vicki, talking while she was dressed as Taylor Swift, because they had a Halloween party. The Taylor Swift costume was actually my boyfriend’s costume from two years ago. We had everything — the corset that he bedazzled, the boots that he bedazzled. We just brought it over from home for Vicki to wear. It’s situations like this where I think: “What is my life?” I am sitting there with a boom mic and a camera in my face. Vicky is dressed like Taylor Swift and the producers are telling me to “ask her what she thought about Luann [de Lesseps]’s singing!”

Catch up with last week’s Scoop with Repetto’s Charlotte Gaucher-Holmann here.

Elektra Kotsoni is deputy director for Vogue Business and Vogue Runway. Elektra was previously the editor-in-chief at Selfridges, looking after content and editorial, and has held senior roles at i-D and Vice. She loves Pulp and the Real Housewives. ... Read More

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