Meet the stylist behind Denise Welch’s transformation to haute hun
From gay icon to style icon, stylist Ryan Kay is helping the actress rewrite the rules of age-appropriate dressing
It’s a full-circle moment for stylist Ryan Kay to be talking to Attitude about his relationship with Denise Welch. The pair had known of each other for years, mutual Instagram followers traversing adjacent social circles, but it was the 2025 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar, that properly brought them together and kickstarted what Kay dubs the “Denissance”.
“When she messaged me about the Attitude Awards, she was starting what she called her second act,” Kay recalls. “She was looking to broaden her life through style.” That message turned into a three-hour meeting where the two quickly discovered a shared interest in reality television, classic thrillers, and a mutual love of 1980s fashion.
“I love powerful women,” Kay says, pointing to Joan Rivers and Joan Collins as two of his inspirations. Exaggerated shoulders, power dressing and a healthy dose of glamour shaped Welch’s look for the 2025 Awards show, where she presented Tom Allen with the Comedy Award.
She wore a double-breasted gingham suit by British tailor Holland Cooper, paired with a playfully oversized Saint Laurent tie for a tongue-in-cheek take on power dressing. A vintage Chanel belt bag and Alexis Bittar jewels completed the look.
“I’ve always been a bit afraid of couture, but now I embrace it and love the reaction I get when I go out” – Denise Welch
While Welch’s image is ingrained in the British psyche after her 25-year-long run on Loose Women and roles in series like Coronation Street, for Kay she was something of a blank canvas. “She’d never really worked with a stylist; I know she has always wanted a glam team of her own and I’m so grateful to be a part of it along with makeup artist Toby Salvietto.” Looking to revisit her acting career – including a return to more dramatic roles like Channel 5 series Benidorm is Murder – Kay saw an opportunity to shift perceptions.
“Ryan has changed the way I see myself,” Welch tells me over email. “He has given me a confidence I didn’t know I had. I’ve always been a bit afraid of couture, but now I embrace it and love the reaction I get when I go out.”
Who is Ryan Kay?
The Burtonwood stylist’s journey to working with the UK’s “queen of huns” was anything but conventional. Having studied performing arts from a young age, he developed an early fascination with the relationship between clothing, character and perception – a curiosity that would go on to shape his approach to styling. “I love Old Hollywood – Marilyn Monroe, Betty Davis. The glamour of the actresses and the way they could command attention through what they wore. I love the divas in black-and-white films,” he tells me.
He later attended the London College of Fashion that led to a stint in PR that found him in the centre of the UK’s fashion scene. From there, the pieces fell into place: fashion, he realised, could be its own kind of performance, with the power to transform.
Fashioning the “Denissance”
Following their first outing as a power duo, the pair began taking bigger fashion risks. At the GQ Men of the Year Awards, Kay and Welch were inspired by leather and the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection by Anthony Vaccarello. As we chat over a Zoom call, a poster from that red carpet hangs behind Kay.
The look brought together a playful mix of references, from futuristic shades to a romantic, oversized bow, all working to heighten Welch’s sense of self-expression. For Kay, style is never a costume; it’s a way of amplifying who you already are. “It’s never about changing Denise,” Kay says. “It’s about showing people another side of her.”
At the 2026 PEUGEOT Attitude PRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways, Kay and Welch continued to refine their signature clashing of references with satin tailoring by Swedish brand Malina, layered over a sheer skirt that revealed just enough leg to show off a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. The latter, Kay notes, has been incredibly supportive of Welch’s style journey.
“She has so much trust in me,” Kay says. “It’s a true blessing for me. But what’s been so gorgeous is that, since we started working together, I’ve seen her love for fashion grow. She’ll send me inspiration from red carpets, and I’ve seen a real growth in her enjoyment of getting dressed.”
Age is just a number
While the fashion industry has long been fixated on youth, that is beginning to change. As The New York Times recently noted, mature women are increasingly taking up space in fashion campaigns and on runways – a shift that reflects a broader appetite for seeing women represented at every stage of life.
“I think Denise is this perfect representation of a generation of women who refuse to be defined by their age,” Kay says. “She dresses with her confidence rather than people’s expectations. That’s the true key to her look. Her fearlessness to try things.”
“What I love about fashion is that, at any age, it can be empowering,” Kay says. And the response to the “Denissance” seems to prove it. “The amount of messages I get from people after dressing Denise, from her followers, regular women, encouraging people to not see age as something limiting, is incredible.”
“She’s not conforming to what society thinks people her age should be wearing” – Ryan Kay
For Kay, that is precisely the point. “I want to show people that they should evolve with fashion. Just because you reach a certain birthday doesn’t mean you should just give up.” That fearlessness is deliberate. “We don’t follow trends,” he says. “She’s not conforming to what society thinks people her age should be wearing.”
Still, for Kay, the “Denissance” goes beyond clothes. What began as a professional relationship has developed into a genuine friendship – and, in many ways, a familial bond. Their recent trip to Los Angeles for the wedding of Welch’s son Matt Healy to model Gabbriette solidified their connection.
“I think our paths were meant to cross. Sometimes you meet someone at exactly the right time, and I feel like that’s what happened with us,” he says. “Denise and her family have really taken me in, and for that I’m so grateful. She’s opened my eyes in so many ways. She pushes me because she wants the best for me, and I do the same for her.”
“I know I’ve done my job properly when my client feels good in what they’re wearing. That’s what it’s all about for me” – Ryan Kay
That bond has given Kay the freedom to be more creative, with some of their most memorable moments happening away from the red carpet. For Matt Healy’s wedding, Kay created a series of looks designed to celebrate the past few months of Welch’s newfound confidence and empowerment.
“She just lit up,” he recalls of the fitting ahead of the nuptials. “She looked in the mirror and said, ‘I can’t believe this is me.’ It truly brought tears to his eyes. She was a vision of old Hollywood glamour, exactly how he had imagined the look would be. It was such a beautiful moment that they shared, and he knows it’s a moment that will stay with him forever.”
The transformation hasn’t gone unnoticed by Welch’s family, either. “Even her family have noticed such a change in her. They’ve told me, ‘You’ve transformed her. She’s loving life so much more.’ Hearing that means so much to me, because that’s exactly what I want for her. It’s never just been about the clothes – it’s about making her feel confident, beautiful and unapologetically herself. I know I’ve done my job properly when my client feels good in what they’re wearing. That’s what it’s all about for me.”
For Kay, that is the real meaning behind the “Denissance”. “The best relationships are built on trust, and that’s exactly what we have. There’s a freedom to be creative. She knows that I understand her beyond her style. I know her as a person. That’s where the magic happens.”