While the rest of us slowly ease into each new year following the stress of the holiday season, there is no such respite for Hollywood stylists.

The first two months are grueling as they prepare their clients for an awards season that begins with the Peoples Choice Awards, Jan. 6, and Golden Globes, Jan. 10, and doesn’t let up until the Academy Awards ceremony takes place Sunday. In between are the Critics Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Grammys and more — 15 awards shows in all — plus countless receptions and after-parties.

And every celeb and his or her stylist are vying for the best gowns, dresses and suits.

Local-born stylist Kyle Kagamida, 25, moved to Los Angeles five years ago and came home recently for a short Christmas break before returning to the fray.

“I’ve grown used to the timing of it, how everything’s crammed into these two months — movie premieres, the Television Critics Association press tour, where producers present their upcoming series, and for every award show there’s a party.

“Everyone wants their big moment, and I’m fighting for the same dresses as everybody else, so it can be rough, but we’re all actually very nice to each other. I might show up for a fitting with three racks of clothes and three duffel bags of shoes, and after my clients make their picks, I’ll call other stylists and let them know they can swing by and pick things up if they need them.”

Kagamida began taking an interest in red-carpet fashion while enrolled in Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Arts Program. Although he graduated with an Associate of Science degree, he knew restaurant work wasn’t for him, in part because it’s “hot and messy.”

He quickly learned that styling work is also hot and messy — and grueling — but in this case, he said, “I’m crawling on the floor, tying on girls’ shoes, I don’t care. I love it. There’s nothing in my life I can imagine myself doing other than this.”

In culinary school he was the only one in the kitchen who managed to keep his whites clean. That mindfulness and attention to detail is crucial for stylists because every red-carpet mistake is photographed, circulated worldwide and dissected by the fashion press and their followers.

Kagamida spent two years styling for local publications and building his portfolio before moving to L.A., where he was able to strike out on his own after working for six of Hollywood’s top celebrity stylists, including Petra Flannery, who has dressed Amy Adams, Emma Stone and Claire Danes for the red carpet, and Nicole Chavez, whose clients include Katherine Heigl, Scarlett Johansson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kristen Bell and Rachel Bilson.

During his first awards season in 2012, he helped Brad Goreski dress Rashida Jones for the Independent Spirit Awards, Maya Rudolph for the Oscars and Jessica Alba for the Vanity Fair and Elton John parties.

This year he’ll be dressing Bellamy Young and transgender supermodel Andreja Pejic for Elton John’s Oscar party and Joseph Morgan for Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Oscar party. After working Oscar nights in the past, he says there’s always the worry “that a zipper will break or a boob will fall out.”

“You’re sitting there watching the broadcast and praying that nothing like that happens, and usually it doesn’t. We don’t do just one fitting, but several to make sure everything is nipped, tucked and fits perfectly before a client steps out.

“This business is not for people who can’t take stress or criticism. Sometimes you get ripped apart by critics. I haven’t really gotten much negative feedback, although now that I’ve said it, I’ve probably jinxed myself. The worst thing someone said about one of my looks was that my client was trying to look too young, but I will gladly take that over someone saying she looked too old.”

Going forward, he’ll be dressing clients for the March premiere of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and will continue his work with “Full House” star Candace Cameron-Bure for appearances in conjunction with the “Fuller House” spinoff debuting on Netflix on Friday, and Bellamy Young in conjunction with the season’s return of “Scandal,” 8 p.m. today on ABC.

“There’s always work, and we have a saying that if you ever don’t have work to do, you’re pretty much done.”

After spending seven years as a Hollywood stylist, William Squire — a part-time Oahu resident who returns in March after the major awards shows are over — decided there had to be an easier way to deal with a growing clientele. With a team in place, for the past eight years he’s set up shop in luxury hotels around L.A., which allows him to cater to dozens of clients without running all over town.

He helped 35 women and 10 men get ready for the Grammys red carpet and will be creating looks for 14 women and 10 men for the Academy Awards.

“It’s so wonderful. I’ve gotten lazy, so I have a style team that includes six makeup artists, six hairstylists, two masseuses, a manicurist and a men’s groomer.

“I make sure the food’s good, the music’s good, and I always offer champagne so everyone’s in a good mood. My first appointment Sunday is at 9 a.m., and everybody’s done by 3 p.m. That’s when they need to be on the red carpet.”

With the enduring power of the photo in today’s selfie and share culture, no one is safe from fashion trolls, which adds to the stylists’ workload.

“It’s not just celebrities who seek out stylists,” Squire said. “Although I have my celebrity clients, people fly in from all over the world to be here during awards season. Not everyone knows them, but they’re A-list on the Fortune 500. I help a mix of studio heads and executives, and I’ll be preparing the owner of Coca-Cola and his wife for the Academy Awards.”

Squire started out like most stylists, running about town helping celebs find dresses. “That’s tough and takes a lot of work. I wanted to make my life easier.

“A lot of people other than A-list stars are now using Rent the Runway. What they’ll do is rent two or three dresses and bring them to me, and I’ll help them choose which works best for them, and design their makeup and hair look from that.”

He also developed a Your Signature Style program to help individuals develop a signature look and star presence, including learning to walk and pose on the red carpet.

“If they don’t have that walk down, and the pose, it doesn’t matter how pretty they look,” he said.