Fashion Styling

Jacqueline McAssey, Sophie Benson, Clare Buckley

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781350241848
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Industria de la moda y textil

Learn to style for advertisements, magazines and portfolios and take your first steps into one of fashion communication's most dynamic and rewarding careers. With hands-on practical advice on working as part of a team, developing a visual vocabulary and managing a shoot, you'll be encouraged to experiment and develop your own original creative concepts. This revised edition includes a new chapter on the future of the industry, exploring how the role is changing and the stylist's position as an entrepreneur. There are also new interviews with professional stylists and 120 new images to demonstrate each technique.

1

The Fashion Stylist

Introduction

Put simply, a fashion stylist is responsible for choosing the look and clothing, and often much more, to communicate a fashion idea, trend or theme, or to advertise a fashion product. This book has been written for those who are interested in the process of fashion image-making and what the job entails. It will inform you about how and why the stylist has become an integral part of fashion image-making in publications, both online and in print, advertising campaigns and more recently as a consultant to fashion designers and brands.

You will also learn what it means, for example, to style for e-commerce, a still-life image or a fashion show and what types of skills these different fields require. Personal styling is explained in its various guises, from one-to-one styling in retail outlets to the styling of musicians and celebrities. Additionally, it will describe the day-to-day life of a stylist, which should help you to identify if this is the right career choice for you.

This book contains visual examples of inspirational styling, created not only by professionals but also undergraduates; proving that even on a limited budget, with imagination and drive, it is still possible to create beautiful and relevant work.

Figure 1.2 Muted menswear is shot against a dramatic landscape in this fashion editorial for V Man. Photography: Will Davidson. Styling: Mattias Karlsson.

The Fashion Stylist

What is fashion styling?

Essentially, styling is a way of assembling clothing and accessories, to exhibit them in their most desirable or attractive way in order to sell them. This could include, for example, choosing accessories (belt, shoes and jewellery) to coordinate with and complement a dress. Fashion clothing can be styled alone or as a group of products (showing a range of colours), with or without a model. The styling process involves selecting and experimenting with many alternative garments to establish the perfect composition.

‘I wanted to mix designer things with “found” things, and used to go to places like John Lewis’ schoolboys’ department to get a very eclectic mix.’

Melanie Ward

The origins of styling

The first stylists were fashion editors who worked exclusively for fashion magazines. Editors did in fact ‘edit’ the clothing and fashion pages, and they chose the designers to be featured in the magazine. Under the initial direction of the fashion editor the relationship that really mattered during the shoot was that of the photographer and model. Indeed, during the 1960s it was common for models to do their own make-up and hair and bring their own accessories to a shoot, forgoing the need for a third person. Then, during the 1980s the first freelance stylists appeared, working for new style magazines such as The Face and i-D. As these magazines did not have permanent fashion staff, freelance stylists could apply their inventive fashion ideas across a number of publications and clients. The stylist became an integral part of fashion editorial; a key contributor to the image-making process, who wasn’t tied to one magazine or one point of view.

Ray Petri (1948–1989)

Ray Petri, thought by many to be the first stylist, was known in the 1980s for his ‘Buffalo’ style; a ground-breaking mix of urban uniform, ethnic dress, sportswear and high-end fashion. His use of real people instead of models (including Black and mixed-race men) in fashion shoots was, at the time, new and exciting. Petri contributed to The Face magazine and worked with designers Jean Paul Gaultier and Giorgio Armani. The creative collective he was part of was also named Buffalo and in the book of the same name, GQ editor Dylan Jones stated that even twenty years after Petri’s death, ‘Harder than the rest; in the age of the stylist, Ray Petri is still king.’

Roles in styling

Stylists work in fashion editorial styling (magazines, in print or online); commercial fashion styling (advertising and e-commerce); in fashion shows and events; and as personal stylists for individual clients. The stylist’s moniker also varies: they may be known as wardrobe stylists; on a publication such as a magazine or newspaper they are called fashion editors and assistants, and in fashion stores they can be referred to as personal shoppers.

Aside from the practical nature of the subject, styling is very much the opinion of the stylist, who imparts their often intuitive view on fashion. Even as a new stylist you are not judged on your practical skills alone; your own ideas, vision and taste are evident in each piece of work you produce.

Figure 1.3 Fashion turned on its head. Photography: Marcus Palmqvist. Styling: Ellen Af Geijerstam.

Challenging perceptions

Styling can also challenge perceptions of fashion and style to move clothing in a new direction, and pieces can be put together in a way not originally intended by the designer. Fashion history is littered with these examples, which now seem commonplace: underwear worn as outerwear; women in men’s formal attire; sports apparel placed in a fashion environment. Whether carefully coordinated or artfully juxtaposed, both approaches have their place in fashion styling.

Figure 1.4 ‘Bricks and Bones’, a menswear editorial for BITE magazine. Photography: Lucie Armstrong. Styling: Sophie Benson.

Aspects of the job

The nature of a stylist’s job is very much dependent on the specific field in which they work. Some stylists will stick to one field throughout their career whilst others will move easily between the various forms of styling; some will work permanently for one magazine, company or studio, others work in a freelance capacity or may be represented by an agency. The stylist’s overall input to a project can also vary considerably. A stylist working for a publication may have a responsibility to create something in line with a particular aesthetic and as such will have more control of a project, whereas a stylist working on an advertising campaign is likely to be part of a large team and will defer to the client and the brief. These different working methods are further explained in Chapter 3.

Along with the photographer, the stylist is a key member of the photoshoot crew and the planning and production of the shoot is often well within the stylist’s remit. They may source appropriate locations, attend model castings and direct the shoot brief, as well as look after the model on the shoot day itself and generally ensure that proceedings go smoothly. What follows is a basic explanation of what is expected of a stylist working in the fashion industry today.

Figure 1.5 A bright and bold commercial shoot. Photography and styling: We Are, via Getty Images.

Influential stylists

Akeem Smith, Alex White, Alice Goddard, Alistair Kimm, Alistair Mackie, Anaita Shroff Adajania, Anna Dello Russo, Anya Ziourova, Barry Kamen, Benjamin Kirchhoff, Camille Bidault-Waddington, Carine Roitfeld, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Caroline Baker, Charlotte...