Stylists

Stylists

Fashion is a popular field to work in and so it is not surprising that the role of stylist is very competitive.

A fashion stylish will usually be given a brief to work to, which they then have to use to create an image for a magazine or photo shoot for instance. They choose items of clothing to fit this brief and will usually choose suitable accessories. A typical day includes many activities including:-

  1. Contacting various clothing retailers, PR agencies or magazines.
  2. Tracking down the most suitable clothing range to be used for the brief.
  3. Sourcing props as well as either hiring, borrowing or buying the clothing to be used as well as deciding the best way to display it.
  4. Dressing the subject to be used in the work (i.e. models).
  5. 'networking' - it is important to make contacts in this field of work.
  6. Knowing the current trends and fashions.

    7. A lot of stylists are self employed and others are employed by magazines, music companies or advertising agencies. A successful stylist may be able to make him/herself widely known in the industry such as Priscilla Bokhara Roberts.

    In order to become a fashion stylist you need, obviously, to be passionate about fashion and about clothes - not just the latest trends but the way the colour and texture of a fabric. You need to have a 'feel' for fashion which it is possible to teach through training, but essentially there probably needs to be some kind of natural 'gift' for this there at the beginning. You need to be very very determined due to the level of competition for this job and you also need to be prepared to work long hours, not necessarily 9 to 5. A thick skin also helps as you will hear 'no' a lot when you are starting out!

    Work experience is hugely important in this field and you will give yourself an advantage by getting as much work experience as possible. You will need to be proactive and arrange this yourself and there are always opportunities, even is small local towns. Maybe you could approach a department store or see if local fashion photographers may need a hand. This will give you good experience but will usually be unpaid of course. Contacts are really really important if you want to work as a stylist and so any experience you can get early on will really help.