JOANNE watkinson
WHAT MAKES A FASHION STYLIST?
FASHION industry oracle The Business of Fashion’s (BoF) latest thought for the week provoked quite the social media discussion.
It stated that there are too many “so-called stylists” in the industry, unqualified and saturating the market, making it difficult for existing talent.
My first reaction was a ho-hum of agreement. While styling A-listers for the red carpet is yet to appear on my CV, I’ve worked as a stylist for retailers, e-tailers, private clients and brand campaigns for more than 16 years and I too believe the title of ‘stylist’ has been diluted over time.
When I started out, Katie Grand, current Vogue editor Edward Enniful, Emmanuelle Alt and Rachel Zoe were THE stylists. Now the title is used frequently on Instagram by people who may or may not have any industry experience.
The general consensus is that the quote on BoF is valid. Even former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfield weighed in to concur.
The vitriol was flowing and this new wave of influencers held aloft as the reason for the problem, branded as self-titled pretenders lacking experience.
But what is the truth? I’m no longer a jobbing stylist nor have I ever worked at the top of the industry, so perhaps I am immune to the larger problem. But what I do have in common with these “charlatans” accused of taking over the styling industry is that I have no formal qualifications.
I too am guilty of being a hustler. I found myself reconsidering my original opinion. Could this attempt to discredit new talent be merely sour grapes?
Whatever happened to embracing fresh blood?
The world is changing fast and perhaps what we’re seeing here is a generation, myself included, not wanting to be shelved?
Experience, wisdom and knowledge should be valued and credited, but fashion and styling is so subjective, is a qualification necessary to know how to pull together a great outfit?
Like other creative roles styling is a craft that can be self taught but is only honed through experience. The relationships required to build a client base can’t be bought they must be earned.
Knowing what fabrics look good on camera, how a gown works as it moves and how to dress different body shapes can’t be taught, it’s a skill. So is millennials’ ability to engage thousands of people on their social media platforms.
Maybe if we team up we could teach one another a thing or two.