Becoming A Fashion Stylist

What does a fashion stylist do?
A fashion stylist creates an image that sends a message about the person they're styling for. A fashion stylist may be employed for a magazine, a catwalk show or by an individual, celebrity or otherwise.
What skills do I need to be a fashion stylist?
Number one, you've got to really love working hard to be a fashion stylist. And you have GOT to be determined to be a fashion stylist. Innately, I think as a fashion stylist you need a passion for fashion, for texture, for colour, and a real feel for fashion as well, which you CAN learn through training, but I think it innately has to be there in a fashion stylist. I think it can be fine-tuned by attending courses. But that determination to get up and go and also, in the early days as a fashion stylist, to take "No" as meaning maybe "Not now" and "I'm going to come back and see you again later." So a bit of a thick skin is useful in a fashion stylist and to have a sense of humour as well, because that keeps you going as a fashion stylist.
How do you get work experience?
Getting work experience as a fashion stylist is really down to you. It really is your responsibility to gain as much or as little work experience as you like. I make it sound easy but it isn't at all. However, in the area that you live in, you can always head to department stores or hair-dressing salons. They mostly hold local fashion shows. Ask if you can assist or help out as a fashion stylist. Look in the yellow pages for local fashion photographers. Again, ask if you can assist on shoots as a form of work experience. All of this will be unpaid work, but the most valuable assets you can have as a fashion stylist are experience and contacts. I think that far outweighs any diploma that you may have. Work experience really is a question of thinking on your feet and thinking, "Actually I'm going to do this." A lot of people still don't make that effort. If you do find work experience, that puts you ahead of the game in terms of becoming a fashion stylist. You also learn invaluable amounts by working with people who are experienced. Every step of the way you take that with you and it makes you a better stylist.
How do I take a course in fashion and style?
If you're looking at courses for fashion and style, the best advice I can give is to actually to contact fashion colleges, either locally or those that are in London. A couple of great ones are Saint Martin's Central College and also the London College of Fashion as well. There are a variety of courses that are ever-changing. I got to have a look online yesterday and depending on what you want to achieve from them, you can start with a diploma; you can go as far as a degree if you really, really want to. I would say really check them out thoroughly, because in my opinion it is more valuable to gain work experience and contacts, and in the time that you're at college you could actually have far more under your belt if you're starting at the bottom. It's about who you know and how good you are at your job.
Do you need qualifications to be a fashion stylist?
In terms of qualifications to become a fashion stylist, in terms of college qualifications, you actually don't need any. The qualifications that you do need are: bags of enthusiaism and innate understanding of fashion, color and style. A real appreciation to learn quickly, to listen as well, to be part of a team, to do lots of research, to think on your own initiative. All of those qualities and a love of long working hours. But all of those qualities are far more important than actually a diploma you may gain from college. There's actually being in the thick of the job. So in amongst the hubub of what's going on, on a fashion shoot or a you know fashion show or working in television are going to gain you far more experience and understanding and actually give you a better insight to the industry and to what you will enjoy doing as opposed to you being at college.
Do you need to be up to date on all the latest fashion trends?
When you're looking at becoming a fashion stylist it's essential that you have a real in-depth knowledge of not only fashion, but also an understanding of all the latest trends and what's going on within the industry. I make it, I consider it to be sort of a big part of my job to keep an eye on everything that's happening in that direction. I attend the shows that give us an indication of what's going to be happening for next season. I'm constantly looking at magazines, not only UK edition, also all of those through Europe and U.S. edition as well, so you get a really broad spectrum and overview of exactly what's happening. It's like any job really at the end of the day, you can't talk about it with conviction and knowledge unless you really, really understand it. And it's ever-changing as well. In one respect, you could say that requires massive commitment, in another at least its exciting, it's never ever boring cause its constantly evolving.
What makes a successful fashion stylist?
With regards to becoming a fashion stylist, a successful fashion stylist I think has to have a few key ingredients. I think one of those is to be incredibly hard-working. Another is to have a passion for fashion, because you so have to love what you do. To be a great team player, able to take instructions, to listen and to work well with everybody who's part of the job that you're working on. Finally, to be a successful fashion stylist you must be able, as well as adaptable, to be able to come up with new ideas that evolve and enable you to be constantly fresh.
What advice would you give to an aspiring fashion stylist?
The thing I really say if you're thinking about becoming a fashion stylist, first and foremost, sit down and decide actually what direction you want to go in. Because there are different sort of guises under the heading of fashion stylist. You know, you've got a celebrity fashion stylist who works predominately creating images that send a message for celebrities.You've got a fashion stylist as such, who works predominately on fashion sheets and for magazines and fashion shows: so an editorial stylist as well. And then you've got personal stylist who will work one-to-one with every day people creating images. So its very, very important upfront to have an idea of what direction you're going to go in. And then just be prepared to get your name out and about there as much as possible. Doing whatever you can. Assisting in whatever way you can. Gaining as much experience as you can. Also keep a sense of humor about this, because otherwise sometimes in the early days it can really get you down. And pat yourself on the back for just how well you're doing. Remember that every little stepping stone is taking you closer to your goal. Sometimes, when you get stuck in the middle of things its difficult to see that. But when you look back a year from now, then you'll understand just how much you've achieved. Be your own PR because you are your best PR. Nobody can sell you better than you