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Fashion Realities
published 17.10.2023
After moving to Milan for my studies I started assisting Stylists to get closer to my dream of working for Vogue. But let’s start from the beginning…
Before an editorial ends up in a magazine there are thousands of steps that you might have not even considered. The first thing a Style assistant does is helping to set up the mood board for the shoot. Here the vision of the Stylist comes to life by choosing the looks to be photographed later.
It is basically a Pinterest board for the shoot, representing the lighting for the pics, the outfit ideas as well as hair and makeup inspiration. It’s also needed to contact the right designers, showrooms, and labels to pick up looks from them.
Now it´s time to shine as an assistant, by contacting the brands PR and ask them if we can lend the pieces for the shoot. For editorials Stylists love to use smaller brands of upcoming designers and mix them with well-known brands like Versace, Diesel or Margiela. Then we wait, keep in mind all this needs to happen latest 4 days before the actual shoot.
When the brands respond we start making an excel sheet to keep track of the answers and schedule the pick-ups. At a pick up you go all over the city and collect the pieces, which is definitely the most exhausting part of a shoot.
Photo shooting day, finally. For me the shoots usually start at 10:00 am (keep in mind I´m in Italy so timing can change regarding your location) and keep going until 8:00 pm, but sometimes also end late at night at around 10:30pm. When you meet at the location you lay out the clothes and the stylist pulls the desired look for the models.
At editorials fittings with models are not that common, so we do everything at the location before the shoot. When the looks are choose we steam the pieces to make them look perfect.
While we figure everything out, the Model gets their hair and makeup done. As an assistant you also help the models getting dressed. Sometimes the pieces don´t fit perfectly, but we have tricks like tape and clips to get the desired look in the end. While the photographer takes the pictures, the assistant makes another list of the brands worn in each look so that the magazine can give the right credits and nothing gets mixed up.
We also keep an eye on the details, like the socks being the same height or the underwear not showing in the pictures. Continuing this same cycle with all the looks until the stylist is satisfied and all the pictures relate to the expectations of the photographer.
So you may ask me, why would I do something so stressful? The answer is simple: Passion! For me the feeling of being a part of a photoshoot, the connections I make and the people I meet is such an unreal experience that I would do it again and again.
Your success in the fashion industry relies on the relationships you built, so starting as early as possible is going to make you succeed in the end. One stylist knows another, who knows a photographer that may need your help or has a work opportunity to help you get closer to your goal. In addition you work with beautiful garments Ps.
You will always have to carry a suitcase and a million bags with you, you will walk minimum 10k steps per day and public transport will be your best friend! Even though it´s hard and I could use this time to do other things, I wouldn’t ´t trade it for anything in the world, because we all start somewhere right?
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