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Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Styling - Part 4: My Mentor
Samantha Theron was almost the only stylist I had emailed that was interested in meeting me. I vividly remember the day; it was completely impromptu, and we met up for a coffee at Bondi. We talked about me and what I’d been doing in terms of fashion; then about her and the path she took in becoming a stylist. I brought my resume along with me, and that seemed to impress her. Sam is a very upfront, no-bullshit kind of character, and proceeded to tell me that the best way to figure out if we’d work well together was to try it out!
The first job we did together was the look book for Bondi Beach Bag. It was a rather hectic, fast-pace vibe – literally throwing on and pulling off different looks on the models. We did some shots at the designer’s house, and some down at Bondi Beach, and ended up getting through about 40-50 looks from memory! It was a crazy day, but we managed to get everything done.
Sam then asked me to come on board in updating Integral Energy’s stock photo library - I was brought on as assistant producer and stylist for the 2 month long project. Now, even though the majority of the work was production, and we were sourcing wardrobe from places like Target and Kmart, I have to say, it was a great first taste of the industry. I learnt a lot about how to put shoots together, budgeting, scheduling, sourcing props and clothes, liaising with talent etc. I was also really lucky in the fact that Sam was a great teacher and I didn’t feel intimidated to ask any question – so I ended up learning a lot about a lot of different things*.
My strongest memories of this time involve getting to Sam’s place in morning and having our morning coffee, driving all over Sydney together, and working out of Studio Go with the photographers.
We continued to work on numerous shoots together over the period of about a year, and even though we aren’t working together any more, as Sam now the head VA for Prada Australia, the best thing about having a mentor is that I know I’ll always be able to count on her for support, advice…and a good catch up over some wine!
*For whatever reason, I have a very clear memory of Sam teahing me what a Cyc was - a curved connecting from the floor to the wall, so you don't see the horizontal line where they join.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Styling - Part 3: My First Job
My first job came into fruition with a stylist named Lara Lupish - of whom I still work with to this day. I still vividly remember the phone call; I was walking around Bondi Junction in Target or Kmart of all places, with my mum, heart pounding, getting a run down of the brief, including dates and times. I would be working on WHO Magazine's annual Most Beautiful People issue with Dannii Minogue featuring on the cover - nothing like a little bit of pressure for my first job.
This would later be followed by another phone call of confirmation, and some slightly trepidatious questions from Lara - the conversation went something like this:
Now, clearly I wasn't totally sure that I'd be fine, as I'd never done anything like it before and had no idea what to expect or what would be expected of me. But that's pretty much how you make it any new situation - fake it till you make it.
So I was given a list of places to go to pick up garments that Lara had previously selected - this is ironically called 'pick-ups' - and to also select (or what is called to 'pull') new garments - this process of pulling new garments is called sourcing. Also, depending on the kind of shoot you are doing, you will do pick-ups/sourcing from either PR agencies or retailers - in this instance it was both. And this process was where I began to learn another utterly momentous lesson about styling and life - to make decisions quickly (for as long as you continue making decisions, you are always moving forward) and; to trust my instincts. To this day, even if all else fails, I will always trust my own instincts and follow them.
After driving around all day from PR agency to retailer, picking up and pulling various garments, it was finally the day of the shoot. We were shooting in a studio down at Walsh Bay, and I met Lara for the first time. She seemed friendly, but there wasn't time for chit-chat or social niceties - it was go time!
After we unpacked the garment rack from Lara's car, we loaded about 50+ garments onto it - all grouped and wrapped up in differently branded plastic garment bags and bound together by rubber bands. This process of unpacking the car had begun, and can often be very time consuming and physically demanding. It was then back and forth from the car to the studio, handling the various and multiple bags of shoes, jewellery, belts, the steamer, and Lara's styling kit.
After this was complete and everything had safely made it up to the studio, the process of unpacking everything from it's bag, box etc. began. Every stylist has a particular way of doing this, and Lara informed me of how she likes this to happen. First, all the garments bags were unwrapped, folded up, and placed to the side. Lara then began to place all the garments into some sort of order that was unbeknownst to me. I continued with the shoes, making sure to line them up in a neat and organised manner, having the most expensive shoes sitting at the front, with one shoe taken out and sitting atop its' box. This was mimicked with the jewellery - everything is kept with its' packaging.
After the Editor, Lara and Dannii went through the substantial rack of clothes and tried a few things on, they edited the selection of garments down to a handful. And to my delight, one of the dresses I had pulled made it through to the final cut! Not bad for my first job ever! It was then my job to steam the garments, tape the bottom of the shoes with masking tape as to not damage them in any way, and stand close to Lara when on set with her kit handy.
After the fun of the shoot was over, began the massive undertaking of packing everything up again exactly as it was unpacked, as Lara wanted me to return some of the garments that day. I sorted, checked everything off its' invoice, re-bagged, re-boxed and loaded my car up once again to take everything back.
It was then over. My first official styling job was done. One of the garments I had pulled was chosen and Lara was happy with my performance. It was a good day.
This would later be followed by another phone call of confirmation, and some slightly trepidatious questions from Lara - the conversation went something like this:
Lara: "Have you done anything like this before?"
Me: "No, no really, but I'm sure I'll be fine."
Lara: "Are you OK with celebrities? I've worked with some people who get starstruck and it's very off-putting for the celebrity. Will you be OK with this?"
Me: "Yeah I'm not overly into celebrities anyway."
Lara: "Ok, well I'm trusting you with this."
Me: "I'm sure I'll be fine."
Now, clearly I wasn't totally sure that I'd be fine, as I'd never done anything like it before and had no idea what to expect or what would be expected of me. But that's pretty much how you make it any new situation - fake it till you make it.
So I was given a list of places to go to pick up garments that Lara had previously selected - this is ironically called 'pick-ups' - and to also select (or what is called to 'pull') new garments - this process of pulling new garments is called sourcing. Also, depending on the kind of shoot you are doing, you will do pick-ups/sourcing from either PR agencies or retailers - in this instance it was both. And this process was where I began to learn another utterly momentous lesson about styling and life - to make decisions quickly (for as long as you continue making decisions, you are always moving forward) and; to trust my instincts. To this day, even if all else fails, I will always trust my own instincts and follow them.
After driving around all day from PR agency to retailer, picking up and pulling various garments, it was finally the day of the shoot. We were shooting in a studio down at Walsh Bay, and I met Lara for the first time. She seemed friendly, but there wasn't time for chit-chat or social niceties - it was go time!
After we unpacked the garment rack from Lara's car, we loaded about 50+ garments onto it - all grouped and wrapped up in differently branded plastic garment bags and bound together by rubber bands. This process of unpacking the car had begun, and can often be very time consuming and physically demanding. It was then back and forth from the car to the studio, handling the various and multiple bags of shoes, jewellery, belts, the steamer, and Lara's styling kit.
After this was complete and everything had safely made it up to the studio, the process of unpacking everything from it's bag, box etc. began. Every stylist has a particular way of doing this, and Lara informed me of how she likes this to happen. First, all the garments bags were unwrapped, folded up, and placed to the side. Lara then began to place all the garments into some sort of order that was unbeknownst to me. I continued with the shoes, making sure to line them up in a neat and organised manner, having the most expensive shoes sitting at the front, with one shoe taken out and sitting atop its' box. This was mimicked with the jewellery - everything is kept with its' packaging.
After the Editor, Lara and Dannii went through the substantial rack of clothes and tried a few things on, they edited the selection of garments down to a handful. And to my delight, one of the dresses I had pulled made it through to the final cut! Not bad for my first job ever! It was then my job to steam the garments, tape the bottom of the shoes with masking tape as to not damage them in any way, and stand close to Lara when on set with her kit handy.
After the fun of the shoot was over, began the massive undertaking of packing everything up again exactly as it was unpacked, as Lara wanted me to return some of the garments that day. I sorted, checked everything off its' invoice, re-bagged, re-boxed and loaded my car up once again to take everything back.
It was then over. My first official styling job was done. One of the garments I had pulled was chosen and Lara was happy with my performance. It was a good day.
This was the dress I pulled.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Styling - Part 1: Just An Idea
So it's occurred to me that even though I've been posting about the various shoots I go on, I haven't told you very much about the actual styling part of it, or my personal experiences with getting into this crazy fashion world.
So I'm going to create a series of posts dedicated to sharing with you exactly what it takes to become a fashion stylist, what I've learnt so far, and basically everything to do with my journey thus far. So here goes...
Styling - Part 1: Just An Idea
I did not come from a fashion background. I didn't know anything about the technical aspect of putting together a garment (and still don't), I didn't know anything about the fashion industry and how it works, and most disturbingly, I had no understanding at all of what a stylist did.
I was a disillusioned junior graphic designer, who'd just come off about a year in the industry and a 5 year double degree in Design and Art Education. And this was about the exact time that I realized I didn't want to follow either of those career paths (sweet). It was also just around the time that the GFC hit, making jobs even more scarce than they normally were.
This led me inextricably to one completely life-changing thought...
FUCK...what do I do now?
I always knew my whole life up until that point what I was going to do; Study hard at school, get a good UAI, go to Uni and get a job - that's how it worked...right?
So when that all fell to shit, I took some time (and I mean a lot of time) to think about what I was interested in, and after much turmoil and depression, I realized that I read an awful lot of fashion magazines, and maybe this was something I should pursue.
But how to get started?
And from this one little question spawned a fuck-load of more equally bewildering questions: Should I study? Should I try to get a job? What kind of job would I want? What part of the fashion industry do I even want to work in? WHAT DO I DO NEXT...?
So I'm going to create a series of posts dedicated to sharing with you exactly what it takes to become a fashion stylist, what I've learnt so far, and basically everything to do with my journey thus far. So here goes...
Styling - Part 1: Just An Idea
I did not come from a fashion background. I didn't know anything about the technical aspect of putting together a garment (and still don't), I didn't know anything about the fashion industry and how it works, and most disturbingly, I had no understanding at all of what a stylist did.
I was a disillusioned junior graphic designer, who'd just come off about a year in the industry and a 5 year double degree in Design and Art Education. And this was about the exact time that I realized I didn't want to follow either of those career paths (sweet). It was also just around the time that the GFC hit, making jobs even more scarce than they normally were.
This led me inextricably to one completely life-changing thought...
FUCK...what do I do now?
I always knew my whole life up until that point what I was going to do; Study hard at school, get a good UAI, go to Uni and get a job - that's how it worked...right?
So when that all fell to shit, I took some time (and I mean a lot of time) to think about what I was interested in, and after much turmoil and depression, I realized that I read an awful lot of fashion magazines, and maybe this was something I should pursue.
But how to get started?
And from this one little question spawned a fuck-load of more equally bewildering questions: Should I study? Should I try to get a job? What kind of job would I want? What part of the fashion industry do I even want to work in? WHAT DO I DO NEXT...?
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