Diary of an industry fashion girl: Simone Stocker behinds reports behind scenes from live editorial photoshoot

Are you considering a career in editorial styling, live for fashion and want to know a little more about a day in the life of an industry fashion stylist or the type of working opportunities offered by LCS?  If so, you might want to read Simone Stocker’s behind the scenes report from her day on a live editorial set:

Hi guys, my name is Simone Stocker and I studied the Foundation in Fashion & Personal Styling Diploma at LCS.

During my studies at London College of Style, we were given several opportunities to assist well known fashion stylists, and gain valuable working knowledge and experience.

I was always more than happy to take advantage of  these opportunities because we met new people, built helpful contacts, got to see the entire process of the makings of a professional editorial shoot, and we were surrounded by beautiful clothes and loads of make-up. That’s a girl’s dream, right?

It was always (and still is) my dream to work as a stylist, but honestly, working as a stylist is not as sweet as it sounds – it is definitely hard work.

Here is a glimpse of my experience working stylist Kirsty Walker (who recently gradated from LCS  Editorial Styling Advanced Diploma and is now working in industry), as the assistant behind the scenes of an editorial shoot for STREETS Magazine.

Preparing the shoot

Everything starts with an idea – a theme or a mood for the shoot. The stylist, the photographer, or the art director creates a visual moodboard to introduce the idea to the rest of the crew.

It is the stylist’s job to source all of the clothes, accessories, shoes and other props. However, emerging stylists usually buy all the clothes and just return them after the shoot. By expanding and building valuable contacts, stylists are then able to directly get the PR companies or emerging designers to lend clothes for the shoots.  Unfortunately, for me, the clothes don’t just show up to the shoot locations, so the stylist or stylist assistant has to pickup all the clothes and have them on the set before shooting begins.

The shoot day

An exciting, but exhausting day is ahead. Shoot days are long and start early.  Upon arrival, the stylist has to unpack all the clothes, steam everything, sort out the looks, place them on the racks, and pair each look together perfectly.  The entire day has to be planned out.  Communication with the whole team is key.

Once hair & make-up is done, the stylist then dresses the model and makes sure everything fits perfectly. Pins, clips, needle and thread are often used to help the stylist achieve the perfect fit.  It is also the stylist’s job to closely watch as the models move around during the actually shooting to assure that the clothes always look perfect.

For STREETS magazine we shot a whole editorial spread with 9 looks in total.  It was the stylist responsibility to document each look, including pictures and credits (brand names) of each outfit and the whole team.

The day after

Work is not done yet for the stylist. After the shoot he / she has to return all the pieces to the PR agencies, designers or shops. This is probably the least favorable part, but somebody has to do it…an assistant 😉

If you want to become a successful stylist it’s so important to catch as many work opportunities as you can and build your industry contacts. You never know who you’ll meet next, so the best advice I can give you is “always be nice“ because they will remember you.

Being a stylist is hard work, but it’s my dream job and my passion.  Taking something from your imagination, and actually seeing the outfit perfectly placed on a model is the most rewarding thing ever.

To see the full story published in STREETS Magazine, click here

Rock on, work hard and follow my journey on www.rebelliouslace.com

Simone xx