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Sally’s Styling Seminary

Friday December 2nd, 2011

Fashion Careers

Sally’s Styling Seminary: Fashion Politics Part One, Magazines

by SALLY LYNDLEY

A couple of years ago, when I was in business school, my teacher was having a conversation with the class about all of the different areas of business we must take care of in order to be considered “successful”. One of those areas was “politics”. Now, he wasn’t talking about politics in the traditional sense of the word, like government or politicians, he was talking about the dynamics of people in a group, area or field. So I am talking here about politics as the relationship between people in fashion and how some people are considered powerful, how some people are not, and why. At one point in our class, someone stood up and said that he hated politics and he stayed as far away from politics as possible (exactly what I was thinking as the other student said it). In return, my teacher said, “If you don’t like politics, then be a dog. Tough luck buddy. Whether you like it or not, politics are there and you have to learn to deal with them if you want to be successful.” So I started thinking about what that meant to me and my job and career as a stylist and what it meant inside of the fashion business.

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Sally’s Styling Seminary: Show Process Part 4–The Show

by Sally Lyndley

Stylist Sally Lyndley has put together an amazing guide to producing a runway show. See her first three installments–Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3–before reading this.

By the time the show comes around, I begin to feel like it’s time to let the chips fall as they may. All of the hard work of the designer and team, producers, casting director, publicist and stylist has finally come together. Months of preparation lead up to a 12-minute show. I put on my game face and one of my favorite outlandish (but comfortable) outfits and head to the show.

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Sally’s Styling Seminary: Show Process Part 3–Fittings

by Sally Lyndley

Fittings are the part of the process where the collection really comes alive for me. They give me a glimpse into what the final show will look like, fulfilling the designer’s vision and my own. Seeing the models in the looks with all of the final accessories and accouterments makes me completely giddy.

When fittings begin, I like to start with the stronger models. The casting director does her/his best to get some of the more famous models in for the first couple of fittings so the designer and I can get really inspired. While this doesn’t always happen, it is a fun way to get this sometimes long part of the process started.

Sally's Styling Seminary

Sally’s Styling Seminary: Show Process Part 2–Casting

by Sally Lyndley

Casting is an integral part of the show process because it doesn’t matter how major the clothes are if the models wearing them are weak. Casting is very subjective, so what is a good casting for one show isn’t always good for another. It’s really important for a stylist and designer to know what kind of character they are after before they start the casting process. If they don’t know, the casting ends up diluted and all over the place. Casting your “cabine” of models is like choosing your ultimate clients. The models should reflect (at least in looks) the kind of person a designer actually wants to wear the clothes. A model can “turn” an outfit more preppy, or more sexy or more edgy. So being aware of how the model will change the looks is crucial. For Antonio’s show, we always go for an artistic aristocrat kind of look: the guy who loves art and went to boarding school but isn’t scared to go see a band play in a dirty Lower East Side club. I like to create a story like that about the character because it makes it easier for me to figure out which models fit. That being said, sometimes we meet a model we are super inspired by, and will change the whole casting to be based on the model’s own character and personality.

Sally's Styling Seminary

Sally’s Styling Seminary: The Fashion Show Process Part 1–Looks

by Sally Lyndley

This past February I had the pleasure of working with one of my favorite menswear designers, Antonio Azzuolo, styling his Fall Winter 2011 presentation at NYC Fashion Week. Antonio has been gracious enough to allow me to share a photographic documentation of our working process for the presentation. Rather than writing a long description about the process, as I have for this column in the past, I thought it would be cool to show you guys the pictures we take each step of the way instead. This way you can begin to see how the process takes shape in the stylist/designer working relationship.

The looks process is the first step of putting the show together. It is different from fittings because the stylist is trying the outfits on one model, instead of various models.The looks model starts to disappear, and a stylist can just see the clothes.

Sally's Styling Seminary

Sally’s Styling Seminary: Packaging

by Sally Lyndley

How a stylist presents herself in the industry has always been important. It’s what I call creating your own “packaging.” A stylist’s “packaging” becomes her/his calling card. Stylists become easily recognizable and build their brand this way. How we present ourselves to our clients and our industry is our own special way of marketing. And now, with blogs covering the looks of editors, stylists and all other show-goers, packaging is even more important. In fact, a few stylists have even made careers out of marketing their personal style.

For stylists and their assistants, their look expresses their sensibility and aesthetic without saying a word. Whether they like it or not, stylists are being judged on their looks, specifically their outfit, hair, makeup (for women), nails, etc. This is not about being “pretty,” or attracting a mate, this is about stylists physically reflecting their art. Clients and stylists’ teams want to be inspired by the way a stylist looks.

Sally's Styling Seminary

Sally’s Styling Seminary: The Unspoken Rules of Styling

by Sally Lyndley

By working with the best stylists in the world and cultivating my own styling practice over the last decade, I’ve learned the standards of conduct for styling. Contemplating the ethics of our industry, I’ve observed how the power players behave versus the mediocre. For my “Introduction to Styling” seminar, I’ve written a conversation about these ethics (or lack thereof), and I wanted to share a quick sample with you.

Fashion Careers

Sally’s Styling Seminary: An Interview with Teen Vogue‘s Amy Astley

by Sally Lyndley

Teen Vogue is one of my favorite magazines to peruse and read. The happy, energetic images Amy Astley puts on her pages bring pure joy to the unusually serious world of fashion. It’s always a pleasure to shoot for Ms. Astley. Indeed, she’s been the catalyst for several of my most memorable career highlights. (Hello, Miley Cyrus and Patrick Demarchelier on the rooftops of Paris!)

Amy works closely with me when I’m shooting to help me better understand the Teen Vogue girl, and how to create interesting and new images. It’s refreshing and inspiring to have such a rich dialogue with an editor about what I’m creating for their magazine. Speaking with Amy about styling gave me even more insight into what makes her editorship at Teen Vogue so awesome.

Sally's Styling Seminary

Attend Sally Lyndley’s “Introduction To Styling” Seminar

by Sally Lyndley

With the feedback I’ve received through my Fashionista column, I have created “The Introduction to Styling.” It’s a three-day seminar of conversations and exercises where attendees will learn what it takes to be a stylist. This includes practical information about setting up a styling business, from the relationships you need to build to the tools you need to use. All of the knowledge taught in the course is original content created and written by me, based on my 13-year career all over the world.

Why attend? Well, I’m the first stylist with high fashion luxury clients, and a fashion background, to create an original weekend like “The Introduction to Styling,” which in its essence, will teach students the fundamental basics of becoming a stylist. Other courses and seminars are taught by people who possess very little or no experience in the marketplace, definitely not teachers who are considered experts. I created this training seminar after observing the struggle of my interns and assistants from misinformation–and lack of information–available in the current fashion learning environments.

“The Introduction to Styling” seminar enables students to acquire the information they need to become powerful stylists, whether you are a full-blown stylist or just starting as an assistant.

Fashion Careers

Sally’s Styling Seminary: An Interview with Katie Grand

by Sally Lyndley

Katie Grand is, by far, one of my all time favorite fashion heroes. Every time I work with her and for her I learn SO much. Not only is she one of the only editors that gives me the space and platform to do much of my favorite styling work, she gives me the opportunity to collaborate with the BEST people in the business. For that, I will forever be in Katie’s debt. When I worked for Katie at Pop magazine, she taught me what it means to be a fashion visionary and an incredible business woman. I’m not going to go into a long spiel here about her biography; I really wanted to chat with her specifically about styling. For this column, I will be conducting a series of interviews with people in different fashion roles who hire and work with stylists, or the iconic stylists themselves. Katie answered my questions with the honesty and humor that I always appreciate from her. I learned so much reading her answers, I hope you guys do too!

Here it goes….

SL: How long have you been styling? It began when you started Dazed & Confused with Rankin and Jefferson Hack in 1993, right?
KG: Yeah, I was at St Martins and met Rankin and Jefferson at a bar in the basement of the Trocadero called DNA and I started working on Dazed, initially folding magazines, and then my first story was a white t-shirt story, shot by a friend of mine, Gary, who was at St. Martins doing photography.

SL: What led you to styling versus doing another job in fashion, like design?

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Sally’s Styling Seminary: A Stylist’s Role on the Runway

by SALLY LYNDLEY

Seeing as how fashion month has just ended, I thought it would be appropriate to write about what a stylist’s role is on runway shows. On some shows, I merely choose shoes for the looks, and on others I am involved six months before the show, from creative conception to the completion of the show. Stylists cover the gamut for a designer by bringing in an outside perspective and fashion expertise of what is relevant, irrelevant and “new.” Stylists are needed on a runway show to edit the looks, ensure the designer is showing the most innovative pieces from a collection and that the hair, makeup, and models are on target with everything else happening in the world of fashion. A great stylist can take inspiration from the designer and translate it into every element of the runway show, from the manicure to the music.

When I am working with a design team from the beginning of the creative process, I can spend the six months before thinking about inspiration, hair, and makeup. It gives me a chance to fully flush out the ideas and details for all of the “creative,” giving the designers much more bang for their buck. Working with a designer and his/her team from the get go creates a more complete picture of the intention of the collection, and helps me figure out how to better style the show. I edit, make recommendations, and style the collection to be relevant to what is going to be happening on the runways. While designers and their teams tend to be in their amazing self-made bubbles, we stylists are out there seeing everything, allowing us to make powerful suggestions for shoes, accessories, and new silhouettes that are truly original.

Fashion Careers

Sally’s Styling Seminary: Setting up a Styling Business

by Sally Lyndley

This week I’m writing about something you might think is boring, but, like a workout regimen, it’s a necessary evil: Setting up a stylist’s business.

I am a total geek and love working on the business side of my styling practice, but I know most stylists want to be creative and not even think about the biz operations. At the end of the day, being a successful stylist means being the CEO of your own company. Several of the best stylists I have met are incredibly business savvy.

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