Roles and Responsibilities of a Fashion Stylist

A fashion stylist has a creative eye and is employed to create an image,  give an edge to an outfit and enhance a client's appearance. There are a few different types of fashion stylist; among the most popular careers in the field are editorial styling, commercial styling, personal styling and runway styling. Each of these careers requires a different set of skills.

Strong organisational skills are required to do a large range of tasks from creating the look to organising the shoot. Stylists are also expected to prepare in advance for the days tasks in order to complete them more effectively. Personal stylists are responsible for arranging their own consultations with the client, both before and after achieving a wardrobe that meets the clients demands.

 

A stylist also requires good communication skills, to be confident enough to interact with the client clearly. This is important because they need to be able to cater to the client's needs and be confident that the client/consumer is happy with the service provided. Communication is also important because a commercial stylist needs to work with the photographer, the lighting crew and the models to ensure the best possible results. A fashion show stylist needs to be able to communicate well with the designer to be able to translate their initial ideas into the catwalk or show.


Another good ability to have as a fashion stylist is to efficiently multi-task while remaining focused, as they may have more than one task to complete at a time. It would also be helpful to react well under pressure because styling is a competitive, target driven business.


A magazine fashion stylist needs to be imaginative  and open minded as they may be expected to plan and present a narrative or brief to a group of people working on a shoot, and deal with problems that they have never had to solve before.

 

Stylists need to be extremely motivated, as long periods of time are spent researching current and upcoming trends to keep the client on trend throughout the season or year, adjusting the garments to fit the model or customer and trying to create the perfect image or look to ensure a client’s/consumers satisfaction.

Some stylists are expected to shop for their client instead of with them, this type of fashion stylist would need an in depth knowledge of what the client’s needs and dislikes are, so a questionnaire is mandatory for this field of work. Questions to be expected on a  fashion stylists questionnaire include; body shape, measurements, ethnicity, income, practical needs and responsibilities. This helps the stylist pick a wardrobe that is suitable and fashionable for the client as they now have a customer profile to work from.

A stylist needs to know the ethnicity of the client as they need to pick clothes and accessories with colours that complement the client’s skin tone, this is also the reason that hair and eye colour is requested. Income is important  for the stylist to know so that they can determine the clients budget if this is not stated separately. Details of needs and responsibilities are needed so that the stylist doesn’t give the client something that is going to cause discomfort, such as high heels if they have a manual job. Other questions such as age and any specific likes or dislikes also make up the customer profile as this is what the stylist uses to create the client's wardrobe or image.

Big brands often consult a variety of fashion stylists to review mock ups of a new garment or outfit to determine how well the products will sell. In this instance, it would be the stylists responsibility to analyse, critique and review this work so that it can be improved to make more money for the brand or company.

A fashion show stylist would be responsible for keeping within the allotted time, so if the show ran on too long at the rehearsal they may be asked to make some changes and take out some garments that they felt were less important and that people didn't really need to see. Fashion show stylists are also expected to be backstage with the models, rechecking, arranging and steaming the garments just before they go on stage.

Different types of fashion stylists work in different environments. For example an editorial stylist may be asked to travel abroad for a shoot like the 1963 Egypt photo shoot for Vogue, but will also work in an office while compiling and presenting the images. Personal stylists work mostly in shops for or with the client, but they also need a location for consultations. The majority of commercial stylists work in a retail environment designing shop windows, but some work in photography studios and on location promoting the brand by creating catalogues for the upcoming seasons stock.

Working hours  differ from stylist to stylist, but as a general rule most stylists work irregular and sometimes long hours. Commercial stylists working in a retail environment will have specific core working hours, but it's hard to imagine that a personal stylist or editorial stylist will, as they may have a large volume of work and extremely tight deadlines to meet. Most of these stylists will need to work in their free time as well to keep up with the amount and quality of the work expected by the client. Personal stylists may spend their free time looking online at shop websites for clothes and accessories that they might consider sourcing for a client, whereas an editorial stylist would make sure that they are aware  of any upcoming trends and think about how they could incorporate it into their own work. Runway stylists may also have to put in extra time to fix snags or any imperfections in garments before a photo shoot or fashion show.