Unpublished Gucci Spring Summer 2004 campaign image. Photographed by Mario Testino, and styled by Carine Roitfeld.

I recently heard about a new school that opened up in London, called The London College of Style, which offers a fashion styling course. I remember several years ago, when “styling” became a recognized job in the fashion industry, my friends and I always used to be shocked that there were courses about styling. “How can you teach styling?” was the question we would ask. It is like trying to teach someone style. Has any of the well-known stylists, taken a course in styling? I don’t think so.

Today, a lot of fashion students want to be stylists (maybe they are starting to get turned off being a buyer, because you have to have math skills), but I am not sure an education in styling alone is going to get you anywhere. Sure, you could learn how to call in clothes, organize a photoshoot, how a fashion show works, etc…, but can you teach someone the ability to put a look together, beautifully? That involved creativity and taste, which aren’t usually on the agenda at a styling school.

Vogue Italia shoot by Steven Meisel, styled by Edward Enninful, one of the top fashion stylists of our day.

I’ve worked with a lot of crappy stylists in my time, and a few very good ones. In my opinion, being a good photo stylist involves the ability to understand the purpose of the shoot (are we selling clothes, are we making pretty pictures, are we previewing the fall collections, are we trying to sell the collection to US buyers?) and come up with a creative concept that results in beautiful images that fulfill the purpose. So it requires a bit of marketing savvy and a lot of creativity, which is why it is usually people trained in fashion design end up being stylists. That’s not to say you need to have a degree in fashion design to be a stylists, but some creative training will help. Like design, coming up with a styling concept requires research and development (yes, newsflash people, fashion designers do not just have “ideas in their head”) and it helps to a creative background.

My concern about all of these styling courses (aside from the fact that the London College of Style doesn’t have enough well-recognized people on their team, compared to the short styling courses at Central Saint Martins) is that there aren’t really very many styling jobs. Thanks to Rachel Zoe and Patricia Field, the job has been glamorized, but really it isn’t all that. Sure, it can be great, if you are excellent at what you can do. But it takes a lot to get there, and part 1 involves working for free. For a very long time.

My friend Julia (Von Boehm) is a fairly successful stylist, working between Paris and New York, mostly for Vogue Paris, Teen Vogue, Vogue Nippon, and Vogue China. She studied fashion design at school, and was offered an internship with a well-known stylist at the time, Carine Roitfeld. Here is where luck came into play, Julia had an apartment in Paris that her parents owned, so she didn’t have to pay rent, she had enough money to work for free for 2 years, and it was pure luck that the first assistant was also German. Two years later, and she landed a job at Vogue Paris (when Carine became editor), and ten years later, she is doing very well, working for a lot of the great brands and publications. Had she not had the means to work for free for two years, she would have had to work much harder to get where she is (that’s not to say she isn’t a great stylist, that helped too.)

Demi Moore on the cover of Vogue Paris

So all of you aspiring stylists out there, think twice before you assume it is all about buying clothes for Carrie Bradshaw or dressing Demi Moore for the cover of Vogue. And if you are determined, my best suggestion is to get some unpaid assisting work with a great stylist so you have on-the-job experience, rather than attending a styling school.

Julia, if you are reading this, have a fantastic wedding this weekend and I am sorry I can’t be in Germany to share this special day with you.

And sorry for the repeat of content, but for those of you who didn’t read my A Fashionable Attitude post last week:

I am considering putting together a little guide for students, prospective students, and anyone trying to get into the fashion industry. It will include some of the following sections:

• A couple of rules and tips about behaviour (like the above, but in more detail)
• Tips on fashion portfolios and the type of experience fashion employers are looking for
• A directory of some fashion schools in Europe and North America
• A directory of most key fashion brands and other fashion-related businesses
• A list of the brands that offer good graduate training programs
• How to prepare and behave during an internship or first fashion job
• Recruitment agencies and where to find good fashion job listings
• Tips from industry insiders

I’d like to hear from my readers whether this is something you’d be interested in, and whether you’d be willing to pay $10-$15 USD for this, as an ebook. Also, if you have any other suggestions for the ebook, feel free to send them over.

If you think you are interested, and want to be on the mailing list for updates about the ebook (that’s it, you won’t be on any other mailing lists), then send me an email to searching4style@gmail.com with the subject line “interested.” If you have any feedback, leave it as a comment or email it to me.

Gucci campaign image from The Fashion Spot.
Vogue Italia image source.

Anna Wintour: would you turn up late if you were working at Vogue?

I have been teaching fashion related subjects for several years now, and I have come across some very interesting students. I have also managed to gain a reputation of being a scary teacher, or a bitch, or other nasty things, but most of the time, the students end up appreciating my no-bullshit methods. I’ve debated whether my expectations are too high, but I don’t think they are.

Here is what I expect of my students:

• Turn up to class on time, looking awake
• Behave professionally in class (no cell phones, no sleeping)
• Do your homework
• Read the blogs I tell you to read
• Take an interest in fashion

I understand that some new fashion students don’t know who Martin Margiela is (although you bloody well should) or Carine Roitfeld (seriously, you should know her), or what a pop up store is. These are things I can teach you, but I can’t teach you to act like an adult. And it never ceases to amaze me how many students think they can rock in to class late, with a snobby attitude, and expect to get somewhere. Would you do the same thing if you were working at Vogue? No.

(On that note, I must say that I have also encountered some fantastic students in my time, and there is nothing more satisfying to see them go on to wonderful things, like a great job.)

Carine Roitfeld, the editor at French Vogue (in case you didn't know.) She doesn't allow Uggs in the office. Good for her.

Anyway, I have written this little post for Handbag Heaven with some tips on how to get into the fashion industry. This applies to fashion students, or anyone considering a career in the fashion. But I’d like to add a few tips on attitude, because some students do not seem to understand the importance of a good attitude. What do you think is really the most important thing when in a job? Your skills are important, yes, but if you are miserable, late, and whiny, you won’t keep your job, no matter what your skills. So here are a few tips on attitude in the classroom and workplace.

• Turn up on time. Seriously. EVERY SINGLE DAY.
• Ask questions, contribute thoughts, and participate. But not every three seconds, because then you are a teacher’s pet and/or a show off.
• Learn your pronunciations of the major designers, brands, and poeple. Every time I hear Givenchy pronounced Give-enn-chee and not zhee-vah(n)-shee, it is like being stabbed in the heart
• Dress properly. This is a tough one…there are no rules in fashion. Jeans are fine, but if they are ripped to shreds and worn with flip flops, then that is a no-go at a luxury brand. Slutty clothes are bad news, especially super short mini skirts with super high heels. Wear that when you’re going to a night club. No athletic wear please (unless you are designing sportswear.) Don’t think job-interview-formal, think stylish-and-appropriate.
• Look awake. I don’t care if you are daydreaming about doughnuts, if you look bored in front of me, I am not impressed.
• Do as you are told. And don’t expect to be treated any differently than your fellow students. I can’t stand when someone thinks they should be granted exceptions for no other reason than the fact that they are whiny and think they deserve it.
• Be resourceful. If someone asks you to do something, and you aren’t sure how to do it, try and figure it out first. If you need to research something, and it isn’t the first entry on the Google search, try a few other techniques before you ask questions (try opening a book, for example.)
• And listen. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. If I’ve told someone to do something a particular way, and they don’t do it that way, I get crazy annoyed when they complain about a bad mark. If your boss asks you to do something, you do it, right? Act like that in school.

None of the above things are complicated or difficult to do, and I don’t think I am expecting too much. Remember, there are thousands of people trying to get into the industry, you have to work hard to stand out.

I am considering putting together a little guide for students, prospective students, and anyone trying to get into the fashion industry. It will include some of the following sections:

• A couple of rules and tips about behaviour (like the above, but in more detail)
• Tips on fashion portfolios and the type of experience fashion employers are looking for
• A directory of some fashion schools in Europe and North America
• A directory of most key fashion brands and other fashion-related businesses
• A list of the brands that offer good graduate training programs
• How to prepare and behave during an internship or first fashion job
• Recruitment agencies and where to find good fashion job listings
• Tips from industry insiders

I’d like to hear from my readers whether this is something you’d be interested in, and whether you’d be willing to pay $10-$15 USD for this, as an ebook. Also, if you have any other suggestions for the ebook, feel free to send them over.

If you think you are interested, and want to be on the mailing list for updates about the ebook (that’s it, you won’t be on any other mailing lists), then send me an email to searching4style@gmail.com with the subject line “interested.” If you have any feedback, leave it as a comment or email it to me.

Anna Wintour image source.
Carine Roitfeld image source.

I definitely think that North Americans are a little less generous than the British when it comes to using the F word. I agree its vulgar and rude, but at the same time, its effective and straight to the point. I know I say it too much, but after living in London for ten years, it becomes a part of your day-to-day vocabulary. One of the biggest challenges here in Vancouver is NOT to say it in work situations, with clients or in front of students.

I suppose I became desensitized to the F word when I studied at Central Saint Martins, under the tutelage of Professor Louise Wilson OBE. Louise is the MA Fashion Course Director at Central Saint Martins, and, after my mother, is probably the person who has had the most impact on me as a person, and whom I credit for shaping me into the person I am today.

I remember during the last week of my MA, while we were finishing off our collections, I said to my friend Richard (Nicoll, a fantastic designer) that we would remember our times at Central Saint Martins as the best times in our lives. He told me that I was crazy, and he was dying to get out of there. Only a few months later, he said that I had been right.

I’ve decided to talk about Louise today because there is a fantastic article in the Guardian about her and the MA at Central Saint Martins. The article makes her sound terrifying but portrays her as one of the most influential people in the fashion world. I think when she describes her students as “lazy fuckers” she is being quite kind. She used to call us the “tragic cunts.” (Sorry, I know that is a very, very bad word, but it is a quote.) I’ve also been told my work is “shit”, I should lose weight, and that we were all hopeless. She told me I was going to fail the course so many times, that I had planned to give up fashion become a surf bum in Cape Town.

Richard Nicoll Spring Summer 2010

But this hasn’t stopped me from admiring and loving Louise. The hell she put us through prepared us for an even worse hell: the real world. I remember my first interview after my MA course at CSM was with Christopher Bailey at Burberry. He laughed at my work. Most people would have run off sobbing, but I didn’t really care. I was used to much worse. (On that note, Burberry did hire for a project me shortly after…)

What the article doesn’t fully explain, and what Louise doesn’t fully prepare us for, is the fact the 18 months in the MA studios is a holiday compared to the upwards battle you have to fight to be successful in the fashion world. I had already worked for Sonia Rykiel by the time I was at CSM, so I knew what the industry is like (and Sonia Rykiel is pretty easy compared to some brands who do everything at the absolute last minute.) We graduated at a pretty bad time, right after 9/11, so jobs were scarce, and there weren’t many options. Almost everyone started their own business, or opted to take a more quiet route in fashion. After the Burberry project, I started on my own business, and then when that wasn’t making me millions, I too opted for the quiet route.

When I look at the other graduates from my year, and other ex-colleagues from the industry, I see that nearly everyone is either a slave to the industry, or has chosen to have a life, which means a much more modest profession in fashion.

Illustration by Miss Marc by Marc Jacobs, by Will Broome.

I chose the latter, and here I am in Vancouver, not having done a twelve hour shift in several years, and having time to watch TV, walk my friend’s dog, maintain a healthy relationship with my husband, and get eight hours of sleep a night. Then there’s Neil, who left his designer job and is now teaching fashion illustration classes in New York, something he loves to do (check it out, Harbor at Dawn.) Jens (Laugesen) started his own business, and was a slave to it for many years. The only thing I have heard people say about him since he gave up his business is “he looks amazing.” Will Broome, an incredible illustrator, is still doing his own work, but judging by the amount of time he spends on Facebook, I think he too has prioritized a personal life and time with his daughter. Oonagh writes books and teaches and does projects when she wants. Dean teaches and has his own collection, but its low key and he still finds time to have a drink at the pub.

Jonathon Saunders Spring Summer 2010

On the other side, there’s Jonathon, who has been working like crazy over the past few years, first to build and then to maintain his business, and I cant even begin to imagine how he must be feeling right now, as the brand is at that stage where it will become a major player, or fade away. Bora and Miki who got a lot of attention after graduation, but then had to compete with the many new brands being launched every year. Kim, now at Dunhill, who is facing some tough criticism from the press at the moment. Another example is Susanna who is senior designer at Dior. Yes, she gets nine weeks holiday, yes she can afford amazing 5 star hotels, but she hasn’t maintained a normal social life in years. Last time I was supposed to see her, we had booked a trip to the Swiss Alps, and she had to cancel the day before because John wanted to do fittings. Did I mention her boss Steven died at a the age of 38, from a heart attack after many years of complete and total dedication to John Galliano and his work. I am sure I was not alone in thinking “that could be me if I continue to work like this…”

L'Wren Scott Spring Summer 2010

My friend Julia who started as Carine Roitfeld’s assistant, and then moved on to be a successful stylist at French, US, Japanese, and Chinese Vogues, is quite a sad story in my eyes. She was one of my best friends, but I gave up on her when she was too busy to RSVP to my wedding invitation. Florence used to sleep under her desk when she works at Alaia and now she has a job she enjoys with L’Wren Scott (Mick Jagger’s girlfriend), but it’s a small company and she works extrememly hard (I definitely didn’t complain when we walked down the red carpet with the Rolling Stones at their Shine A Light premiere in London, but I can assure you that there’s a new degree of stress when you’re not only trying to run a fashion business but also being surrounded by some of the most famous people in the world.) Avshalom, who did a short spate as creative director of the relaunched Ossie Clark brand, only to have it shut down shortly after. His own line still exists, and although he has two young children, he still has a bed set up in his office.

The higher you are, the harder the fall.

So, as much as I respect Louise and credit her for preparing us for the world of fashion, no one can prepare you for the real world, which is in many ways far more terrifying than being called a “tragic cunt”, or a “lazy fucker”. And I am sorry to all those fashion hopefuls out there thinking that the industry is all about glamour and fun. Yes, those things are definitely involved, but the industry gives a new definition to the term “slave to fashion.”

On that note, I am now going to have dinner and lie in front of the TV for a few hours. I’ll get up at 8am tomorrow, do a one and a half hour yoga class, go home and make myself lunch, and then do a bit of work and attend a meeting in the afternoon. The only deadline I have in the near future is the next blog post, which is not very stressful at all. Maybe I’ll get bored of this soon, but it is so nice, for once, not to be tired all the time.

I am sure most of the people mentioned in this article will agree that our time as fashion students were some of the best times of our lives. Students who are reading this, take note, and enjoy it while you can.

I was going to change names in this article, but then I would have had to change brands, and that would have defeated the whole purpose. I hope I haven’t offended any of my old classmates and friends, good luck to those of you still slaving away.

Images: Hello Kitty source, and all catwalk images from Style.com. Will Broome illustration from his website.

Wednesday night was the Arts Institute of Vancouver student fashion show, one of my first “fashion” events in Vancouver. (actually, it was in Coquitlam…and I won’t say that is Vancouver, because it is clearly not.)

I wore my Finsk Purple cut out booties for the first time:

Image courtesy of www.finsk.com

Student shows are usually all quite similar, unless you are at some of the great fashion schools (for me that means Central Saint Martins College in London, Royal College of Art in London, Royal Academy in Antwerp, and a few others.) You get a lot of evening wear, some wedding dresses, and a lot of outfits that students have been dreaming about making since they were kids. There doesn’t seem to be enough reflection on what society actually needs, and what is going to get you a job. How many jobs are there designing wedding dresses? Probably not many, compared to the number of jobs designing jeans, or casualwear, or tailoring.

If I were to teach design again, which I haven’t really done in some time, I would tell the students the following:

1-Design something someone actually will want to wear, preferably you.

2-Dont design evening wear unless you are going to design something that isn’t already available in a thousand stores. Seriously.

3-Dont design wedding gowns. EVER.

4-Don’t style your models with up-dos, hair pieces, head feathers, or anything like that. EVER. EVER. EVER.

I went to the show with my friend Jason, who runs his own company. We studied fashion together in Vancouver 15 years ago, and we both admitted to having designed student fashion collection that, on reflection, were pretty tragic. The difference was, we didn’t have access to high fashion, unless we bought expensive magazines. Student these days can find out what everyone is doing through the click of the mouse, so there is no reason to design something that isn’t NOW. The strangest thing was, after each students designs were on the catwalk, they came out and did a bow. Nearly all the students were wearing outfits that were more interesting and exciting than their catwalk looks. Maybe they are looking in the wrong places for inspiration.

Here are some show highlights: (excuse the crappy photos, I am still trying to get used to trying to shoot catwalk shows from the side)

Krista Brown had a really amazing silhouette with this dress.

This would have been fantastic with a more modern hairdo, something a bit slick to contrast the the puffiness of the dress.

I also like Savannah Qiu’s puffy shoulders here.

Yvonne Xie designed a great dress inspired from an old-fashioned nightie, shame the shot is from the back.

And the highlight for me was Rachel Bernado’s little summer outfits. Everything she designed was wearable and fun, she gets my top prize. Here is an example of a student designing something that is relevant to today, and looks cool on the catwalk.

(again, sorry for the rubbish images)

If only the models had been wearing pony tails and plimsoles.