Fashion stylists have existed with us for centuries now but the increasing need to look bigger and better has made fashion styling an emerging profession and a lot more students aspire to be Fashion stylists.
Coming from a long history in 1772, Roe Bertin being the first-ever fashion stylist in the decade helped style Queen Marie Antoinette, Fashion stylists have come a long way to the point where everybody sorts of needs one.
A fashion stylist is not just a term, it delivers different meanings concerning different types of Fashion Stylists. Looking forward to becoming a fashion stylist? Well, we’ve got you covered!
It was later that Fashion stylists worked with Fashion magazines and created new concepts and ideas for the world to follow.
It was only in the ’80s that freelance fashion stylists emerged as a profession. Before diving into the different types of fashion stylists we have today, let’s first get into what we, as Fashion Stylists do.
10 Types of Fashion Stylists in the Fashion Industry
New York is known to be a cosmopolitan for fashion and we know how much we’re inspired by New York Fashion Stylists.
Here’s the list of 10 types of fashion stylists in the industry and what they specialize in.
- Editorial Fashion Stylist
- Commercial Stylist
- Runway stylist
- Celebrity Stylist
- Product Stylist
- Personal Stylist
- E-Commerce Stylist
- Retail Stylist /Fashion Consultants
- Wardrobe Stylist
- Image Consultants
1. Editorial Fashion Stylist
An Editorial Fashion stylist is a creative professional who excels in putting together looks for fashion magazines and editorials. They are the ones showcasing different designers’ exclusive collections in their magazines as a part of advertisements.
They style big icons, celebrities, and fashion models. For that, you must have a keen eye for details and be high on Fashion, and be updated with trends to be able to flexibly work with different designers and their working aesthetics.
Editorial Fashion Stylist Average Salary (per year): $43,560.
2. Commercial Fashion Stylist
Commercial Fashion stylists work for different ad commercials and agencies, putting together the right combinations for the cast and sharing the screens.
They must know what colors work great in the camera and the requirements of the brand organizing the ad film.
Commercial stylists mostly work as freelancers working with designers, photographers, and production houses for the same.
Commercial Fashion Stylist Average Salary (per year): $82,020.
3. Runway Stylist
A lot of things happen behind the stage of a runway show, fashion weeks where big names and high-end designers unite to showcase their collections, it takes a lot to give the same brand a new application of outfits combinations keeping the brand identity in place but giving it a whole new look and aesthetics altogether.
There are celebrity designers who design for their different celebrity clients to hire stylists to keep the vibe of the collections maintained as well.
Runway Stylist Average Salary (per year): $48,846
4. Celebrity Stylist
Well yes, who do you think helps to dress our favorite celebrities for red carpets and award shows? The Celebrity stylist of course! Keeping intact the need of the celebrity, public appearances, red carpet looks, awards, promotional campaigns,
well it’s all the Celebrity stylist! Bryon Javar, Law Roach, Jason Rembert, Jason Bolden, Zerina Akers, Thomas Carter Phillips, and Mimi Cuttrell are a few well-known Celebrity stylists around the world, you should definitely be checking out on Instagram!
Celebrity Stylist Average Salary (per year) : $52,367
5. Product Stylist
While the commercial stylist works for different commercials and ad films, a set stylist is the one who creates the mood that matches the outfit, making the photoshoots even more relatable to the audiences.
They help get the props, and accessories for different commercial and catalog shoots basically, and hence are freelancers.
Visual merchandising, interior styling, and fashion studies can be combined to get an ideal set of skills required for being a Product Stylist.
Product Stylist Average Salary (per year) : $48,838
6. Personal Stylist
Personal stylists work for officials who don’t belong to anything that’s glamour. Not everybody we style is a celebrity. There are people like you and me who look for help for their day-to-day basics, building a capsule wardrobe for each occasion, workwear outfits, weddings, festive events and so much more.
We as humans are so insecure about our looks that we take extra care to look the best we can and personal stylists come in handy as they help people like you and me get their basics of outfits, making right by helping with their body types and outfit options to shop from.
Personal Stylist Average Salary (per year): $41,162.
7. E-commerce Stylist
An E-commerce Stylist is the one responsible for creating looks for different brands and catalogs for e-com websites. Most of them are freelancers who work with different production houses, photographers, and designers.
More or less, they are quite similar to Commercial stylists. They might also have to collaborate with retailers, manufacturers, or buying houses for buying and merchandising projects.
E-commerce Stylist Average Salary (per year) : $41,162
8. Retail Stylists /Fashion Consultants
Many retailers, luxury, and premium brands hire retail stylists as a part of their stores to help consumers guide them through their collections and give them free consultations about trends and personal styling.
They help to communicate the design aesthetics to their requirements suggesting to them what they should buy.
Retail Stylist/Fashion Consultant Average Salary (per year): $28,746
9. Wardrobe Stylist
Wardrobe stylists are the ones who take care of and help to create a wardrobe for journalists and other known personalities. Rather than sourcing outfits for every event, why not keep a capsule wardrobe handy?
Mostly stylists in TV sets and newsrooms create wardrobes that are updated regularly by the Wardrobe Stylists.
Wardrobe Stylist Average Salary (per year): $28,746
10. Image Consultants Stylist
Image consultants are more like personal stylists but they also provide services regarding soft skills and personality development keeping a note of your overall personality growth.
An Image consultant works on your image building and personality and styling come as an add-on.
Image Consultants Average Salary (Per year): $75,000
Personal stylists solely work on outfit solutions whereas Image consultants specialize in personal grooming, etiquette, and personality development. The first impression needs to be the right impression, as customers, people face difficulties in expressing themselves through the way they look, hence they hire an Image consultant who helps them look their best versions.
What Does a Fashion Stylist Do?
The key role of any Fashion Stylist is to style. As Fashion Stylists, we style for individuals, celebrities, e-commerce shoots, catalogs, events, and a lot more. Different stylists excel in different genres of styling. Putting outfits together might sound easy.
It involves mixing and matching outfits but trust me there’s a lot that goes behind the scenes, which looks glamorous from the outside but takes a lot!
Although Fashion Styling is an emerging profession and a huge set of people aspire to be in this industry, Let’s first begin with the types of Fashion stylists in the Industry.
There is a core list of a few responsibilities different types of fashion stylists perform.
These Fashion Stylist Job responsibilities include:
- Research various fashion eras for fashion photoshoots for magazines, editorials, and catalog shoots.
- Source outfits for clients for different events and shows.
- Attend runway shows and fashion events to keep themselves updated with trends and styles.
- Work behind the scenes with models, photographers, designers, directors, and magazine editors to create visuals.
- Assisting clothing buyers for major retail chains.
Where Does a Fashion Stylist work?
As a Fashion Stylist, you can take many key roles in the fashion industry, these are a few spaces where you’ll find opportunities to work:
- Magazines and publication houses
- Manufacturers and retailers
- Catalog shoots for Designers
- With celebrities and High-profile clients
- TV Newsroom
- Onset (films, music videos, commercials)
- Consulting sports teams with uniforms
What Courses to take to become a Fashion Stylist?
A fashion Stylist’s job might seem glamorous but it takes hours and hours of work, from sourcing to getting creatives done, brainstorming, creating fresh visuals, and curating new looks for clients right.
While it starts with just an interest in fashion, without a professional course, every fashion profession might seem similar. The path of Fashion styling starts with taking a few fashion and business courses, especially two of which are mentioned below:
1. Fashion Styling/ Image Design
Pick Fashion Institutes where not only you can pick Fashion Design as your course but also Fashion Styling courses. These courses sometimes not only are available in Bachelor’s programs but diploma courses too.
A typical fashion styling course will consist of fashion basics, garment design, fabric types and techniques, fashion styling, color basics, body figure analysis, makeup, hairstyles, accessories, etc.
Although there is no compulsion in whether you choose a Bachelor’s or a diploma course, you can pick different short courses that can help you with a better freelancing career!
2. Business Studies
Fashion stylists work as freelancers most of the time, hence the need to have a business and analytical mind is crucial to be in this territory. Having a basic knowledge of Marketing, finance, accounting, management, and operations will benefit you in building a business, attracting clients, and keeping the business running smoothly will help Fashion stylists grow and flourish their businesses.
What Are the Work Conditions in a Styling Job?
A Fashion Stylist undergoes different work conditions while he/she is at the job that majorly includes Different locations, longer hours, and considerably more traveling is involved.
1. Locations: A Fashion Stylist’s job consists of visiting various locations. This can be for multiple reasons that include sourcing of fashion outfits, shoot locations due to client’s requirements, and much more. You might get projects that require you to be out of town as well.
2. Time: A Fashion stylist’s job can take longer hours than expected. Since most types of fashion stylists work freelance or as a self-brand, there’s no typical 9-5 set-up. Instead, their work might ask for longer hours depending on the type of shoots (commercial or Tv shows) or editorials as they tend to stretch on their working hours.
3. Travel: As mentioned above, a fashion stylist’s job consists of traveling to different locations at different periods of time, and sometimes work calls can take them to different cities as well. Attending runway shows and meeting celebrities also comes as a perk of such travels.
What Are the Job Prospects and Salary of a Fashion Stylist?
The earnings of a fashion stylist depend on two things, one is the location and the next is what genre he/she is having expertise. Varied countries have varied salaries. According to the ambition box, a Fashion Stylist in the U.S. earns as much as $52k per year, the U.K. might serve $26k per year. A fashion stylist in Dubai earns as much as $32k and in India 3 lakh-4 lakh per annum.
Difference Between a Fashion Editor and a Fashion Stylist?
Creative professionals in the fashion industry might get confused about different professions active in the fashion industry. One of these confusions lies between a Fashion Editor and a Fashion Stylist which I’ll discuss with you now.
1. Fashion Editor: A Fashion Editor works in a fashion magazine or a publication house where his/her main key role involves writing creative stories for different magazine issues.
Sometimes, assisting the stylist to get specific creatives involved in their day-to-day responsibilities but styling outfits is not a Fashion Editor’s major domain, it mostly involves creating write-ups and articles.
2. Fashion Stylist: Photoshoots for brands, tv commercials, movies and sets, runways, celebrities, and personal ones, there are a lot of work responsibilities depending on what types of Fashion stylists they may belong to.
Their major goal is to curate outfits to get the desired look according to the client’s requirements.
If you think you have a flair for styling, here’s how you can become a fashion stylist.
Fashion Stylist Education and Certifications
There are various fashion styling courses and certifications you can choose from. There are schools that offer certificates, and associate and bachelor’s degree programs in fashion design & related fields that will help jump-start one’s career as a fashion stylist.
In addition, they also provide you with fashion internships and exposure that help you kick-start your business as a fashion stylist. While you’re doing your studies you also get to explore different fashion styling jobs and other fashion careers that go hand-in-hand with styling in the industry.
One such schools the School of style helps you get hands-on experience with every aspect related to Fashion Styling.
If you’re looking for the Best Fashion Colleges you can tap into the link to get more details.
5 Essential Tips to Succeed As a Fashion Stylist?
As a budding Fashion Stylist, the destination might not be the same for all, it could be an easy one but can also turn out to be a rocky journey.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t even try, of course, we give our best and strive to do better and bigger to get what we aspire to become, that is, a Fashion stylist.
Professional Fashion styling is a process that takes time and hard work. It only grows with more experience that you grow at your work and get your name established in the specific field. Here are a few essential tips you can succeed as a fashion stylist:
1. Get Inspired
Start with yourself. People say charity starts at home, do that. Watch different fashion shows, tv series, documentaries, Fashion movies, and magazines to get an overall knowledge of what is happening in the world and then practice it on yourself.
No, don’t go over the board creating bizarre outfits but try incorporating a few that you think you would suggest to others hence helping you find your style statement.
And also, it helps you with something I’m going to talk about next.
2. Education
Education is important. No matter how much you read magazines, and books, or watch documentaries, proper education will always help you know the fashion industry better and will prepare you for your future prospects.
In addition, you’ll also learn the basics of everything you need to know in the course! Try to get yourself educated in Best Fashion Colleges possible to get a better idea of your field and be an expert!
3. Networking
Keep your networking skills on point. Networking is quite an essential aspect when it comes to being a Fashion Stylist.
The more you network, the more people will actually know about you and your services, and hence will get you more clients!
4. Portfolio Building
A portfolio helps your clients get a better idea of your aesthetic and also helps you explain the services you provide, it only helps you for good.
So when you’re just starting with Fashion Styling, try creating a portfolio so that when you apply for positions and talk to the client, you know what to offer.
5. Marketing
Marketing skills are as important as having a certification. It totally matters how you project your skills and how you sell them.
At the end of the day, more awareness of your being in the business will get you more clients.
6. Updated with trends
Staying updated with trends in the major must-have you should be having expertise on.
Any education is just not enough, so keep yourself updated by following different blogs and magazines to know what’s happening in the fashion industry.
What Are the Job Opportunities as a Fashion Stylist?
These are a few job opportunities as a Fashion Stylist:
- Magazines and publication houses
- Manufacturers and retailers
- Catalog shoots for Designers
- With celebrities and High-profile clients
- TV Newsroom
- Onset (films, music videos, commercials)
- Consulting sports teams with uniforms
- Retail/Merchandise styling
- Prop & Set Styling
- Live performance – Involves styling musicians and other performers
- Show styling
- Video/Commercial Styling
FAQs
Can You Be a Fashion Stylist Without a Degree?
Anybody can become a fashion stylist if there’s a will. While there are short courses and diploma courses available to help you with understanding the industry and skills better, you can always perfect your skills by practicing and making the right contacts. Networking, staying updated with trends, and working on skills will take you a long way.
Is a Fashion Stylist a Good Career?
Fashion Stylist is a great career. While you might feel that it’s all glitz and glamour as an outsider, it takes hard work and long hours of consistent effort to get what you see. Celebrity stylists earn a lot since they’re accustomed to high-profile celebrities and clients, while personal stylists work with more mass-oriented people which is as great as working for editorials.
Do Stylists Buy the Clothes?
Sourcing plays a major role in being a Fashion Stylist in any of the job opportunities listed above. It’s only when you are a Personal stylist you assist people with shopping for the right clothes, else if you work for editorials and celebrities, most of the time, the fashion stylists source outfits from designers and well-known brands.
How Do Stylists Get Paid?
As a fashion Stylist, you can be hired by publication houses where you can be salaried. As a freelance stylist, mostly you charge by sessions or hourly. The price you charge per session is up to you, and stylists can charge anywhere from $20 an hour to $2,000 based on their skill and demand. A strong stylist can make anywhere from $2,400 a year to $300,000 a year. Personal stylists and Image consultants also charge per session.
If you think you’ve got an aesthetic for fashion, and curating outfits is your thing, then Fashion styling is the course for you to opt for.
Being Fashion Stylist involves a lot of youth who aspire to become one, surely, styling has a lot of scope as the world now moves towards self-building and personality development.
Given above are different types of fashion stylists you’d find in the fashion industry with additional details that will help you prosper in the domain. These are just a few of the various types of hairdressers. Many of the stylists mentioned fit into several of these categories, and you can too. But how do you know which type(s) are ideal for you?
