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This essay, as stated, is about a verbal exchange with Jules Wettreich, an independent fashion designer. It has been changed for durability and clarity.
I am a freelance stylist. I basically test musicians and I’m also a TikTok influencer. I test consumers and then I also create content with them. It’s great how the two jobs intertwine.
I’m from Carolina Nord. Je lived between Los Angeles and New York before enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. He had only done one semester at FIT before dropping out in December 2021.
I learned that school wasn’t really my thing: I felt like I never had time for myself and I was stressed. School also made me doubt my abilities. When I left, I felt an immense sense of freedom and motivation.
Without the time constraints and added stress, you could do more and take on more. I wouldn’t have gotten my first big job as a stylist at New York Fashion Week if I had been in school. I probably would have studied for the end.
I’m glad I made the decision to leave when I did, however, FIT is a wonderful school, and I know it will be there for me if I have to go back.
My first big styling concert called for a New York Fashion Week exhibition for Nicholas Raefski. He had his first Men’s Day display and asked me to comb his hair.
How I was given the task is a far-fetched story. I messaged him on Instagram and wrote, “Your clothes are so sick. “And he said, “Seriously, thanks for the kind of words, I think I met you on the street a week ago. “I said, “It’s funny because if you saw me walk past FIT, it’s probably because I gave up this week!”
They got along well. He invited me out and as we talked, he told me about his logo and how he was looking to be on the fashion calendar this season. And I said, “Well, I in you. Your product is amazing. If you ever want help with style, let me know. “
Three days later, he called me and told me I was on the New York Fashion Week calendar and asked if I would try his show. She was so excited. It was a wonderful moment, because I had just come out of school. This party went very well and we are still very good friends. I also helped him test his screen for next season.
I met someone at a fashion week show who sent me an Instagram post via DM, from one of the makers of “Next in Fashion” on Netflix. They were for stylists in New York.
I messaged the manufacturer to say hello and tell him I was interested. I said, “Hey, I’m very interested in this opportunity and I’d like to know more. “And she said we jumped into a FaceTime call.
I told him a little about me and we got pretty quickly. She said she felt we could paint well in combination and that she would let me know within a week whether I was assigned homework or not, because there were so many other people applying.
The manufacturer said it’s looking for young skills willing to be informed on the road. She made me feel comfortable when I called her. I talked to him like I did on FaceTime with a friend: I talked about my life, my hobby of the sort, and my social media presence.
The more original and human you are in an interview, the better, because I ended up being hired as an assistant stylist for the exhibition: the second season of “Next in Fashion. “
It was my first corporate styling assignment, although it didn’t feel so corporate because it was creative, fun and relaxed. And after I finished my paints in the program, I became friends with the manufacturer who hired me!
“Next in Fashion” is a competitive exhibition where designers compete to win $2,000,000 and launch their collection with Rent The Runway. I worked on the current season of the exhibition, which will air in 2023.
I was allowed to create TikTok content on the Netflix total, as long as I didn’t give anything creative. I usually only get permission in advance to create content while designing, but most of the time it’s not a big deal.
I was up to the search for accessories for the looks of the competition’s fashion shows. They gave me a temperament picture that contained all the demanding situations that were going to present themselves to the competition during the season. I used this temperament board to locate the found accessories. in the aesthetics of each challenge, but I couldn’t tell the competition exactly what to wear.
My schedule was 10 to 12 hours a day. There were a few pretty long days on set, but it was fun and amazing. I had a great time doing it.
The Netflix concert is over for now, so the most common thing is to comb the musicians right now.
Atlantic Records contacted me to use the sounds of one of their artists on TikTok. I said it would be great and then they asked if I could make a test video.
When I was on TikTok, I created what-if compatibilities for influencers. I put on a bunch of other much-loved pieces that I discovered at Farfetch and combined them to show what I think would be compatible with them and fit their style. Atlantic sought after me to do this for one of their artists.
At the time, I was looking to get away from that because I was looking to replace my demographics a little bit. I told them I could try out their artists in person, and they said they would be willing to paint with me when I got here. to New York.
About six months later, I moved to New York and contacted one of their marketing managers. At the time, I was combing Arlie, which is one of my favorite bands.
I designed all six members of Arlie’s band for their New York concert at the Mercury Lounge. It was a lot of fun to paint with them and I’ve become friends with them. I was asked to comb their hair in October for their exhibition in New York. , which excites me.
When I’m fixing someone’s hair, I like to jump into FaceTime and talk to them about their style, what they’re looking for, and how they need to be perceived as artists right now, because they’re constantly evolving. Create a Moodboard together: They will send me 3 or 4 photographs and then I will enlarge them and send them the moodboard.
If you agree, I will look for marks that mimic the temperament picture and touch all the marks to pull out some pieces. I just borrow the parts and return them after using them. Most of the time, artists post photos on garments on their Instagram and tag the brand.
I create the looks myself: I combine and fit with other brands to create an original look, which most stylists do. Once you have everything together, you vaporize it and take it to the artist.
You dress the person. You will have perfect compatibility where you will make sure that everything has perfect compatibility. Live function paintings are more complicated because everything has to have perfect compatibility. They move on stage, so you can’t cheat compatibility like you would in a photo shoot. When they jump and break guitars and everything, there’s no way to cover up the mistakes.
In addition to styling the band, I also made TikTok videos with them. I thought about the content, created it as a pitch deck to show them and then created the content with all of them in one day. We created about six other pieces of content.
I started providing TikTok content to record corporations in addition to a taste for live performances, canopy art, music videos, and releases. I brainstorm with your artists and concepts that feel original to your logo so they can post on their platforms. I also create content that I can also post, so we can bring your games to life TikTok: TikTok plays a huge role in the popularity of music these days.
Working as an independent social media author and stylist is very sporadic. Sometimes I do work and other times I try a crusade or shoot a video where I win more than one big one in a day.
I rate about $175 based on the outfit I try as part of self-employment. I have a lot of random jobs where other people ask me for help with things. For example, I have another friend’s fashion week that I help with.
It’s hard to be independent and it’s a little scary and overwhelming, but there’s also an emotion that goes with it, because you know you have the freedom to do what you need to do.
My purpose is to add taste and influence a little more. I feel like I’m in stylist mode or influencer mode. I also want to create more long-form content for YouTube and show exactly what I’m doing when I’m designing. .
Before I became a freelance stylist, I really wanted to see what the scenes were like for stylists. These things can seem so secretive, and I love being able to break that fourth wall.
Putting myself on social media is really helpful. TikTok has helped me a lot. It’s vital to have a goal in the content you create, because it puts you in a niche, where other people can notice it. You can expand your own network of other people you need to surround yourself with.
If you work in Hollywood and share your story, email Eboni Boykin-Patterson at eboykinpatterson@insider. com.