Saturday, January 8, 2011

2011 a return to blogging



Well a belated hello to all,

It's been a long time and a crazy crazy year (well almost a year) since my last post. I've gone from volunteering backstage at fashion shows to a full fledged stylist after working 24/7 ...months on end. I think one of the reasons for my success would be my realistic attitude and sheer drive and focus on where I want to be, there's nothing quite like doing what you love as a career (or in my case as a lifestyle). Many of you have been here from the start, many of you are new and many are yet to come.. so here's a glimpse at the story so far... I'm going to gloss over a fair bit as it has been very eventful.

The beginning story:

So it's been 3 years since I up and left my career in retail to jump head first into the real fashion industry (long long story short.. I was in retail for 5 years where I honed in my people management skills and frequently would style for VIP events and TV personalities/supply outfits for magazines... but it wasn't enough to satisfy me). I started this blog about 7 months after I left my job and also after being inspired by an intern I was working with (who is now a close friend) I needed an outlet to talk about fashion so this was a great way to share my views and passion.

The middle story:

The friend I mentioned above stumbled across a fantastic writing opportunity for herself and mentioned the site was looking for a stylist assistant, naturally I applied 3 weeks later as I was so nervous writing a letter. After meeting with the creating director I was actually offered the role of Fashion Editor due to my knowledge of fashion, my passion and the standard of work I presented (pretty much said my letter sold me instantly but wanted to see if I was the same in person). That's when I abandoned this blog as I was writing for the site, conducting photo shoots as well as juggling my assisting work so I didn't really have any spare time to write here.

It was about 4 months after joining the site that I decided to go solo and see if I could survive without assisting, this was not really my choice... I couldn't assist many people cause I don't drive... for aspiring stylist's out there you MUST drive... trust me you're going to see why later on in future posts. The first 3 months solo were really tough, work was really intense for really low pay (it beat working for free which I did for a YEAR! full time) I had a few jobs which back then seemed like high paying roles so they balanced it out a bit. A client who booked me the most went away for 3 months to do charity and I really learnt the downside of freelancing, 8 weeks of no work and you really start to panic and realise that maybe you have to put your dream on hold to get a job you hate in order to pay bills. The day she returned I went from bored and worried to flat out busy and jet setting interstate, it started with a few small fashion show cases to big fashion launches (including the infamous Vogue Fashion's Night Out which I styled fashion showcases for some of Australia's leading designers). Through all these projects I met some amazing people and my network exploded which led to new clients and amazing opportunities... oh and also did I mention fashion parties? this is a great way to have a free night out but also to meet new clients, where other people would run to the bar I'd stay in the group to socialize and network.

The present story:

Last year flew by it saw me go from assisting on shoots and runways at fashion week to styling fashion editorials, reviewing the runway shows at fashion week, styling runway shows, fashion show cases, hosting fashion talks, styling event launches, supplying outfit options for people like Jennifer Hawkins, personal consulting, being a Fashion Editor and being a personal shopper/stylist. .

The online magazine will be focusing on features rather than blog posts so I now have time to focus on my "wants/loves/needs" to share with you like in the past. I'm currently working on my website which will be going live soon (after I've changed my mind on layout 100 times.. my web designer is very patient) and I look to keep this blog up to date with not only on things I want/love/need but also what projects I'm working on so I can share some behind the scenes stories and photos with you.

Here's to an exciting and stylish future.

Mitch . S xx

No comments:

Post a Comment