Her fashion impart is undeniable, her attention to detail is renowned and her ability to make a career is legendary. Rachel Zoe, the queen of style, has made her mark.
A successful stylist is made up of quite a few diverse yet essential personality traits and talents that ensure an all-round service which keeps clients on the best dressed list, magazine sales going up and designers enjoying positive PR.
An understanding of fashion and design, a love and respect for the industry and its designers, and of course the ability to work with any personality type are all equal parts to making it as a stylist. They have the power to catapult a designer into the spheres of success and cleverly snag their celebrity clients magazine covers, fashion deals and beauty contracts; case in point, stylist Petra Flannery who according to The Hollywood Reporter, “was a major catalyst behind two prestigious contracts: Emma Stone for Revlon and Mila Kunis for Dior.”
Probably the most famous stylist/celebrity relationship was that of super stylist Rachel Zoe and reality star Nicole Richie. Ready to shake off her bad girl reputation and dress her new, much talked about, slim frame, Nicole turned to Zoe in 2004 for a complete image overhaul – and that’s exactly what she got! Bohemian dresses, oversized sunglasses, tousled locks, vintage frocks and lots of 1970’s accessories like bangles, headbands and studded belts; Nicole and Rachel started a fashion revolution. Even though their professional and personal relationship ended on a less than favourable note, Nicole is now a successful fashion designer herself and to this day continues to channel Zoe’s signature look while Rachel launched herself into a multi-million dollar empire that includes books, a TV show and a celebrated eponymous label.
Juggling fashion editors, celebs, designers and producers while working on their own brand and publicity is all in a day’s work for any stylist, and a magical ability that makes their vocation seem simple and uncomplicated is the miss-conception about the industry that Andrea Lieberman, stylist behind Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez, can only giggle about, “People think it’s just a matter of picking out a dress and a handbag and a pair of shoes, but there’s a lot more to it than that!”