Model Sam Wilkinson and stylist Danielle Griffiths, prepping the shot.

A magazine shoot; a catwalk show; an advertising campaign. The images presented to the world by the global fashion industry appear seamless and effortless, conveying beauty and aspiration. In fact, though, what you are seeing is the culmination of a long and complex process. The hard work has already been done, behind the scenes, by a team of artists, at the heart of which is a fashion stylist.

A fashion stylist is a creative person who collaborates with a client, photographer, editor or art director to create a look or concept for catwalk shows and fashion collections and for the images used in fashion editorials, advertising campaigns, music videos, lookbooks and websites. Fifteen or so years ago very few people really knew what a fashion stylist was, but today, in the age of reality television, ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and the explosion of fashion blogs and social media, they are celebrated and aspirational figures. However, fashion styling is still very difficult to break into and only a handful of stylists will ever tell you how it actually works.

What Does a Fashion Stylist Do?

The job of a fashion stylist is not only to select garments and dress models, but also to make a product as desirable and appealing as possible. Almost every image we see in our daily lives has been styled by someone, either to promote an idea or to persuade us to buy into a lifestyle or designer brand.

A fashion stylist brings the clothes, shoes, jewellery and other accessories to a photo shoot, fashion film or music video. You are responsible for researching and borrowing garments from designers, curating and taking care of those clothes, fitting them on the models and ensuring that the samples are returned after the shoot. A stylist needs to have an army of technical skills to draw on, including sewing and being able to steam and iron garments. You do not do the hair or make-up, but your role might include booking the hair and make-up team for the shoot.

A fashion stylist answers to a client, photographer or fashion director, and works to a brief in order to create a certain look or image. For a fashion video shoot, you will read the treatment or storyboard of the film idea and discuss the direction with an art director. Each job involves prepping: working out budgets, researching and planning the kind of look the client wants and deciding what will work best on the model. You will request samples for a fashion shoot from a fashion house or PR (public relations) agency: this is known as a call-in or pull.

The secret of a successful shoot is for it to look effortless, as if it had been thrown together that morning. The reality involves inordinate amounts of preparation, maintaining key relationships, liaison and negotiation, managing tight deadlines, thinking on your feet, reacting with authority and problem solving.

Fashion styling is not a nine-to-five job. The days can be long and physically draining. As you start out you not only need visual flair and a love of fashion, you also need to be an incredibly hard worker with a can-do attitude and a head for business. That said, this is a craft you can learn and the further you develop, the more help you will receive, and with luck you will become a polished and creative professional stylist.