Fashion Stylist - Fashion Career Profile
What do Fashion Stylist do? Where do Fashion Stylist work? FS takes a look:
About Fashion Stylists
Fashion stylists play a major role in fashion photo shoots, commercials, music videos,
and print advertisements. They work with photographers and directors to style the scene
to their specifications. Fashion stylists may work as part of a team or solo.
Fashion Stylist Jobs
Fashion stylists wear many different hats. They select props for shoots, scout out
locations, fit models, locate and select accessories for shoots, and they arrange and adjust
scenes when needed. Fashion stylists work for advertising agencies, designers, design
studios, retail chains, boutiques, independent firms, and on a freelance basis.
Fashion Stylist Salaries
Experienced fashion stylists earn some of the top salaries in the industry. Starting out,
however, they may work 10+ hours a day for as little as $100-$200 a day. Experienced
stylists can earn anywhere from $500 up to $5,000 a day. The most experienced and well-
known fashion stylists can earn a staggering $100,000 or more for a single project.
Becoming a Fashion Stylist
Most fashion stylists have a degree in fashion design, fashion merchandising, fashion
retailing, or fashion management. While a degree is not required for entry into this field,
most employers (and potential clients) prefer formal training. Because fashion styling
requires a significant amount of budgeting, organizing, communicating, and delegating,
business coursework may be helpful as well.
Experience is a plus, so consider taking advantage of internship programs. You can also
find work in retail, as an assistant for a designer, or at a design studio. You can even
work for an established fashion stylist to learn the ropes.
Job Trends for Fashion Stylists
Fashion stylists that work with fashion designers can expect a 1 percent increase in
employment for the 2008-2018 decade. Fashion stylists working in advertising can expect
a 13 percent increase employment growth. To increase your chances of breaking into
the industry, stick to fashion capitals such as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and
Miami. Other great cities for fashion are Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
Interested in getting your start overseas? Then head to Milan, Paris, Rome, London,
Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, Barcelona, or Rio de Janeiro.
