First question from everyone graduating from the education of a stylist/image consultant is where to work now and how to apply your knowledge and skills in practice.
Some people think that stylists and image consultants consult clients on image and style privately, teach others to become stylists, or at least work as hairstylists/make-up artists in beauty parlors. Therefore, market of services from personal stylists/image consultants is very saturated and there’s a huge competition for private customers.
However, stylist’s profession is much wider.
In Europe (in Italy, for example) stylist’s job is more frequently referred to working at photo-shoots, in glossy magazines, at fashion shows, with designers, and creating images, rather than consulting private customers on personal style and shopping matters.
We suggest you take a look at those classic and recently occurred jobs in the fashion industry, suitable for a stylist/image consultant after education.
Personal stylist/image consultant
In Europe it is considered the first step of a stylist’s career ladder and the simplest profession one can start immediately after graduation.
This work is to provide people with private advice on style and image: what colors and textiles suit them best, how to hide body deficiencies, what style and image to adapt; to analyze and assemble a wardrobe for a client, etc.
This work is normally done on a private basis, as a free-lance job. Consultancies may be done in person or online.
- Clients: ordinary people or VIP persons: actors, singers, politicians, businessmen;
- Income: price for image and style consulting is normally determined on hourly basis and may vary from 30 to 150 euro per hour;
- What else to do: this job may be combined with being a personal shopper, make-up artist, hairstylist, style instructor.
Jobs in the fashion industry: Personal Shopper
Relatively new profession in fashion, but it quickly became popular in East Europe. It especially suits those who lives and works abroad, in popular shopping destinations.
This job is to accompany private customers to shops, help them choose clothes, consult them on style. Shopper’s goal is to help the client assemble a suitable wardrobe for the lowest price possible.
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This work is normally done on a private basis, as a free-lance job. You can work in your own city as well as accompany clients during shopping trips abroad.
- Clients: ordinary people or VIP persons: actors, singers, politicians, businessmen;
- Income: can be hourly – from 30 to 150 euro per hour or a % from the cost of items purchased (10-20%). When travelling abroad, client normally covers all accommodation and travel expenses.
- What else to do: can also be combined with working as a personal stylist, make-up artist, hairstylist, style instructor.
Fashion Stylist
This job is more complicated as it is related to images, media and communications.
The job is to create images and looks for models, so that they would participate in photo-shoots for magazines, catalogues, advertising campaigns, designers’ look books; shootings of videos and CD covers. Fashion stylist holds castings of models for shootings.
Fashion stylist also works during designer fashion shows: helps to pick clothing for the show, determines structures of outfits, dresses up models. Fashion stylists consult designers on how to properly present their collections.
They work with famous people and celebrities during making music videos and CDs, as well as for celebrities’ promotion campaigns.
- Clients: magazines, designers, models, photographers, sound-record studios, creative/advertising agencies;
- Income: depends on a country and on the campaign budget. Salary is normally calculated on the basis of shooting days;
- Can also be combined with the work of a personal stylist, make-up artist, photographer, cool-hunter, and fashion journalist.
Cool-Hunter
New profession in fashion, which require extensive education and experience.
Cool-hunters search for fashion trends and follow them. They know what’ll be fashionable and popular 2-4 years in advance, have great knowledge of fashion styles, understand fashion history, can be great stylists and image consultants, and have a great intuition on what’ll be in fashion in the future. This is a very difficult jobs in the fashion industry, therefore good cool-hunters are very valued and can receive huge remunerations for their work.
Cool-hunters work in agencies or on the free-lance basis.
- Clients: magazines, designers, designer houses (especially in luxury segment);
- Income: depends on agency/designer company, however the remuneration is always very high;
- Can also be combined with the work of personal stylist, fashion stylist, fashion journalist.
Fashion Merchandizer
His or her task is to decorate the shop floor and showcases of a shop/boutique in order to maximise clothing sales. Fashion merchandiser dresses up mannequins, hangs clothes by style or by outfits, properly locates clothing at the shop floor and within specific areas.
This profession is in between marketing work and stylist’s job. One of the most interesting jobs in the fashion industry.
Nowadays there is a new direction to this job – online-merchandiser, who decorates virtual showcases of online clothing shops.
- Works on the free-lance basis (in Europe). In East Europe is normally as a hired employee of boutiques, retail chains, designer companies;
- Income: monthly wage depends on a number of working days and level of a shop. In Europe monthly wages are around €1’500-€2’000 (senior merchandiser, who administers and trains other merchandisers, gains higher salary);
- Can also work as a personal stylist, shop salesman/administrator, boutique manager, and decorator.
Fashion Editor
Works for magazines, being responsible for the fashion section (covering clothing, accessories, beauty section, etc.): develops themes for shootings, picks and oversees photographers and stylists, supervises stylists in some way, choses things from different designers to be presented in a magazine. Therefore, fashion editor shall constantly follow trends, have good knowledge of collections and designers.
Nowadays there is a new direction to the job – online fashion editor, who does similar things for digital media.
- Normally works on a payroll in magazines;
- Can also be combined with the work of a fashion stylist, cool-hunter, fashion journalist.
Fashion Journalist/Blogger
Writes about fashion, trends, how to dress up properly, on icons of fashion, on fashion history; creates articles to describe things and fashion shoots. Writes content for online shops: descriptions of things, newsletters and blogs for shops and designers.
- Fashion journalists often work on a free-lance basis, but also on a payroll in magazines and digital media;
- Income normally depends on agreement and frequency of work. Remuneration depends on number of words or symbols. For example, a freelance journalist writing descriptions of things and articles for an online shop, may earn 5 euro for 1’000 symbols (i.e. this article contains 9440 symbols, therefore at this rate one can earn 47,2 euro for this article);
- Can also be combined with the work of a personal stylist, fashion stylist, cool-huner, fashion editor.
Buyer (product manager, boutique or showroom owner responsible for procurement)
This job combines style, marketing and commercial sales.
Purchases clothing and shoes collections for shops. Constantly travels, attends fashion shows, press offices, showrooms of various designers. On one hand, he should constantly review huge number of things, understand fashion trends and know designers, and on the other hand he shall have a flair for what will and what won’t be popular among his clients.
- Boutique and showroom owners often work as buyers themselves. Product manager works both in planning of procurement from different designers and picking items for manufacturing as part of collection production. Product manager usually work on a payroll with distributors or designer companies;
- Income: Buyer’s salary is between 900 and 1’800 euro per month. Often they also receive a percentage from sales;
- Can be combined with working as a merchandizer, shop salesman/administrator, boutique manager, brand manager.
Style/Image instructor
Instructor holds seminars and workshops for everyone willing to work on their image or to become a stylist. Such trainings are popular as part of trainings for women, for clothing shop employees, and in image schools.
- Instructor can open his or her own school, work in a training center or in a retail chain;
- Income: instructor either receives fixed salary (average wage of an instructor is between 640 and 1’300 euro), or gets paid for training days (185-545 euro per training day);
- Can combine this job with working as a personal shopper, personal stylist, psychologist.
Besides the professions listed above, there is a large number of other fields of work, where a stylist or an image consultant can apply herself after the education: clothing or accessories designer; fashion photograph, PR-manager in fashion, fashion coordinator, wardrobe master, stylist/make-up artist, corporate image consultant, political image consultant, etc.
If you’re considering your options and opportunities, where to study for a stylist/image consultant, or if you’re planning your future career, or if you already completed the education and currently looking for a job, try not to limit yourself to consulting private customers. Stylist and image consultant shall try themselves in various fields of fashion industry in order to pick the one, where they can apply themselves with the maximum success.
If you are interested in study as stylist/image consultant you can do this in our special school – Italian E-Learning Fashion School
Would you like to know more about how fashion industry works? Join our free course “Secrets of the Fashion World” here >>>
