Cosmo ME met exclusively with red carpet stylist Mostafa Wafeed at the 2020 Cairo Film Festival. Mostafa’s previously dressed stars like Asmaa Galal, Huda El Mufti, and Sarrah Abdelrahman. He gave as all the tips and tricks anyone would need to get into styling.

Check out the interview below!

Cosmopolitan ME: How did you get into styling?

Mostafa Waheed: I started working in fashion and retail 6 years ago and I’ve always been interested in styling. One of my friends had a fashion shoot where they needed an assistant and that’s how I started.

C: As a stylist who has hands-on experience in the industry, do you think it’s necessary to learn fashion? 

M: I never studied fashion; my majors were Marketing and Human Resources. When I started working, it was in the field of fashion marketing, which gave me a lot of knowledge around fashion and the creative aspect of it.

I used to read a lot of fashion articles everyday and also learn about the current trends that were showcased in magazines. Luckily for me, a lot of my friends are working in the same field, so I could learn a lot from them too.

C: How do you go from an amateur to a professional stylist who does red carpet looks etc?

M: In my opinion, everything needs to start with baby steps. I’ve worked on all types of editorial shoots, commercials as well as catalogues to gain as much experience as I could.

I started by helping my friends pick their outfits. That helped me gain recognition through word of mouth and also helped me build my portfolio.

It’s also very necessary to maintain a good relationship with everyone you meet in the industry.

C: What is the best way to showcase your work? In terms of portfolios, Instagram etc?

M: The best way nowadays is a simple tool which we all have: social media. It is the easiest as well as the most effective way for potential clients to see your work and reach you.

C: How do you predict trends and find inspiration? 

M: I get inspired by the people around me, especially my friends as they work in the same field. We usually share the trends that we like.

I also follow fashion week shows or even looks on Instagram, so I’m quite up-to-date with what’s happening in the industry.

C: What is the process behind styling? How do you reach out to designers to pull pieces?

M: For me personally I need to first understand what the client needs and his/her target audience. This gives me an idea on how the styling should be done. For example: I can’t style a model in editorial makeup for a catalogue shoot).

Reaching out to designers is generally quite easy as all designers want content to post on their platforms. So it’s always a win-win situation for both of us.

Usually I send them a message through Instagram with all the details and 90% of them reply with an approval on the spot.

C: You have mentioned that in the fashion industry it is important to work on barter basis to gain exposure. When and how do you begin to commercialize your work?

M: Collaborations are so important in order to gain exposure as well as build your portfolio. But once you gain enough exposure, you’ve to collaborate in editorials or shoot for bigger entities as it will add more value to your work.

The best way to get paid is through commercials and catalogues as they don’t usually help much with your portfolio.

C: What is the best way to price your work?

M: I price my work based on the project. I study the pricing in the market and also try to understand rates of other stylists in the industry and I charge the average. I’m not a fan of over-charging at all.

C: How do you grow your Instagram as a stylist? 

M: It’s very important to be active on Instagram and be aware of what’s happening in the fashion world. You also need to post regularly for clients to remember your name.

C: You have a great feed! How do you build a theme for social media when it is fashion focused?

M: It’s all based on the grid and the editing. You need to use similar effects, filters and edits on the posts so your feed looks consistent. On my styling account, the apps I use the most are VSCO Cam and Snapseed for editing.

C: How do you reach out to celebrities to style them? 

M: Either the celebrities reach out to me to style them or I send them a message if they’d like to work together for a particular event.  We then have a meeting where we brainstorm on the mood of the outfits they would like to have. I then pick a designer based on the outfits and have a meeting with them.