To kickstart the second day of Cosmo Careers 2023, The Giving Movement‘s senior stylist Seher Khan and celebrity stylist Poucey El Shahawy sat down with ITP Live’s Editor Aman Dhami to discuss all things styling in the industry.
From the beginning of their journeys and the difficulties they may find, to what a day in their life looks like – these hardworking trendsetters are paving the way for fashion students who might have a prospective future in the fashion world.
Scroll down to check out the top takeaways that we learned throughout this Cosmo Careers 2023 panel…
Cosmo Careers 2023 – How to build a successful career in fashion
Seher Khan and Poucey El Shahawy on where their journeys began…
Before Seher became the senior fashion stylist at The Giving Movement, her background actually began with fashion design. She tells the audience that styling is something she stumbled upon later on, although ‘fashion was always my first option’.
Poucey similarly started herself off in the industry at 24 years old with fashion design and took fashion styling courses on the side. In 2019 she had the opportunity to intern in London and helped out at a show backstage with the likes of Naomi Campbell, and once she went back to Egypt to work in e-commerce, Poucey had celebrities luckily reaching out to her.
A day in the life of a fashion stylist…
Since (as we’ve learned), there are different types of stylists, both Seher and Poucey’s schedules can look *pretty* different.
For Poucey, her day involves scouting, contacting PRs, going to stores, visiting designers, meeting with celebrities to brainstorm, and brainstorming herself. “It’s a very long process,” she describes.
On the other hand, Seher explains that if she’s a freelance magazine stylist, for example, she would either get given a concept, or she’ll be creating one herself. “It’s your first pitch, so it has to be a beautiful mood board that you’re creating”. From connections and calls, Seher’s shooting out almost 100-200 emails in a day.
Production is a big part of styling
Sometimes, clients can give you the brief to execute from start to finish, including creative direction, styling, whipping up a mood board, organising hair and makeup, etc. This is basically how ~production~ is also a big part of styling. Your organisation skills have to be on *point*.
What are the most difficult things about being a stylist?
“Definitely working against time, and prep” says Seher. “Yeah even when it’s things happening before the red carpet like a zipper being broken, it can get really stressful, but I can’t panic, or else the celebrity might panic too” Poucey describes.
It’s no surprise that a stylist’s busy schedules mean that they will always need back-up plans. So keep that in mind if you’re a fellow fashion stylist!
What advice do you have for budding fashion stylists?
Senior fashion stylist at The Giving Movement Seher Khan says “purpose, self-assessment, and strategy” are the three key things to remember. Poucey El Shahlawy adds that you “have to have a very strong eye to details, especially for celebrities on the red carpet. You have to do some research, be able to understand trends and study body shapes really well.”
And don’t forget, with a very hands-on job like this “you have to be very patient”.