Darlings I am am pleased to share with you the second installment of the ‘How I Became A Stylist’feature series.
I started off the series by telling you my story.

Now I am honoured to share the story of someone I respect immensely.

For aspiring stylists, this woman will inspire you to no end.

Read on for her story on how she became a stylist and her tips on getting there…

Photo Credit from left to right;Lenya Jones as shot by Paul Green. Second image from Dark City Editorial, M2 Magazine also shot by Paul Green and fashion styling by Lenya Jones. Images courtesy of Lenya Jones.

Name - Lenya Jones.

Location - Originally from New York, now living in Sydney Australia and thinking of moving to Los Angeles very soon.

Profession - Fashion Stylist / Wardrobe Supervisor/Costume Designer.

Work Background -
I originally had a very different path. I worked as EA/PA. I’ve always loved fashion but could never really pinpoint what I could do as a career in fashion because I knew early on in life that I was not a designer. Somehow though, I always worked for companies that were either right into Fashion or dappled around the edges of it.

It was one of my Managers that persuaded me to try my hand at Styling full time.

Story behind how I got into styling -
A number of years ago whilst still an EA I worked for a famous watch brand that was frequently featured in Fashion Editorial. It was then that I started to get ideas about Styling.

Shortly after that I moved to Australia. I read an article about
Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino’s early collaborations and how they teamed up and advanced themselves as the Photography Styling team that beat all others.

In order to get a better understanding of the job and see if this is really what I wanted to do, I started assisting established Stylists. I worked really hard and learned how to do some basic sewing and I worked part time in a dry cleaner to learn how to steam and iron professionally.

When I felt I was ready, I started approaching photographers to test shoot and began shooting like crazy. I was then approached by Cherrie Magazine to organise their fashion section. From here I started working more, doing Fashion editorials spreads.

Around the time I started getting published regularly I was approached by a TV Director to help her organise wardrobe for a television pilot she was pitching. This was the beginning of my Wardrobe Supervisor career.

It just so happened on the TV pilot I worked with a world famous Assistant Director and an amazing Producer. Both recommended me for other projects, one of which is a short film that was has done the festival rounds and was recently televised on the SBS in Australia.

Last year I worked on my first feature film which should premiere in Cannes next year and recently I finished up a joint Australian/American feature film with Hollywood legend, Malcolm McDowell.

I’m now pursuing more Wardrobe opportunities in Hollywood and hopefully will have news of a great movie soon.

My 3 Tips for aspiring stylists -

- Learn to sew! I can’t stress enough how much basic stitching is important in making things fit and look good on the body. Which is essential for a stylist.

- Don’t give up. It takes years to become established and even though I’m at a good point in my career I still have a ways to go. But with perseverance and determination, I will hold the Oscar for Best Costume Design in the near future. Don’t give up because you have to work hard, if you love it go for it.

- Don’t be too proud to Assist. Assisting is the best way to learn. You get hands on experience and no one is ever too old or too successful to learn something new.

How blown away are you by Lenya’s tenacity and willingness to learn? Taking up a post at her local dry cleaners to learn to steam professionally? How many would do that? Darlings this goes to show that with hard work, foresight, humility and a willingness to start from the very bottom you can work you way to your dream.

LJ darling, thank you for this amazing and honest piece on how you became a stylist! On that Oscar, it is simply waiting to happen…

Visit Lenya at her blog here.

Follow her updates on twitter here.

I hope you enjoyed this piece, I sure did. There will be many more inspiring stylists featured, they will work in different parts of the industy to give you a better understanding on the types of stylists out there and what their jobs entail.

To stay tuned on this series and the installments as they happen, follow me on twitter here.

Stay inspired.

Glam Kisses,
Marian.

Labels: Costume Designer, Fashion stylist, How I became a stylist, Lenya Jones, Wardrobe supervisor

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.