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PHOTO CREDITS (left to right):
Barry McCall
Cliona O'Flaherty
Caroline Knopff

When did you decide that you wanted to be a fashion stylist?
The first shoot I ever did was with a photographer friend. I was in between jobs at the time and I embellished a little bit on my stylist credentials. I really didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing, but I arrived with a suitcase full of borrowed clothes. On that first day shooting in a freezing cold, dive of a hotel, I decided I loved it and wanted to give it a go. With an MA in Film, I was always nerdily interested in image construction and found fashion to be the perfect fit.

If you weren’t a fashion stylist, what do you think you’d be doing?
Having a lot more time off!

What are the perks of being a fashion stylist, and what are the downsides - if any?
Free stuff is always fun…my sister benefits most! Yes the store discounts and PR treats are a bonus. The joy of shopping becomes a little lacklustre though and there is a lot of lugging heavy bags around. Still. It keeps you in good shape!

Who or what inspires you and your work?
I love cinema and take a lot of inspiration from that. The people I work with too; photographer Rich Gilligan, my Circus partners Fiona & Damien, and make-up artist Christine Lucignano. Landscape, colour… lots of things really.

What’s been your most enjoyable styling job so far?
My first shoot in New York was pretty amazing; especially as it was my first time to ever visit the city. I was like a kid in a candy store. I’m surprised we got anything done! Still I’ve had just as much fun shooting in dodgy parts of Dublin and chilling out with soup and sambos in Rich’s (Gilligan) mum’s house for lunch.

If you could ‘style’ anyone, who would it be and why? Tilda Swinton. She’s amazing…. but she looks amazing in everything and that wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Maybe my old geography teacher - she was into corduroy.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to launch themselves as a stylist?
When I was starting out I created a portfolio of my work from test shoots and started to develop relationships with the various agencies, representing models, photographers, stylists and hair and make-up artists. This kind of networking is really important. The fashion industry in Ireland is quite small so if you do good work there is a good opportunity for you to be noticed. Testing all the time is the best way to improve your work, because there are no commercial constraints on what you produce. If you can get an internship at a good publication that would be a great help too I’d imagine.


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