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Fashion Editor / Stylist?
DYS in Fashion Insider — July 5th, 2007 (109 views / Print this article )
Some new friends seem to be confused when I tell them about what I do for a living. When they hear the word ’stylist’, most of them think that I would be a ‘hair stylist’.. Even the terms of ‘fashion editor’ and ‘fashion stylist’ are quite confusing to some people as they actually have the same meaning. The two terms are pretty much the same in my opinion, they basically share similar job descriptions.
But this editor that I’ve had the chance to assist, let’s just call her DJ, she would never want to be called a stylist, “I’m not a stylist, I’m an editor, it’s two different things, my dear.” To her, a fashion editor doesn’t limit herself to styling and creating a certain look or image, she’s actually the mind behind the concept, constantly brainstorming with the creative director and photographer to make sure she would get what she has always envisioned. “That’s how I earn the big buck!”, as she always tells everyone. I remember seeing her carrying her scrapbook on the shoot, sketching storyboards on how the models would actually pose and where they would be standing inside the frames. She told me that she learnt that from her former boss, a prominent name in the industry, when she used to assist her for 7 years!
On the other hand, some stylists wouldn’t even bother to sketch because they have been preoccupied with styling, sorting at least 10 different looks at the minimum *often more than that*, from hundreds of clothing, accessories and jewelries.
What I think could be the main difference is how they climb to achieve that title. Those who started within the publishing industry, from slaving as an intern, then as a closet assistant, to becoming a fashion assistant of some prominent fashion director or editor-in-chief, would probably prefer to be acknowledged as ‘the editor’.
But those who went a different route by building their credentials with a great portfolio, networking, and managing to find their own styling flare, would usually be referred as ’stylists’ rather than fashion editors.
Then again, I could be wrong.. who am I to give such theories? I’m just a debutante in this crazy industry..And why should we care? In most cases, their name would always be printed *either as a stylist or editor* alongside the photographer, the hair and makeup team, and of course, not a single credit for the assistant(s).. well, certain publications actually credit the whole team, but it’s still very rare unfortunately ;(
photos: blurry scenes from 2 different photo shoots
There are 12 comments for this entry. Add yours
sheila
i think it’s really hard to achieve the editor title in US since there’s so
many steps to take. i don’t think it’s that hard in indo especially when you
know so and so and wear just about the latest designer items, they can sit right
away on the editor desk. meanwhile, some stylists who have been doing all the dirty
work will never get promoted to the editor postition if they don’t follow
the socialite life and are a misfit in the glamour world of fashion/magazine.
July 6th, 2007 at 4:32 am
DYS
hi sheila ..hehe finally my very 1st comment
.. it IS very competitive w/ tons of obstacles & challenges, especially compared to being a fashion editor in indo…now that u’ve mentioned abt it.. it’s another topic that i’d like to write abt really soon =)
July 6th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Hanzky
Gue selalu mikirnya kalo yang bisa di bilang fashion editor ya yang kerja di majalah, kalo stylist yang styling untuk ad campaign atau di hire majalah untuk photo shoot per project basis gitu. Jadi kaya Rachel Zoe, Patricia Field itu ya tetep aja fashion stylist, no matter how big their names become. Salah yah?
July 6th, 2007 at 8:02 am
sLesTa
iya, gue juga selama ini mikirnya fashion editor is the person behind the editing, ideas, concept of fashion editorial in a magazine/ads.. pokoknya lebih ke journalism side nya. and the stylist will the one who does the concept behind a fashion style they create.
ternyata engga? jadi fashion editor itu gak mesti handle the editorial part nya aja ya?
July 6th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Dee
Seperti nya sih editor itu harus bisa styling juga. Tapi kalo stylist gak harus bisa nulis, yang penting bisa cari ide kreatif untuk fashion spread dan bisa cari baju bagus and mix and match yang keren. Itu kalo di liat dari level kerjaan di majalah yah..kalo independent sih gw gak ngerti deh.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:58 am
neng viey
waduh, ternyata kita sering misleading sama istilah yang kesannya sepele. hmm.. fashion editor di majalahku tahu nggak ya tentang ini?
July 6th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
DYS
bener kok semua comments di sini, gw cuma mau cerita gmana editor yg biasanya besar dr majalah lbh suka disebut ‘editor’ drpd ’stylist’ krn mungkin konotasi stylist lbh cenderung ke celebrity stylist nowadays.. tp sbenarnya sama aja kerjanya krn fashion editor di sini gak harus bisa menulis, banyakan utk styling aja, unlike beauty editor yg biasanya hrs bisa jg nulis.. di indo kalo ga salah fash editor hrs bisa menulis + mengarah gaya + styling dan skaligus jd beauty editor jg.. kerja rodi gitu
July 7th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Dita
I agree with your friend about sketching the storyboard to better illustrate the concept of photo shoot. I do it myself because I’m not good with words especially when describing my idea to the photographer. With storyboard, I could easily picture out each scene i want, from the angle, the prop, the pose, the clothes, etc. It surely helps especially when I dont have anyone to assist me. Fashion editor’s job also requires her/him to understand about culture, history, art,music, pop culture, films, etc to get unique and brilliant idea when creating the certain look for a photo shoot; that’s why when we look at Vogue or W’s fashion spread, we don’t only see beautiful clothes, but much much more
Huhuhu dan bener banget kerja fashion editor di indonesia rodi banget, dari semi reporter alias harus ngeliput acara2 fashion show, launching produk, etc..sampai nulis artikel beauty dan fashion, nentuin trend apa yang cocok untuk pembaca majalahnya, dealing with fashion industry ppl yang sometimes bisa membuat kesabaran lo habis, muter2 seantero kota buat nyari baju yang cocok;trus begitu udah ketemu eh tokonya lagi sale jadi gak bisa minjem barang, deg2an tiap harus ngembaliin barang yang dipinjam karena takut ada yang rusak atau hilang, dsb..so think again when thinking that we have a glamorous job.
July 16th, 2007 at 12:07 am
DYS
hi Dita.. ini starlitee yah? hehe
so which magazine r u working for now? band santa monica nya gmana? anw, back to the topic.. ada bbrp perbedaan emang jd fash editor di indo dan di sini esp di US ya.. yg pasti lbh susah utk jd fashion editor di sini perlu years to be one unlike di indo, yg sptnya bs langsung jadi..which was my case years ago..
July 17th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Ake
wow I had no idea …! Now you put it that way, it’s true that they say, “the grass is always greener… ” TFS DYS
March 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
itie
ih seru deh kyknya yah klo kerja dibidang seperti ini..secara gw kerja dibidang manufaktur,jadi kyknya klo denger dunia industri lain tu sepertinya menarik banget…thanks buat sharing info nya…
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Caesara_Ara
setujuuuu kata dita n dys…kerja jd fashion editor di indo bener2 kerja rodi..di indo, fashion editor=fashion styling=fashion reporter….mulai dr bikin konsep pemotretan, milih2 bajunya, styling nya, milih2 konsep make-up,nulis artikel fashion spread, liputan fashion show, dll…huaaahhh..these are what happened to me..but, i enjoy being a fashion editor..soalnya kerjanya mobile dan dinamis bgt..
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:57 am