The Complete Stylist

This in-depth and extended styling short course will introduce you to the contemporary fashion media, and allow you time to develop a unique voice as a fashion stylist. You will gain insider knowledge and one-to-one industry advice – focused on your individual work and professional development. This course is suitable for beginners, or for fashion creatives with some experience ready to refine and push their portfolio to the next level.

During the course you will meet a range of fashion industry professionals who are all currently working on innovative editorial and commercial work. You'll work on a range of fashion shoots – some during class time (with professional photographers, make up artists and agency models) and some self directed. This course has been designed to help you develop the necessary skills and contacts to begin producing and styling your own shoots. You will also create from scratch – or refine and develop – a portfolio of work that represents your unique point of view as a Fashion Stylist.

To supplement the course you will be given access to a private website (Workflow) that contains all of the lecture notes, weekly assignments and additional learning resources created and curated by John William. You will have access to all of these online resources for 12 months. On this site you will be able to upload your weekly work and interact with your fellow styling students – as well as share links or post questions for your tutor during the week - throughout the course.

The course includes:

• History of the fashion stylist and fashion media.
• Who are the key figures influencing fashion right now?
• A complete practical guide for working as a fashion stylist, producing and preparing shoots.
• A guide to the different types of styling: editorial, commercial, music, personal.
• How to communicate with different professionals within the fashion industry (Editors, PRs, Model Agencies…)
• How to answer creative and commercial briefs, and how to pitch stories to clients and editors.
• What is Creative Direction? And how does it impact brand identity and the fashion image. Can a stylist work as a creative director?
• What is a trend? And how can we forecast fashion and lifestyle trends.
• Exploration of the contemporary Fashion Industry, and how the internet has impacted on traditional fashion media.
• Fashion Marketing and PR, and how stylists work within these practices.
• How to edit images into a story. How Art Direction impacts on the fashion image, and how graphic design can enhance your personal portfolio.
• How to develop your research skills to enhance your work – using the LCF library and specialist archives.
• Guest speakers from a range of specialisms within the fashion industry.
• Basic Photoshop & InDesign skills – so you are able to put your own work into professional and creative layouts.
• Basic studio lighting & photographic skills – so you are able to create fashion imagery independently.
• Studio shoots with different technical lighting and photographic styles.
• Creation of (or developing an existing) personal portfolio of fashion images showing your own styling and creative direction.

During the course you will style and direct a number of fashion shoots including a fashion editorial shoot with professional photographer, agency model and industry make up artist. In addition to your weekly tasks you will work on 3 self-directed extended projects, including a live brief from a fashion client. You'll also visit London exhibitions and fashion hotspots with a guide to street style spotting and a trend safari around London.

The Complete Stylist is run part-time over 20 full Saturdays (10.00-17.00) and 19 Wednesday evenings (18.30-21.00) with weekly tasks and resources designed to guide your self-directed creative and professional development. During the course you will receive one-to-one intensive tutorials that will focus on your individual work and career path.
During the Easter break (between March 22 and April 13) there will be no classes.

Please note:

There is some overlap of course material on John William’s Fashion Media Styling: Editorial, Editorial Styling and Creative Direction, and this course. It is recommended that you only take one of these courses.

Level:

This course is suitable for beginners. You should have an interest in the subject area and a desire to learn but no previous experience is required. This course is also suitable for fashion creatives who have previous experience, but want to refine their work and develop their existing portfolios.

Booking:

Your course place is confirmed once you have booked online or via the phone using a credit or debit card. There is no deadline for booking. Places are offered on a first come, first served basis, and all courses have a maximum number of students. We suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.