I have watched Happy Clothes by Patricia Field at least 4 times on Masterclass and I am looking forward to watch again, she is the brilliant stylist behind Sex and the City, Emily in Paris, The Devil Wears Prada, Ugly Betty and many more iconic “Fashion Movies/Series”. Her vision and execution has really transformed the world of fashion globally.
Here are my 3 important take way when you are styling for movies/series that is fashion related:
First, invest time learning about the people that you will be working with, she did that with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Lily Collins and the list will go on, she wanted to understand the person behind the character, she wanted to bring that person into the character as well to make it as real and good as possible.
Ever since I first started styling for editorial and personal wardrobe I always asked my models/clients about their favorite colors, movies, hobbies, designers, I even asked if they knew David Bowie and Brigitte Bardot which you can not be part of the fashion world without knowing those two.
Second, eye catching outfits as she said, “the camera has to see it”, that is something that as a stylist I have done asking the photographer before we even do the photoshoot was if the image was going to be a close up or full body, asking your personal client if she was going to be wearing this outfit to be standing or a sit down event, if you are working with a film director you would do the same thing so you can dress the character to that scene.
Third, find out if the model/client/actress is intellectual invested in fashion, that to me is a deal breaker for a longer, prosperous relationship. In order to make a dating relationship work, both parties need to be intellectual invest, in styling is the same thing, the person behind the character need to be hungry to learn a little more about fashion, art, textiles so they can express themselves throughout the garment.
I highly recommend to anyone that wants to become a stylist or is hungry to learn about fashion to watch this movie and watch the movies/series that Patricia Field has done it.