Vidal Sassoon Photoshoot

It's about 8:30 on Wednesday when I finally stroll into my flat..... Some of the girls from the course and I went out to dinner after our last class to celebrate qualifying. When I was out... my phone died.  I didn't think anything of this.... I didn't need to get ahold of anyone, all my work was done, plus I'd be home soon...

When I finally got some juice in my phone it went nuts, I had about 4 missed calls, 3 voice mails and an email all pop up at once. Well this was a bit odd.... I check my email quickly and the subject line just reads:

 VIDAL SASSOON STYLING JOB TOMORROW.

When I read the rest of the email I realised it was from Wendy and she had been desperately trying to get ahold of me for the last hour - and I had 10 minutes to get back to her or she had to offer it to someone else. I figured she had already passed it on but when I rang her she immediately picked up the phone and just said 'Thank god you've finally answered your phone'. 

Basically she had a phone call from a contact who urgently needed an assistant stylist to help out on a photo shoot for Vidal Sassoon at the academy in Knightsbridge.... and she wanted to offer me the job, and would I be up for it........ Uh hello yes! Not even a question, of course I accepted. 

Wendy gave me a quick brief and some advice and tips for the day - really helpful as usual. Then later in the evening both the photographer and the head stylist got in contact with me about the shoot. While it wasn't a paid job - my expenses were covered. Happy days. 

After already on a massive high from all the great feedback and celebrations - I was now on another planet. I forced myself to get some sleep as I had a call time of 830....

8:30 on the dot I was outside Vidal Sassoon..... Bright eyed and bushy tailed I was the first one on set, but everyone else arrived moments after. When Amy (The stylist) arrived.. we got straight to work. As the location of the shoot had changed last minute we were missing a few things... hangers, rails etc... so we were a bit hard pressed for space and had to make do with what we could find in the salon. 

Vidal Sassoon Academy Knightsbridge

The day started with organising all the clothes, getting them hung up, ironed, steamed etc and grouping them by outfits so we could present the models with a number of choices. The shoot was show casing all of the recent Vidal Sassoon graduates work. Amy was given a brief that all the clothes should be black and white and fit into the following categories: Sporty, Sexy, and Androgynous.

This was my first live job, I mean I had had experience within the course doing photo shoots etc - but this was my first chance to compare and they really prepared us for what to expect. Nothing shocked me or surprised me. I just tried to be as helpful as possible. Amy had put in all of the work before hand, sourcing the clothes, coming up with the looks etc... and it was my job to be a second pair of eyes.. and help out where I could. 

I ran a few errands, went to TopShop and begged them for about 100 hangers - which they happily obliged and even stopped by Amy's flat to pick up a delivery of more clothes from ASOS that hadn't arrived for the shoot in time. But it was really fun... I got to give my input where needed and stood in on a few of the shots monitoring the looks and making sure everything was in place. 

Amy working her magic on a female model

In this industry it isn't uncommon to come across people that are difficult to work with - but luckily on this shoot.. my first one, I had the best experience possible. Everyone was so nice and very humble. These are all very talented people and they were all super friendly and helpful.

At the end of our 12 hour day we finally finished. All that was left was to sort out all the clothes... which was not an easy task. Amy had spent about 2,000 on clothes and we had to go through and check off hundreds of items, making sure that every item on the receipt was there as it was all being returned the next day. 

I exchanged numbers and emails with a few people, and parted ways for the day. 

I made some really good contacts and hopefully will be working with both the photographer and stylist again soon - whether it's on a test shoot building looks for my portfolio, or assisting Amy again for other shoots. 

It was so unexpected to get a job this quickly.... but it was great, it has given me that last boost I needed to really realised how much I want this - and how much I need to keep at it so I can make it in the industry.

So until the next adventure.... :) 

Officially a Stylist.

It's hard to believe that I started this year in Bournemouth, sat behind a desk of a job that just wasn't me.... and as I enter 2012.. I live in London, finally doing something I love. 

After 3 months of Mood boards, assignments, personal shopping, museum exhibitions, photo shoots, blog entries, articles, and one fabulous runway show - I can officially call myself a stylist.

This past Wednesday was my last day on the course. I have massive mixed emotions about this. On one hand I am happy to be qualified as it mean I can finally get out into the industry and start to make a name for myself.. and on another hand I have been having so much fun the past 12 weeks - I can't imagine it ending.  From the other girls on the course to my lecturers, I met some amazing people.... we became like a little fashion family and it's sad to think I won't be guaranteed to see them once a week.

Our last class was pretty chilled out - we started by going over everyones portfolios. Everyone laid their work out on a tabel and we got a chance to see everyones final images from our photo shoots. Pretty amazing to see how creative some of the girls are... and how much they have grown from their first to their last image... and I was really happy with mine in the end.  I've got 4 really strong images to start with. 

The rest of the morning we spent having final classes with our guest lecturers from over the past few months. They gave us contacts, advice, and final tips about making it in this industry and then after lunch, it was time for our final individual assessments. 

Although I pretty much knew what my final grade would be... I was still a bit nervous for my one on one. However as soon I walked in the room that all ended, I had become so close with both my lecturers Wendy & Jim - that it was just like any other conversation. 

My assessment could not have gone any better. It was essentially a recap of all my marks and feedback on how I did on all of the assignments and live jobs (our photo shoots, runways show etc..) through the course and they said some really lovely things about me. I got quite emotional half way through and like the massive geek that I am started crying. I don't know why... perhaps it was overwhelming hearing someone say all those nice things combined with the come down from all the hard work and stress. Regardless I cried - lame.  But they seemed to think it was endearing... and nice to see how much I loved the course - so I guess not so lame in the end.

They also gave me feedback on which area of styling I would be best suited to... my strongest areas (according to them...) seem to be Fashion Writing, Personal Styling, and Fashion Show Styling......  any of which I would be happy to do for a living.  But at this stage I still don't know what area I'd like to stick to. I'll probably dabble in a bit of everything... film, editorial, live shows etc.. till I find my niche and run with it.  I really enjoy it all - so it is hard to pick just one.

we said our goodbyes and I went to wait for the rest of the girls while they had their one and one assessments...... (I think I scared them a bit as when I came out I cried a bit again haha). 

At the end of the day my fellow fashion homies and I went for a celebratory dinner - and drinks to enjoy our new found titles in the industry..... 

But as sad as it may be that the course has ended, I know that things are only just beginning. The college has an amazing relationship with the alumni students, always staying in contacts, offering internships and providing job opportunities..... so in the end it isn't really goodbye, more of a see ya later.....

So now it is up to me - to get out there, network, and make a name for myself. Wendy's final advice to me was 'Be patient because it won't happen over night, but it will happen for you'. 

Watch this space :)

My Diploma