Summary of your career journey

I started my career journey in fashion around 10 years ago. I had a career as a Dance/Drama secondary school teacher before that. I started studying at Orana part-time while I was working in a high school full-time and would use my school holidays to intern. After 6 months of study, I was offered an entry-level role at Bauer Media as an Assistant Producer. I wouldn't say this was my "ideal" role but it was a foot in the door at a great company and an incredible opportunity I couldn't turn down.

I was there for about a year until I moved onto PGFG as an in-house fashion stylist. After about a year there I landed my dream role as a Fashion Stylist at The Iconic. Fast forward 7 years and during that time, I have moved up to Senior Stylist, Styling Team Lead and now Styling Supervisor. The Iconic has been an incredible place of learning, growth and opportunity for me and being able to develop my career and skills so much within one company has been absolute dream! I also did a lot of social/content creation work on my own fashion-based instagram account and worked on occasional freelance jobs including styling for editorial, look books, eComm, personal clients and celebrity/red carpet events during this time.

Briefly, what does your job involve?

As Styling Supervisor at The Iconic, I manage the styling and H&M team at our production studios. I lead, develop and mentor the team on a daily basis and monitor the creative visuals of our eCommerce imagery. I am responsible for the styling direction and H&M look and feel of all the eComm imagery we produce in-house and oversee up to 6 apparel studios per day.

Run us through a busy typical day in your job

When I arrive at the studios in the morning, I touch base with the H&M artist/team on for the day and make sure everything is clear for them in terms of the brief and creative direction. I then catch up with my team of stylists and run through with them what brands they are shooting for the day and make sure they have clarity on the styling direction and I answer any questions they may have. The whole studio team will usually meet for a quick catch up before we start shooting around 8.30am. If I am in studio that day I will also spend time prepping my rails of clothing.

I then check off all the H&M on the models and make sure everything is looking on point on camera. I often attend meetings with our buying & creative marketing teams, edit and add to our wardrobe, complete management admin tasks and plan the styling direction for future shoots. I also attend model castings and research trends for upcoming seasons and brands we are onboarding. I monitor the imagery and studios throughout the day, making sure I check in on the teams and assist with any issues that may arise.

Any do’s and don'ts in the industry?

Be positive, excited and show initiative always.

Be confident even if you don’t feel it. Sometimes you really do just need to “fake it, till you make it”.

Work hard, stay open to opportunities and get to know people in the industry.

Do tasks without having to be asked, and if you’re assisting a stylist, think ahead and have great attention to detail.

Be kind, professional and considerate but don’t be afraid to be yourself and show off your talents!

What has your career journey looked like to get to your current role - what steps did you take to get to where you are now?

I honestly just wanted to get as much experience as I could in all aspects of the industry, as I knew I wanted to work in fashion but I wasn’t exactly sure what part at first. Doing this allows you to find what you love and weed out the roles that aren’t a great fit.

I learnt as much as I could in every role/company I worked for and was always putting my hand up for new opportunities and showing my enthusiasm to learn and grow within the industry/company. Demonstrating your talent, capabilities and drive on a daily basis and keeping up to date with what is happening in the industry also helps. I wasn’t afraid to ask/apply for promotions or roles that came up and I was always networking with other people in the business which also assisted me with finding out about opportunities and people recommending me.

Advice or tips for our current and future students looking to pursue a similar career

The best advice I can give is to say yes to opportunities and network, network, network! Meeting and connecting with people in the industry is probably the number one tip I would give. Get out there and do test shoots with other creatives, go to events, get in touch with PR agencies and get on socials (having a fashion-focused Instagram account was a game-changer for me and opened so many doors), immerse yourself in the industry and learn as much as you can about all facets. Confidence is key and you never know who you will meet and what kind of opportunities those connections can lead to!