Working with music artists is something that I have always wanted to do. Now my dream has come true as I received a great opportunity from London College of Style, to assist Elvia Rietveld, a former LCS graduate who is now working with bands on shoots and music videos.
It was for a press shoot of UK band ‘Exit Calm’, I knew this is going to be fun!
The day before the shoot I met Elvia at Oxford Street to do some shopping of clothes and loan garments from the PR agencies and press offices. This gave me the insight to how stylists work with the agencies, how to manage the loan letter and why it is so important to have a good relationship with all the brands. Elvia told me that working with music artists is always difficult. She said artists will only wear what they feel most comfortable in and they’re much more concerned about their image, rather than getting a model to wear what you tell them to wear.
On the day of the shoot we arrived at the location, a pub called ‘The Cellars’ in Stoke Newington. My job was to hang all the clothes and prepare everything for Elvia. She had chosen some really cool pieces. 1 hour later and the band arrived, they all had their own style and character, and just as Elvia had said, they were difficult to to deal with. They didn’t agree with some of the choices we had supplied but we managed to make them feel comfortable in the end. This is very important otherwise it will show in the images. Elvia handled the situation very well.
The day after the shoot, it was my job to return all the clothes. I went to 6 press offices and a PR company in London, dragging a 30kg suitcase on and off the tube, I have to say that it is not an easy job being a stylist assistant, especially in London, but I’ve learnt so much from it. I want to say a big thank you to Elvia for the great experience, and to London College of Style for the opportunity. x
