The Problem With ‘Full Look’ Styling in Fashion Magazines

LONDON, United Kingdom — Once upon a time, stylists — or sittings editors, as they were once known — were largely anonymous figures gathering together the best clothes from the latest collections and artfully composing looks to be shot for glossy magazines.

image: Bridesmaid Dresses

Today, fashion stylists are more visible than ever and the profession has become highly desirable for a younger generation that is more informed than ever about the inner workings of the industry. But as fashion publishers become more heavily dependent on advertisers, the nature of the profession is changing. This change is most visible in terms of the restrictions placed upon stylists by fashion brands to only feature "full looks" from a given collection.

Of all the fashion houses to issue styling diktats to fashion magazines — including major labels like Saint Laurent, Céline, Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton — Calvin Klein, it appears, is currently the most demanding. With Raf Simons in place as its recently appointed chief creative officer, the New York-based brand is keen to cement the Belgian designer’s vision for the brand by issuing stern commandments for editors. The rule is that any items from Simons’ debut ready-to-wear collection (Autumn/Winter 2017) must be photographed as a full catwalk look, not styled with any other brands (even non-branded apparel and vintage clothing) or even items from other looks from the same catwalk collection.

On the other hand, some argue that a seasoned stylist can and should work within the parameters of such restrictions and produce inspiring imagery regardless of pressure from all-important advertiser brands. "When you work editorially, you get a list of advertisers and that has been going on for a really long time — I was a baby at Bazaar when I got that list," Melanie Ward told BoF earlier this year. "I have to explain to people, ‘This shoe is the reason we’re on this shoot. It's paying for the shoot, so it’s up to us to just take a beautiful picture with this shoe and see the character and imagine her wearing the shoe and she has to own the shoe.’See More: Shoes Online