How Celebrity Stylists Stage Fittings From Home
POPSUGAR: How have you been working with your clients while social distancing? What does the new process look like?
Jared Eng: We've racked up a lot of FaceTime minutes. I did style a magazine cover shoot remotely [See above: Jared Eng put together this Louis Vuitton look from home for Joey King's S/Magazine cover shoot], where I had fashion designers send to [King] directly. We talked through the looks over FaceTime first and then we looped in the photographer to decide which outfits went with which backdrops. It was a true collaboration that wasn't as stressful as I thought it was going to be.
David Thomas: We now choose clothes online and have them delivered to our house. We also FaceTime with certain stores that hand deliver to us. We then unpack, sort into potential looks, photograph everything, and put in a numbered presentation. The looks are then packed in order and delivered to the client's home with a rolling rack, and the presentation is emailed to them. The next step is a Zoom fitting with the client, each of us in our own homes, where the looks are tried on and choices made. We then pick up and return anything not selected. Any tailoring needed is done without any contact using measurements on file. We simply pick up the clothes, drop them at our tailor, and they drop them back to us when done. In the last couple of weeks, as things have opened up a bit, I styled John [Legend] for his ABC Father's Day Special "Bigger Love," the BET Awards, and various TV performances shot at his home and on location, as well as an advertising campaign for Sperry. For all of these, I was actually present on set for the shooting (wearing a mask and without an assistant).
"There have been a lot of safe visits, socially distant shoots, FaceTime calls, and doorstep drop-offs."
Scot Louie: One of my clients, Kehlani, dropped an album within the first month of quarantine. The process has been a little bit different, as we've basically been quarantined together (she lives 10 minutes away). There have been a lot of safe visits, socially distant shoots, FaceTime calls, and doorstep drop-offs. Kehlani turned her garage into a studio for album promotion. We've shot magazine editorials, music videos, press photos, and the album cover — all in her garage and backyard!
Charlie Brianna: After the second month of quarantine, I began doing virtual styling sessions with my clients — sending the wardrobe with a no-contact drop-off for those who had "work from home" interviews. In the past few weeks, I started to dabble in social media styling for clients.
Krista Roser: We didn't have any actual production jobs during the time frame of our city (Nashville) being closed. But I did send some items to a few clients for Instagram Live performances. We had items shipped in directly to the client, then they disinfected them when they arrived. We would FaceTime or text about any details on styling. But we mainly kept things pretty casual.