Behind the Scenes of a Magazine Cover shoot!

My Agency 'Miss Bossy Boots', Veronica, Dean & Andrea
Designer Teresa Liano from T.L Wood
Dean from Madam Virtue & Co
'House Model' Maude from Madam Virtue & Co
Marc Jacobs bags exclusive to Madam Virtue & Co
Madam Virtue & Co
Milliner Kerrie Stanley in her showroom
Kerrie Stanley's Millinery
Jan Breen Burns Fashion Editor 'The Age'
Hair and Make up artist Narelle Hall working her magic on model Lucy McIntosh
Lucy from Chadwick Models
Lucy on location
The training yard, our location
Narelle and Lucy
Cover of M Magazine, 'The Sunday Age'

When asked 'What do you do?'at dinner parties, special events or anywhere I feel that when I answer 'I'm a stylist' (for those not involved in the fashion industry) they have no idea what this means, (and I'm sure to this day, after 12 years as a stylist with some success my Father has no idea exactly what I do!) so I thought I would blog the whole process of a recent shoot for the cover of M Magazine in Sunday's 'The Age' newspaper just so it may inform a little of what I actually do!
It starts with a fashion editor(such as the gorgeous Rachel Wells, Fashion Editor of M Magazine) calling my agent (www.missbossyboots.com.au) to check my availability and then express a short brief on what style the shoot will take, this is then relayed to me and then hopefully the ideas flow on what clothing, designers, accessories and overall feel I will work on and source.
As you digest what direction a shoot will take your ideas formulate and I picture in my head
which designer will work best with which publication and brief, of course this has come after many years in the business, I'm lucky to have worked with so many great people and particularly designers that I am so grateful to work with. If there is one piece of advice I can give to up and coming stylists, is treat your suppliers and designers with respect and gratitude for without them and their support you have nothing! As an ex designer myself I can say that a stylist who is professional and easy to work with, will have a long and successful career.
So as this shoot was centered around a Spring Racing Carnival theme I decided to take myself to the ever stylish Teresa Liano the designer of T.L Wood (www.tlwoodaustralia.com) and was lucky that the lady herself was able to show me the range, (which was familiar as I had styled her Look Book for that season) I chose a fantastic grey suit and a watermelon dress that I thought fitted our theme.
Next I went onto the store Madam Virtue & Co where the fabulous Dean took me through the latest designs from Europe and America that the store is known for and Madam Virtue & Co's own label. A trip to Madam Virtue & Co is always an eccentric and fun filled excursion and I thoroughly recommend that you treat yourself and pop in (Madam Virtue & Co 5 Crossley Street Melbourne) where you'll meet house model and mascot Maude the Shar Pei dog! So after discovering an amazing 1950's inspired dress, a Comme De Garcon shift, leather bag, Nina Ricci bracelet and the most gigantic hat I had ever seen I bid Dean farewell and made a phone call and lined up my next appointment with 'Milliner to the Stars' Kerrie Stanley.
Kerrie has 'Hatted' among other celebrities Jennifer Hawkins and her millinery is sold all over the country, she is the milliner of choice during Spring Racing Carnival and I can say I always look first to her when I need to dress an actress during Carnival, as I will be this season!
As you can see in the photos Kerrie's work is unique, stylish and always ahead of the trends, everything I look for in a designer. Kerrie showed me through the current collection at her showroom(388 High Street Prahran) and I chose the hats I needed which were collected just before our shoot later that week. I then headed off to collect a selection of shoes from Zomp Melbourne.
So shoot day came, I was picked up from my apartment by my wonderful friend and talented Make Up Artist Narelle Hall and we headed off to 'The Age' office in the city to prepare our model Lucy McIntosh from Chadwick Models for our cover shoot. Lucy has the most amazing eyes and when she arrived Narelle and I work shopped the make up and hair look that would best work for the theme and Lucy's look, by the way Lucy was suffering from a bout of pleurisy and was far from well but as the professional model she is she soldiered on! While make up was done I bumped into the fab Jan Breen Burns Fashion Editor of 'The Age' and we chatted about this blog and Twitter, we both think Fashion has to embrace the new social media and move with the times. It was good to see Jan, I usually only see her front row at fashion shows!
So off we went to our location, that day it was a horse trainers yard in Flemington close to the Racecourse where we were shooting Lucy with a racehorse! Both of whom would grace the cover of M Magazine, both of whom would hopefully look fantastic and both of whom had never met each other!!! Charlie (the horse) didn't like posing too much and Lucy didn't like posing too much with a horse that decided he would eat her left breast! Suffice to say it took a little coaxing from both to come together and get our shot which you will see in the final out come that is the cover of M Magazine, the shot chosen featured dress and hat by Madam Virtue & Co.
I do hope this gives you a little(or not so little blog post) insight into just one of the projects that makes up a stylist's, such as myself, week!
M Magazine cover
Photographer Simon Schluter
Stylist Philip Boon
Make up and Hair Narelle Hall
Model Lucy from Chadwick
www.tlwoodaustralia.com
www.madamvirtue.com.au
www.kerriestanley.com