Erin Payne
October/8/2013
Interview Review
The
person I interviewed was a woman named Mary Benson; she is a style coordinator
at Limited Brands. A style coordinator is someone who puts styles together that
would appeal more to the human eye. A style coordinator and a fashion stylist
have basically the same roles. They perform the same tasks; one just works for
a company while the other works for a specifically to a client. Mary has been
working at her job for 6 years and has her bachelor’s degree in fashion
merchandising and a master’s degree in business communication. Mary says she
has had a love and passion for fashion but could never draw and be a
designer. So this pushed her toward
getting involved in the business side of the fashion industry. The type of interview I conducted was an over
the phone interview. I chose to interview Mary Benson because I knew she could
give me good insight on how to put outfits together and give me insight on the
everyday life of someone in the fashion industry.
There
are many important questions to ask when conducting an interview on fashion
styling. The most important question to ask when interviewing a stylist is
“when and why did you start your career in this field?” This question is
important because getting to know peoples inspiration be hide styling helps one
to understand fashion styling more. Mary said, “ I always adore fashion and I
always have. I have always worked for retail companies and I love doing so, but
I just wanted to start something on my own.
So, I got to thinking what am I good at? And what is it that I
know…Fashion! A lot of people have always told me that I seem to put looks and
outfits together well. Which made me consider fashion coordinating (Mary
Benson). This leads into another question of “who inspires you”? Mary said, “Helmut
Newton, Tim walker, my best friend Meredith Kahn who has an amazing jewelry
line called Made Her Think, Jewels Steger, walking around New York listening to
music and my two lovely dogs” (Mary Benson). When asked the question “what are
the basic guidelines when styling someone? “Mary said “when advising someone on
their body type I believe that it is all about balance and proportion. You must
achieve the most eye-appealing silhouette as possible. For some people this can
be different and confusing. That is what I am here for (Mary Benson). The next question
asked was “ There must be a basic style you work with, something unique to you.
How would you describe this style?” Mary said “ I can’t help but infuse my
personal style into my clients looks, which is a clean, chic, feminine look. I
do ask that all of my clients be willing to try anything and everything but I
would never dress them in something they absolutely hate. Not every single fashion
trend is good for everyone (Mary Benson). Some other important things to asked
were “what are your favorite trends this season?” Mary said “Menswear-inspired
pieces, leather leggings, and over sized sweaters and blazers (Mary Benson).
“What are your favorite place to budget shop?” Mary said Top shop Zara, Steve
Madden, and vintage stores (Mary Benson). The last important question to asked
was “what are the building blocks of a complete wardrobe” Mary said? “, A great
pair of jeans, relaxed trousers, black t-shirt, white t-shirt, an easy chiffon
blouse, a little black dress, blazer jacket, a little camisole for layering, a
great sexy high heel, comfy flats, and a few great accessories that you can
wear with any of these pieces” (Mary Benson).
I
think the information I learned in my interview was very helpful to me project
and project research. It was good for mw to see how others feel about fashion
styling and why they got their own start in this industry. This interview
helped contribute to my project development by showing me a lot of new stylists.
Learning who these new stylists are really helped me because I can look at there
work and use it as examples to help me create my collection. I was surprised
when Mary said she was inspired by Tim Walker because I like him too.
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