We live in a superficial world, at least to a huge extend. What we have on us interests others more than what’s inside us, our personal qualities and skills. But there are a few industries in which this attitude to life and to people makes sense–fashion, modeling, advertising. You will likely work in one of them as a Stylist.

You will be responsible for choosing and coordinating outfits for models and actors, including props and accessories, most fitting for both the protagonist and the situation. Benefiting from your creativity, attention to details, and understanding of the fashion trends, you will try to turn an average photo shoot or video shoot into an exceptional one.

Let’s have a look at some questions you may get while interviewing for this interesting position.

 

Why do you want to work as a fashion stylist?

Because fashion is your greatest passion. You live and breathe the latest trends, watch the fashion channels almost non-stop, and find it fascinating working with models and actors.

What’s more, you can bring interesting ideas onboard–unique combinations of clothes, accessories, and makeups, that can help the protagonists stand out from the crowd.

Your experience in the field (from a salon, working as a hair stylist, any position in a fashion house) can also be a good reason why you decided to go for it. Do not forget to speak with enthusiasm when explaining why you decided for this career.

 

What do you know about our fashion house (clothing brand)?

You should know a lot, at least if you want to have any chance of succeeding in your interview. You should know their latest collection inside-out, but it doesn’t end at that point.

Try to learn more about their values, goals, what they try to achieve as a business, or as a brand. You can find the information on their website and social media channels. To really stand out, however, you should also learn something about their competitors.

How does this company or brand stand out? What is their unique selling proposition? And what role can you play in it as a stylist? Once you find it out, you have an excellent answer ready.

* May also interest you: Barber interview questions and answers.

 

Can you tell us more about how you selected your interview outfit?

They are looking for one thing in your answer: a system. You should not say that you simply stood in front of a mirror and tried one piece of clothing after another for hours–though perhaps it is exactly what you did.

Say them that before anything else, you decided about an impression you wanted to make with your clothes. Perhaps you wanted to look super-professional, or very mature, and that was your original intention.

Or, considering the specifics of this interview, you purposely wanted to convey uniqueness and creativity in your choice of clothes.

Once you knew what you wanted to achieve, you narrowed your selection down to a few pieces of clothes, and tried those combinations. At the end you paid special attention to accessories, because as a great stylist you understand that each minor detail can make a big difference at the end…

If you should pick a celebrity that has an excellent style and one that has a terrible style, who would you pick?

This is a bit tricky. I am sure you have your favorites, but before pointing them out, you should think for a while how their style aligns with the things they do in a given fashion house or clothing brand. Because the last thing you want to criticize here is your future employer…

What’s more, you should be able to suggest some improvements, or at least clearly define what you like or don’t like about some style or outfit. It’s not enough saying that XYZ has a fantastic style, and always steals the show when she appears in an event.

You should be able to tell why it is so, what makes their clothing so special. The same is true about the terrible style–how can a celebrity save herself from a complete embarrassment? What does he or she need to change?

Remember that you are applying for a job of a Stylist–you should talk like one while talking to the hiring managers.

* Do not forget to check also: 7 sample answers to “Describe your passion for apparel.”

 

Imagine that you style a client for a gala. They are not happy about your choices, and suggest something you consider a terrible idea. What will you do in this situation?

Customer is always right–at least until the press ridicules their outfit in the tabloids… Remember that you are not the manager. Your role is to advice, and counsel the clients. If they insist on certain choices that you find ridiculous, the best thing you can do is tell them so.

But if they still insist and eventually choose that outfit, you should simply take their payment and that’s it. Ensure the interviewers that while you want to try your very best for each customer, and will be honest in your feedback, you understand the limitations of your role, and won’t start any pointless arguments with the clients you style.

 

Job of a stylist can be very stressful at times. How do you want to cope with the pressure?

Maybe you have your remedies, and maybe not. You should at least suggest some ideas. For example, you do a lot of physical exercise outside of the job, or hike in the nature, to clear your head and forget the work for a while, and to get some balance.

You can also say that you try to have some system in your work, and whenever possible complete your duties ahead of schedule, to ensure you will minimize the number of stressful deadlines and other similar events that create pressure on you.

Another option consists in saying that you actually work better under pressure. You love the adrenaline in your blood, it motivates you to come up with the very best ideas, and to eliminate all distractions, and focus only on your work… And since you haven’t noticed any negative impact the stress has on your health, you do not mind working under pressure.

 

Other questions you may face in your fashion stylist interview

 

Conclusion, next steps

Interview for a job of a Fashion Stylist belongs to interviews with an average difficulty. You won’t typically face some tough behavioral questions, and you also won’t compete for the job with dozens of other candidates. This makes your situation easier.

On the flip side, it is hard to get this job without previous experience in the field, and you may deal with some practical tasks in an interview–such as choosing an outfit for a real or imaginary person.

Try to learn as much as you can about your future employer, and pay special attention to your interview attire. Unless you style yourself superbly, and appropriately to the occasion, they won’t believe that you have the ability to style others in the same way…

 

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Matthew Chulaw
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