What is fashion styling?
- Written byCarys Thomas
- Published date 16 December 2025
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Fashion styling plays an important role in the fashion industry, combining creativity, technical skill and teamwork to combine ideas visually. Stylists are storytellers who work to create unique, inspiring imagery that captures creative concepts.
We caught up with industry professional and UAL Short Course tutor John William to find out more about the world of fashion styling.
John teaches The Complete Stylist Short Course and Editorial Styling and Creative Direction Short Course at London College of Fashion. Read John's 3 golden rules for aspiring fashion stylists.
What is fashion styling?
Fashion styling is the practice of selecting clothing and accessories to create cohesive, unique and meaningful looks for editorial, commercial and personal contexts. It combines concept development, visual storytelling and collaboration to express identity or brand values. Creative and artistic styling in the realms of the fashion industry are key elements in shaping a designer’s or brand’s identity.
As John William, UAL Short Courses tutor and stylist, explains, "It is all about telling stories with clothes and it ranges from editorial, where your focus is following an editor’s brief to create a thematic fashion shoot, to personal styling where you dress real people, for their real lives."
"Although clothing is an incredibly important part of the process, a stylist is rarely just putting together outfits,” says John. “Most often we work with a bigger creative team sharing references, developing concepts, experimenting and collaborating to produce an original outcome."
Key roles and applications of a stylist
Stylists can work in different areas, from editorial and personal styling to commercial to runway styling:
- Editorial: working on fashion shoots to express creative narratives
- Commercial: supporting brand campaigns and visual merchandising
- Personal: helping clients express their individuality through clothing choices
- Runway/show styling: collaborating with designers to present cohesive collections
Stylists often work collaboratively with other creative professionals such as photographers, designers, hair and makeup artists. "They may work as Creative Directors pushing the vision of a project, or as Fashion Editors responsible for the aesthetic of a publication: networking and commissioning other stylists and creatives to contribute features and shoots," says John.
"Stylists set trends, collaborate with brands, shoot magazine covers and bring to life the pictures in our imagination," John explains. "To break it down – a stylist dresses people using clothing to communicate. It could be to make somebody look and feel great, to sell a collection, or to create an inspiring image."
Core skills and knowledge
"There are a lot of skills that make you a great stylist, like good research skills, being able to communicate visually, teamwork, answering a brief," John tells us.
Essential skills for professional fashion stylists:
- Trend forecasting: stylists must stay current with evolving fashion and design trends to ensure that they can create fresh, impactful looks.
- Aesthetic judgment: understanding colour, shape, texture, and pattern is essential to create balanced, visually striking looks.
- Collaboration: the ability to work with other creatives (photographers, designers, makeup and hair artists) is crucial to achieve a shared vision.
- Budget management: stylists must have an eye for detail when it comes to balancing creative goals with available resources.
- Storytelling: stylists must be able to use garments to communicate a concept, emotion, or narrative effectively.
Learn the professional skills you'll need to become an in-demand stylist with a short course in fashion styling. Explore our fashion styling and make up short courses.
