What looks good and interesting might not always be the same inside – is all what I can say as a fashion stylist. People think it’s a glamorous job. Full of fun and frolic, with no much pressure but this is not the fact. It’s actually the most unpaid job, with maximum expectations. Where you are not even sure when will your salary come and you will have enough money to pay rent and shut your house owner from yapping for paying rent soon and to party hard and not with the change in you piggy bank….after all you need to party, to be social….There are very few lucky stylist who don’t have to wait for months as the shoot is not over yet so they cannot expect payment.

Styling is quite simple when you do for an apparel brand but when it comes to any other segment, it literally sucks your blood, sometimes it may be till you faint and fall down. And people think it’s quite simple, you just have to style my model why should we pay you “more than this”…(they say)even we could have done it but since we lack short of time we hiring a stylist and bla bla……and the stylist says a “yes” ‘something is better than nothing”.

Additionally if you get to work for a big person or label, then pay is less and expenditure is more as these guys love to show off; even the stylist has to be stylish in talks, dressing and attitude. If you don’t wear designer wear garments during their launch, you are letting them down but they won’t pay for your attire.

The difficult things start…you have to do everything : the creative concept, find a photographer, model, make-up artist, location and calling every freaking PR of designers or brands in the city as your boss want to hire cloths and cannot afford to buy them.

From styling your list increases as in the end boss will talk in a very sweet way and say I have handed the responsibility to you, please take care and for the stylist to prove his talent what is left other than doing his best….sourcing things along with facing the tantrums and fancies of different people ,the stylist works. Note it: the tiniest thing goes wrong; it’s always ‘the stylist’s fault’.

Now a fact about Indian models… do you know why we see so many Russian models around in India? We see the Indian models cry that the designers do racism but the fact is they are just not that professional. They will be in their own world, or not in shape, they throw unnecessary tantrums, or some other problem. Though this is not the case always exceptional exist but majority are like this. Attitude by them is needed on the ramp or during the shoot not when they talk to the people around at work. The models even sometimes make others feel as they are doing a favor. Not acceptable. The stylist is the biggest target of these models. They don’t understand that I am at job and their stylist and they are mere my models and not my PA, to tell what looks nice and what not.

Still I love my job and every other stylist does…its fun, I hope my pay will increase gradually and I will continue with my profession. Cause I always believe to do what I enjoy.