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Brianna Wise on Travelling In Style

personal styling

client communication

Celebrity stylist, brand strategist and industry mentor, Brianna Wise, shares her advice for understanding personal styling clients.

Words by 

Megan Hill

Published on 

August 8, 2022

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Brianna is a Los Angeles-based stylist and brand strategist with clients spanning professional athletes, actors and upcoming artists. Following her own success in the fashion industry, Brianna now helps aspiring stylists to develop their brand identity and avoid common industry pitfalls—so they can enjoy a career like hers.

Storytelling

Energy is everything to Brianna. Brianna needs to understand her client's current life and day-to-day activities, to assess how well their wardrobe communicates that. "Does their wardrobe speak to who they are and where they want to go? What their overall goals are in life?"

This is also the case when Brianna is working on a production job. "I need to fully understand the picture in the producer and director's minds in order to bring it to life. When you think about a production (commercial, video shoot etc.) the story doesn’t come to life without wardrobe. The role of a stylist is so important, we are helping bring ideas and visions to life."

Stylists' responsibilities extend beyond the wardrobe, they also play a role in helping clients feel their best and show up as their best selves. As a personal stylist, you are often working with people in their most vulnerable state both physically and emotionally. These are all fundamental lessons that Brianna teaches her students.

Make it personal

No matter the job—whether it be personal styling, production styling or training an aspiring stylist—Brianna asks her client a series of questions to understand why they sought her services specifically, who they are and what they ultimately desire.

Brianna gets a general gist of a client's style from the inspiration imagery that they provide, but the real clues come from inside a client's current wardrobe. Brianna often sees clients purchasing the wrong size, or believing that a certain style is unflattering for them, when in fact they just need to be shown a way to wear it that works for them.

Brianna makes each client a personalised moodboard and loves to watch a client's face light up when she captures, or rather helps them to express, what they had in mind. Once the style direction is clear... it's time to shop!

Out with the old

Styling was a natural route for Brianna. "Helping people bring a vision to life has always made me feel I’m fulfilling my purpose." In her years of experience, Brianna has noticed that it is often hard for her clients to let go of the old in order to make room for the new. Brianna deals with this mentality by reminding clients of their reasons for hiring a stylist in the first place.

Client deep dive

International travel is finally available once again, so we challenged Brianna to hone in on the needs of a "frequent flyer" who wants to look effortlessly good while living out of a suitcase—if she only had 5 questions to work with.

Who... are you going on a date with sis? (Spill the tea!)

What... is your go-to jacket/blazer that you can layer over anything?

Where... will dinner be?

When... travelling, do you want to be ultra-comfortable or paparazzi ready?

Why... pack light when you can have options?

Find an archive of Brianna's personal work on her website or find out more about her stylist mentorship programme here. Follow Brianna on Instagram for style inspiration and motivational content.

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