When stylists are forced into head-to-toe looks, creativity gets lost
Industry insiders on why rigid brand control is stifling individuality
By Joseph Bobowicz
Days after winning back the masters to her first six albums, Taylor Swift joined Selena Gomez for – the press purported – a celebratory dinner in New York City. Ostensibly, it was a low-stakes affair: two friends hanging out, no red carpets, no wardrobe styling. Swift arrived in a bejewelled tank and skirt set, teamed with statement platforms and a bamboo-handle bag. Every item, bar the jewellery, was Gucci.
The infamous full-look policy has been frequently mandated for some time. Premiers, industry galas, front rows and magazine covers, you name it. But off-duty celeb dressing? That feels new.
A decade ago, fears that influencing and spon-con would hollow out pop culture brought in a few loose measures. First, vague hashtags – ‘AD’ or ‘gifted’ – had to be used where freebies were involved. Then, paid partnership labels appeared on social media and beside online stories. Fast forward to now, and a whole host of loopholes and incentives have infiltrated the media system, making editorial and ‘organic’ opportunities increasingly dictated by the brands. We don’t need to tell you that a sleb (their stylist) hasn’t actively chosen to dress in one brand only. Or that, despite no evident sponsorship or marked product placement at play, money is moving between hands. The mechanics behind it are murky, based on favours, relationships and contractual appendices like ‘added value’.
If anything, it’s just the old-school fashion press-advertiser-VIP dynamics shifting in line with an accelerated media-scape. Celebrity and fashion have been bedfellows since time immemorial. Hermès, for example, owes a substantial portion of its success to this very dynamic. The Birkin, named after actress and singer Jane Birkin, and the Kelly, after actress Grace Kelly, are both a case in point, two bags patronised by influential people. Logic tells us that full-look is just a way of concentrating that message. It’s not just that someone we idolise is wearing a cool bag, but instead, they’re living and breathing the brand, imbuing whole ranges with their cultural capital.
Brands vouch for this approach, explaining to stylists and editorial directors that full-looks are needed to communicate the right ‘story’ and ‘image’. But it’s not just the brands cracking the whip. “From a press perspective, together, we, brand and PR, are definitely aligned on the goal to secure full-look placements on VIPs or for full-looks to be shot for print editorial,” says *Sam, a London-based press and communications account manager. Sometimes, he explains, the full-look policy will be implemented from the showroom. That way, a stylist is tied down from the start.