Are you obsessed with Fashion Week? Do you love checking out the latest celebrity styles throughout awards season? Do you wish you could be in the thick of the action? If you want to know how to get involved and become a Session Stylist, why not check out these eight tips from Pete Burkill, whos worked with A-Listers such as Millie Bobby Brown, Katy Perry, Megan Fox and more...
1. Spend time learning the craft of hairdressing, not just what is popular at the moment
I spent 12 years in the industry before I became a Session Stylist and it was these years dedicated to the craft of hairdressing that really helped me.
2. Get yourself out there
Enter every award you can, win a few and be humble. People like working with nice people.
3. Network, network, network
Go to every industry and fashion event possible, it’s surprising what contacts you can make when you least expect it. And building these networks is what makes it easy to work every day in the session world.
4. Education, education, education!
Confidence is knowledge and knowledge is power! This is great to have if you are trying to make it as your own brand. So, attend courses and learn as much as you can, then spread that knowledge to others you work with. This will add to your confidence.
5. Raise your voice
Don’t be scared to contact all the hair agencies and ask them if they need assistants at the fashion week shows. Assisting the hair gods is a great way to really see the work and dedication that is needed to make it in their world. It’s also part of the networking, the education and seeing how things work.
6. Time to get testing
Offer to do test shoots with some of your new contacts – get a good model and make-up artist and try befriending an up-and-coming photographer and take pictures of your work. Seeing what you have created in a photo is totally different to what we see in real life. Intricacies can be lost, size of the silhouettes change and it’s a great opportunity to learn ad understand hair.
7. Know your tools
Get to know your products, how they work and what they can create.
8. Restraint is key
Also know when to stop – this takes a lot of practise but it’s easy to overdo a hairstyle and ruin it.
