Anyone following the latest runway fare knows that the mix reigns supreme this season, and stylists – the one-time unsung heroes of the fashion scene – rule when it comes to telling sartorial stories. Toronto's Susie Sheffman is a 35-year veteran of the scene who's still going strong, both on the editorial and commercial fronts. Sheffman, 56, who started her career in the display department of Holt Renfrew, regularly styles for major brands including Roots and Joe Fresh and works closely with designers and photographers, helping to make powerful images that stir dreams and desire. I caught up with Sheffman to talk about fashion's new era, the role stylists play in the tone of a collection, and what makes a look runway-worthy.
In your mind, is it a great time for fashion or a questionable time?
I think it's a fantastic time for fashion right now. I'm actually seeing an enormous sea change – a huge revolution – and it's really exciting to see new blood coming in, particularly the likes of Alessandro Michele at Gucci and what he's doing, and how he's turned fashion around. And now everybody else who's coming up is basically doing what he's doing. They're all now copying him, but within a season, which is pretty incredible. This electrifying, high-speed pace at which fashion is moving is exhilarating and wonderful.
A lot of people had been saying that big business sucked the artistry out of fashion. What do you say to that?
In some ways it's true. I think everybody's now reflecting on the fact that there needs to be artistry. And this is where houses like Prada and Gucci are coming back. Even though they're about big business, they're bringing an artistry back into the fashion industry, whether it's colour, texture, or all these different references. I find all these classic coats reinterpreted so exciting, for example. I think if big-box stores can embrace this artistry that's out there in some way, then we'll be in good shape.
Far beyond the actual designs of the individual garments out there, so many statement opportunities exist in the way that we mix our pieces and accessories. And that's where the stylists really come in, getting those messages out there.
I think the biggest benefit that a stylist can bring to a designer or a brand is by absorbing the zeitgeist and then spinning it in a million different ways for different clients. So whereas a designer might be a little bit more insular, because he or she has production logistics to deal with, and their head's down designing and working, a stylist can bring the outside world in, what's happening out there in every area of pop culture, social media, politics. A stylist's role is to absorb all that culture and history out there, turn it upside down and spit it out in different ways.
I'm fascinated by what kinds of conversations must go on. I guess it depends on how much liberty a stylist is given.
Exactly. I think the best possible scenario is if a designer or a brand brings a stylist in early to really be a part of that whole collaboration. A last-minute fix or a last-minute rescue effort doesn't always work. I think the earlier, the better, so it really does become a collaboration. Look at someone like Katie Grand and Marc Jacobs, for example. Their collaboration is incredible, and she's instrumental in almost designing the collection. So I think what's really beneficial is a stylist who's also an early adopter. And by that I mean somebody who can look at a new proportion, look at something out there and embrace it, and not be afraid of it. Whereas, a designer might be a little more concerned about who his or her audience is. There's a nice balance that can be achieved by that push and pull between a designer or a brand and a stylist. One's pulling, one's pushing, and together, if there's a nice symbiotic relationship, then you can really attain something new and magical.
Have you ever seen a stylist make, or perhaps even break, a collection?
Absolutely! The thing stylists have to be very careful about is that they're not projecting their statement of the decade onto this one show, or onto this one designer, because a stylist is almost like a clothes whisperer. You have to listen to the designer and the brand you're working for, and really make sure that you're there to be their fashion police and that every decision that you make for them or help them come to is really based on talking to their audience and understanding what they need. So you're really the silent behind-the-scenes person. It's only in the last few years that the stylist has come out as being this big fashion icon. The stylist used to just work behind the scenes; that's where the work goes on. It's really about pushing the designer forward. It's like a parent supporting a child, sending him or her out into the world.
And how do you explain the kind of styling you do as opposed to what celebrity stylists do?
I think what I've tried to hone, and what I'm always looking for, is a heightened reality. Something tangible and real, but elevated. I'm not interested in necessarily making someone look like the women next door. I'm interested in reality that's heightened.
I recall many times watching shows years ago in Toronto, when the talent on the part of the designers was really there but sometimes the way these collections were styled and presented on the runway was just not up to snuff compared to what was going on internationally.
I hate to say it but I sometimes still feel that way. And I hate to be a naysayer but sometimes I do feel that I'm sitting there watching the emperor's new clothes! Everybody's clapping and, really, what are they clapping for? The standards are still, in my opinion, not as high as they could be. And I think the attention to detail is still not entirely there. I know it costs a lot of money to stage a fashion show. It's expensive, but when you're doing it, do it right. Because it doesn't really cost that much more to do it right. To get it right is priceless.
How do you think they could improve?
I think they have to be more conscious of telling a story. I think styling really comes down to storytelling. When I get off my couch, leave my house and go sit at a fashion show, I want to be moved. I want some motion. I want some humanity. When I sit at a Dolce & Gabbana show and those lights go off and I know that I'm going to hear that Cavalleria Rusticana come on and swell and fill that space before the show comes out…well, that's how I want to be moved. I think that too often, designers just throw their collections out there. They're not saying, "What does the audience want to see? What am I actually giving to my audience? What do I want them to feel?" And it's the whole picture, from hair and makeup, to music, to styling, to the right shoe, to the fit of the garments. I always say that styling is not so much what you do, but sometimes it's what you don't do. It's adding but it's also taking away, subtracting and honing, and rehoning. For 35 years, I've said "Is it worthy?" And if so, is it for a magazine image or a runway look? Is it worthy of marching down a runway or of putting on a page of a magazine? Has this been given the full attention to really move somebody and make a difference?
It's so true because there have to be elements of humanity and theatricality….
Emotion. Exactly. This is show biz, and sometimes it's about one singular sensation. It can be something simple like a shoe. That can really make a difference.
This interview has been condensed and edited.