How to Become a Fashion Stylist? Steps, Skills and Career Opportunities
Are you the one who is always attracted to fashion walks and weeks? And you have a keen eye for detail and style, and are passionate about fashion? Then becoming a fashion stylist might be the right career for you! The Fashion world is always glamorous, trending, and fast-paced. Read in detail to know about the qualifications, skills, etc, to become a fashion stylist.
Fashion Stylist
- Who is a Fashion Stylist?
- How to Become a Fashion Stylist?
- Skills Required to Become a Successful Fashion Stylist
- Career Opportunities and Growth in the Fashion Stylist Field
- Popular Fashion Stylist in India
Who is a Fashion Stylist?
A creative professional who selects clothing, accessories, and makeup for celebrities, models, photoshoots, films and television is known as a Fashion Stylist.
The main role of a fashion stylist is to understand the personality, body type, culture, theme, and occasion and create a look that aligns with the vision of the brand, projects, or individual.
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How to Become a Fashion Stylist?
The steps required to become a Fashion Stylist are:
1. Focus on your Education and Foundation
Having a degree in fashion design from a reputable college can always give you an edge in the fashion industry. A formal education gives you a grounding in styling, fashion history, industry practices, etc. Common courses include B.Des and M.Des with specialization in Fashion Communication, Fashion Styling, Fashion Design, etc.
Five participating institutes of NID DAT exam offer B.Des program. These include NID Ahmedabad, NID Andhra Pradesh, NID Haryana, NID Madhya Pradesh and NID Assam.
Seat intake for the B. Des stands at 425. NID Ahmedabad has an intake of 125 seats, while the rest of the NIDs each have an intake of 75 seats. Note that seats are reserved for categories like General-EWS, OBC, SC, and ST categories.
Top Indian Institutes:
- NIFT National Institute of Fashion Technology
- National Institute of Design
- Symbiosis Institute of Design
- FDDI
- Instituto Maraggoni (Mumbai)
- London College of Style (Online and Hybrid Mode)
2. Develop an Eye for Styles
A fashion stylist is expected to have an eye for style. He must be able to observe what will work for different body types, which type of dress and jewelry is trending, and what is going on in the global fashion weeks. Fashion stylist aspirants must follow fashion blogs, designers, stylists, and influencers to develop an eye for style.
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3. Build a portfolio
For a Fashion Stylist, a Portfolio is like a face. It tells everything about the person. So, focus on building your portfolio. You can begin with test shoots, in which you can collaborate with photographers and makeup artists. You can also style your friends and models and use them in your portfolio.
Writing Fashion blogs can also help to build a portfolio. A strong portfolio should show that your style has diversity. You can style someone from streetwear to ethnic wear.
Steps to Become a Fashion Stylist
4. Gain experience through an Internship
Try to get an internship with an experienced stylist to have the best understanding of the fashion industry. Intern with fashion magazines, production houses, fashion brands, and fashion designers. The tasks there may include coordinating outfits, managing lookbooks, helping during shoots, sourcing accessories, etc.
The closing rank for IIT Hyderabad was 43. So, if you secure a merit rank of 100 in the UCEED 2026 exam, you chances of admission to the B. Des will be very low. To have a good chance of admission into the institute, you must target a UCEED merit rank within the top 40. However, note that if you belong to reserved categories, in that case the cut-off would be lower. Further, you will be considered for admission under both the reserved category and open category.
Candidates seeking admission to the B.Des programme offered by the Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID) first needs to appear in the SEED 2026 written exam. Shortlisted candidates have to next appear in a PRPI round. The final merit list for admission to SID will be prepared based on the cumulative performance of the candidate in Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design (SEED), Portfolio Review, PRPI Task and Personal Interaction.
Note that if the candidate doesn’t participate in the PRPI round, he or she will not be considered for admission. The allotment of seats to the B.Des programme will be based on the merit rank of the candidate.
The NID DAT exam is conducted for admission to the B.Des and M.Des courses. The B.Des course is currently offered at five campuses - NID Ahmedabad, NID AP, NID Haryana, NID MP, and NID Asaam. The combined intake for the B.Des is 425 seats. Meanwhile, the M.Des programme is offered at following three campuses - NID Ahmedabad, NID Gandhinagar, and NID Bengaluru. The M.Des programme currently has 347 seats.
5. Stay updated with Trends and Brands
The fashion industry is ever-evolving. To be a successful fashion stylist, stay updated with the latest trends, upcoming designers, sustainable brands, labels, and brands making outfits for specific body types, and color palettes. Also, regularly read fashion magazines, like Elle, Vogue, and Grazia, watch red carpet shows, and attend fashion weeks if possible.
6. Focus on specializing in your Styling
There are so many niches in the fashion world, you must know yours. Choose a specialization and master it. You can specialize in Celebrity styling, editorial styling, personal styling, commercial styling, etc.
| Also Read | List of Specialisations in Bachelor of Design (B.Des): Trend, Colleges, Exams and Career |
7. Promote yourself
Try to promote yourself. People in the fashion industry should know you. Try to make connections by making a professional presence. Use Instagram to showcase your work, and make fashion content on YouTube and Instagram. Build your mood board, behind-the-scenes stories, etc. Also, work on building a portfolio website, engaging in networking events, etc.
Skills Required to Become a Successful Fashion Stylist
The Skills required to become a fashion stylist are:
- Creativity and Vision: One should have creativity skills to be a fashion stylist. You should be able to think of something innovative, vogue, comfortable, and trending all the time to be in this industry. You have to be dynamic with the trends and themes in the market. You should also be able to foresight what colors will be for the upcoming season, what will be the trend in the coming fashion weeks, etc. You should always have a vision to see what others cannot see in the fashion industry to be in the race.
- Communication Skills: One must be able to clearly express his/her thoughts to become a fashion stylist. You should be able to communicate with all kinds of people. You may be a good stylist, but if you are unable to communicate your design, ideas, thoughts, themes, etc., it will all go in vain.
- Time management: Time is important for everyone and in all industries, but in the fashion industry, you have to be on your toes. You should be able to manage time because there will be n number of people dependent upon you. If one thing is delayed, the upcoming things will be late, and you can miss many opportunities because of this. You will have to present projects to clients or attend fashion shows; at all times, management and coordination are vital.
- Trend Awareness: A Fashion Stylist must be aware of the trends in the market. He must be able to get along with the trend to be in the market. For instance, fashion brands are now focusing on sustainability. So to be in the market, one has to be competitive and know the trend, and do what others are doing with something unique.
- Adaptability: Besides following trends, a fashion stylist must be able to adapt to new technologies, trends, and fashion in the market. Also, every client and fashion shoot is different; to be a successful fashion stylist, one must be able to adapt to last-minute changes quickly. He should be able to adapt his way of working according to the different body types, different styling demands, etc.
- Client Centric Thinking: One needs to develop a thinking in which you are able to put yourself in the shoes of your client. One needs to understand the needs, wants, and desires of the client and deliver the project accordingly. You need to have a thorough knowledge of ethnicity, diversity, language, culture, and tradition in order to understand and think like your clients think.
Career Opportunities and Growth in the Fashion Stylist Field
Fashion stylists work as:
- Freelancer: A Fashion stylist can work independently and take up assignments on a project basis. They may freelance and style for photoshoots, ads, private clients, fashion shows, etc. Freelancing offers flexibility and creativity along with freedom.
- Magazine or Publication Stylist: A Fashion stylist can also work for fashion magazines like Vogue, Grazia, etc. In these, they have to plan and execute editorial shoots and collaborate with video editors, photographers, models, etc.
- E-Retail Outlets: All the e-retail outlets like Myntra, Nykaa, Ajio, etc., hire fashion stylist for the shoots of their brands. Fashion stylists are required to dress up models, celebrities, etc.
- Personal Shoppers or Consultants: Some people hire a personal stylist, who helps them choose their outfits according to their body type, occasion, personality, etc. Personal fashion stylists are mostly hired by actors, celebrities, and models.
- Stylist for TV/Film Production House: Such type of fashion stylist works on planning costumes for characters in films, TV shows, or web series. They aim to design costumes and clothes, makeup that reflects the character, script, etc.
- In-house Stylist for Fashion Brands: An in-house fashion stylist works with retail companies and fashion labels for campaigns, lookbooks, etc. Brand identity and visual language are maintained with the help of these fashion stylists.
- Award shows, concerts, and fashion events: Fashion stylists are also appointed to work in award shows, concerts, and fashion events held in India and in other countries.
Popular Fashion Stylist in India
Some of the popular fashion stylists are:
| Fashion Stylist Name |
Known For |
|---|---|
| Anaita Shroff Adajania |
Fashion Director at Vogue India, stylist for Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan |
| Maneka Harisinghani |
Stylist for Malaika Arora, known for glam and edgy red-carpet looks |
| Rhea Kapoor |
Producer and stylist for sister Sonam Kapoor, known for bold and experimental fashion |
| Sanam Ratansi |
Celebrity stylist for Aditi Rao Hydari, Shraddha Kapoor, and Rajkummar Rao |
| Esha Amiin |
Stylist for Karisma Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, and a regular at Lakmé Fashion Week |
| Mohit Rai |
Fashion stylist for Kriti Sanon, Huma Qureshi, and fashion editorials |
Becoming a fashion stylist is not a cakewalk. You should not only have a great sense of style but also understand people, aesthetics, trends, etc. Dedication and constant hunger to learn and do something in the industry can help you make a name in the world of fashion.
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Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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There are 19 NIFTs that will accept NIFT 2026 Scores for admission purposes. These institutes are known as participating colleges.
However, in addition to the participating colleges, there are other private colleges that will also consider NIFT 2026 scores for admission to their UG and PG design courses. The candidates are urged to go through the list of result-sharing institutes.