UGLY
Fashion Stylist
London, UK
Hi UGLY, would you mind taking a second to introduce yourself?
Of course! Hey, I’m Vincent (also known as UGLY) and I am a 23 year old fashion stylist and creative based in East London. I grew up in a small town in Germany and moved quite early throughout my career to Germany’s Big Apple a.k.a. Berlin, haha. I realised that the German market- and mindset wasn't really for me, so I moved to the UK to start off my journey here.
How did you get into fashion? That’s a funny story, haha! I always saw myself becoming a maths and music teacher, because my interests were VERY different back in the day, but back in 2013 (I was probably around 15/16 years old),
I noticed my interest in fashion growing day by day.
I applied at a fashion school that offered a three year degree +
apprenticeship as a Clothing & Textile Technician and I loved it! I worked towards becoming a designer, but I realised that sketching and sewing weren’t really my forte, hahaha, but I’m happy that things turned out the way they are now.
What made you want to become a fashion stylist?
After starting my degree back in 2013, I knew I wanted to be part of the fashion industry. I thought about all my options, after coming to the conclusion that designing clothes didn’t really fulfil me. One of my good friends back in the day actually introduced me to the ins and outs of a fashion stylist and I fell in love with the career path!
I started out by dressing my friends and/or “scouting” people on the street to dress up and take pictures of them, which were published on my blog. I did this for a couple of years, until I got scouted by an agency. After meeting a lot of other creatives during fashion weeks and events, I was able to make a lot of necessary connections that kinda started off my proper career as a fashion stylist.
I started off working as an assistant for stylists and art directors on set, under my real name, but by the end of 2017, I had enough experience to start UGLYSTYLIST and work mostly freelance for brands, designers and magazines.
One tip I would give everyone who thinks about starting off as a fashion stylist is to be very hard-working, but not take things too seriously. At the end of the day, we're only playing around with clothes.
What are some brands you’ve worked with and what was your favourite project so far? I worked with many different brands and print magazines, but some of my favourite projects so far were with Nike, Namilia, Sister Jane, JUANVG and Shuba Magazine.
I really enjoy taking creative control, but oftentimes, especially working on set for brands, you have to obey certain artistic criteria, this is why I prefer an equilibrium of commercial work (e.g. for brands) and editorial work. What advice would you give someone starting out as a fashion stylist? That’s a hard one, haha! I personally think that the fashion industry is glamorized by the younger generation and also social media. Don’t get me wrong: Working in such a creative industry is amazing and there is a lot of money in this industry, but it's not always as charming as it seems.
Days on set can last from 8 - 20 hours and it's a lot of paperwork and emails. You will sweat, a lot, and carry dozens of boxes from one place to another, but seeing the end results after a successful shoot, is definitely worth it. One tip I would give everyone who thinks about starting off as a fashion stylist is to be very hard-working, but not take things too seriously. At the end of the day, we're only playing around with clothes. What projects are you working on at the moment and what will see from you this year? I’m currently working on some smaller projects with different brands, due to the corruption caused by COVID-19, but I’m directing and organising a full shoot at the end of April for a magazine cover, which is very exciting! I don’t want to give away too much, but I also started looking into starting my own creative agency. It’s still in the beginning phases, but I’ll keep y’all updated on that one, haha!
And lastly, where can people find you? People can find me and my work over on my Instagram or find my full portfolio on my website:
IG: @uglystylist