Sittings: The Role of the Stylist in American Fashion Photography

This presentation traces back from the role of the stylist, which became popularised in conjunction with the emergence of British ‘style’ publishing in the 1980s and with a particularly London-centric form of style culture, to explore the origins of its American predecessors. It compares the histories and hierarchies of the sittings editor and studio stylist's roles. Drawing from oral history accounts of American stylists and fashion editors, and archival research conducted in the New York Public Library and Fashion Institute of Technology, it discusses the working practices of these intermediary roles in the commercial and editorial photography of the mid twentieth century. While British stylists became recognised for their subcultural capital and unconventional artistry, American stylists had been employed to ensure that fashions were presented in a way that aligned with brand identity and mass consumer tastes.