Custom(er) Stories: Jamie Azzopardi

Tell us about your work. What’s an ordinary day for you? 

I have a really interesting job that I break up into two parts a) being a celebrity fashion stylist and b) being a blogger. Being a stylist I get to dress a range of celebrity talent and personalities for appearances on tv or red carpets, events and interviews around the globe and a usual day of a stylist consists of chatting with brands and designers, talking about designs or fabrics as well as viewing ranges and pieces. It also consists of talking to clients about how they want to look, what they are dressing for and how they want to stand out. As a blogger a usual day consists of trying out new products, attending launches or seeing the very newest in products and writing about the experience they bring!

How did you arrive at this career? 

Was it something you always thought you would do, or something you landed on organically?   In terms of being a stylist I always new I wanted to work in fashion but I started out as a designer and moved more towards being a stylist when I finished my masters. It was a natural progression to add a blog into the mix 8 years ago now as a way of adding some publicity and hype to the people I was dressing, and added a new way for people to be able to see my work.

You’re not just a stylist, though. You’ve got your fingers in a lot of pies. What else do you do? 

Do you find you’re a restless soul, or do you just have lots of passions and interests? I am super passionate about fashion and the arts. Growing up in my family arts always moved me but yes I do tend to not have a lot of time these days and between working and writing I find myself very busy.

Leading in to the warmer months, do you have any practical tips for our readers?  

My top for summer this season is linen, it’s come back in a big way and you can see a lot of brands are doing it well! But as always dress for you in what you want to wear - that’s when the best magic happens.

As someone on the celebrity side of styling, there’s always going to be a demand to be ahead of the curve in regard to trends and styles. Anything you think is coming up? 

I try not to stay tend driven when it comes to dressing as most of my clients (especially the celebrity side) have a unique style to them - so it’s about dressing to them rather than dressing to impress anyone else.

When you’re dressing someone, how do you land on a style or outfit? Is it drawing from their own natural style, your own favourites, or someone in the middle? 

I guess as a stylist it’s a collaborative effort on their style, my style and a brands style. Hen working on a look I try my best to be objective and really create a look that people will look at and understand while also being true to the person I’m dressings style.

Are there any stories of clients you can tell us? Any horror or funny stories? 

The funniest story I can tell you (without naming names) was the time I dressed a musician for the AMA (American music awards) and one of her 9 outfits got lost in transit. Needless to say it wasn’t very funny at the time but in between dressings we had to repurpose an outfit and were sewing her into a remade look seconds before she went back on stage!

You spend a lot of time at social events, so you’re no stranger to dressing up. How would you describe your sense of style? Are there particular garments or fabrics you gravitate towards? 

my sense of style changes often but I find the best way to describe it is high class street. I’m not the average guy and I really like playing with looks and wearing conventional pieces in a new and interesting way that most men wouldn’t dare trying. I always lean towards a street styled look no matter what I wear but I do enjoy the thrill of pulling of a new look and impressing others with my heightened sense of style.

How do you like the process of InStitchu? Is it fun being able to build from the ground up, customising to every detail? Is the idea of perfect fit something you value? 

I really enjoyed getting to work with Institchu and think it helped me really understand the look I would be wearing. It was a bunch of fun to play through the options and create something that I really like also. Customising CA n be scary but I think we picked a great option that will be perfect to wear during the holidays and keep me looking sharp!