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Spotlight On: Stylist Courtney Kat Sharp

For this week’s Spotlight On feature, we’re chatting with leading Irish stylist Courtney Kat Sharp.

24-year-old Courtney is renowned for her distinctive style, from the tips of her silver ring adorned fingers to the points of her Western boot clad toes, and her eye for cultivating a striking fashion look translates directly into her creative and commercial work.

The Tennessee native moved to Dublin three years ago to pursue her career, and divides her time across styling, branding and PR.

Q1. Can you tell me what a day in the life of a stylist looks like?

A wonderful pro of working in fashion areas such as styling is that every day looks different! Although a lot of my work involves styling, I also do larger picture creative & buying strategy for Irish fashion brands so my day is really broad, fast-paced, and equally as rewarding. Right now I work in house for a collection of online fashion brands so I spend a lot of my day planning strategy for the brands overall, looking in areas such as buying, marketing, PR, and creative branding. One day I could be on set in the studio shooting a campaign, the following in buying meetings with suppliers, and the latter meeting influencers to plan upcoming campaigns & partnerships.
Q2. How did you originally become interested in fashion?
I’ve always been interested in fashion since I can remember really. My mom as a young adult was an incredible seamstress and used to sew these amazing pieces for events so maybe it’s in my genetics. I’m also originally from the States and growing up we had these deadly thrift stores in my town where you could find the coolest pieces. I was always known in school for my unique style & wearing pieces that no one else had. It kind of became woven into my personality with time.

Q3. How difficult was it to break into the industry?
In my head I still have a long way to go in making a name for myself here in Ireland. I think it might be slightly more difficult for me as, with not being Irish, I started forming connections only a few years ago. With that being said, it really is about who you know so you have to be patient, give it time, & continue to put yourself out there networking with interesting people for your name and your brand to become something. It also helps when your work can speak for itself so this is something I’m really trying to do in the next few months, is create uniquely outstanding imagery & campaigns that captivate people.
Q4. What is your background in fashion before getting to where you are today?
My background in fashion has come from the more marketing side of things. I started my career in marketing strategy for small businesses while simultaneously building up a personal fashion blog. I was always putting looks together and styling my friends so a fashion blog came quite naturally and gathered decent traction. Eventually when I moved to Ireland, the two started to blend and I was presented with opportunities to combine my background in marketing strategy & fashion and haven’t looked back since!
Q5. Who would be your dream client and why?
Styling wise, I’d love the opportunity to work with larger publications such as Vogue, GQ, etc. but even more I’d love the opportunity to work with really stunning fashion labels because after all, my true love is the garments themselves. I’d love the opportunity to work with brands like Rotate Birger Christensen, Bottega Veneta, Max Mara, Gucci, and 16 Arlington.
Q6. What advice do you have for any budding stylists?
Fashion styling is a tricky industry and the typical way of verging into the industry is through test shoots. Continually putting yourself out there and volunteering on set for established stylists and publications is a good start. Again, it’s really about getting to know people in the industry so network, network, network! To be honest though, I didn’t get my foot in the door this way. I was lucky to get my foot in the door with a great Irish brand and work my way up. I now manage the creative strategy, buying, and editorial aspects of the brand so I really get to build my portfolio and network in this role and I’ve been very lucky in this regard. There’s something to be said about being in the right place at the right time!
Q7. Why do you have such a passion for style?
Rather than a passion per se, style and fashion are more integral parts of who I am. Even if I worked in a different industry, fashion would always be incorporated in my lifestyle and personality so there’s something to be said of that. Style is just a lovely way to express yourself and I love walking into a room and my personality being on display for the world to see. Beyond that, I just love beautiful things that make you feel something. Fashion does a lovely job at capturing & communicating something beautiful and personality-filled. Other areas inspire me too in this regard such as film photography and the way light streams into spaces

Q8. Is there anyone who influences or inspires your style?
I’m really vibing off Thora Valdimars & Jeanette Madson at the moment (the two Scandinavian Designers behind ROTATE). Their style at the moment is spot on. I also am vibing off brands like The Attico & Bottega Veneta.
Q9. What is your favourite part of creating online content?
The finished product of the imagery is by far the most rewarding part of what I do. Being able to effectively encapsulate a creative vision and feeling into a finished product is empowering and it sparks something special inside me.

Q10. Are there any misconceptions about your job?
Before I answer this I have to pause for a moment of laughter. Yes, 100%! You would think with the transparency of online platforms these days the misconceptions of working in the fashion industry would have been demolished but everyone still thinks of it as extremely glamorous. No matter what your role, simply mention you work in fashion and watch people’s faces light up. What they don’t know is that you spent the entire day on your hands and knees pinning & taping garments and the day before spent hours carrying boxes up three flights of stairs and steaming garments. It’s not glamorous at all, it’s extremely hard work- the kind that will make people quit on the spot. But I don’t care, I get to do what I love.

Q11. What’s next for you?
I’m really excited about the role I’m in at the moment. I have a lot of responsibility and really get to see the immediate effects of my hard work. For me I want to focus on doing this role really well and getting the most I can out of it. Simultaneously though, I am trying to build my network more so loads of fun test shoots and projects are on the table. In regards to styling wise, I’d really like to branch out into styling bands as I did a bit of this work earlier on in the year and found it extremely rewarding. For me it’s a way to combine two huge passions of mine, fashion & music, plus meet deadly people along the way.
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