Let's chat styling for a moment — I get to have a bit of a blast from the past, as most people don't know that my first three years in the commercial film world were spent in-house at fashion brands here in Vancouver!
I would love to bring our wardrobe stylist into the casting process as early as possible. We'll obviously need to identify the key SKUs we need to showcase, but I'd love for those product decisions to happen alongside casting, rather than after it.
I feel like the more we can let our casted heroes have agency over the general direction of their styling, the better. Perhaps that involves presenting talent with options and letting them gravitate toward what makes them feel most like themselves. I think that confidence always translates on camera, and maybe it even becomes part of the greater campaign story itself.
Just throwing it out there!
I'm also conscious of letting our casting numbers dictate our styling strategy. Not everyone needs to anchor one of our hero portraits. We can cast additional supporting roles throughout the school or town that allow us to organically showcase more products, broaden our representation, and make these worlds feel richer. Once we have a better understanding of the number of looks we need to cover, it will also help inform the number of people we should cast.
I'm really excited that JCPenney has an in-house stylist. I relish working with people who have a deep understanding of the brand's fashion language and the muses behind its different lines. I can't wait to get them involved with us!
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