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Alexander McCalla

Assistant Styling Manager at Selfridges
Portfolio website
Previous Brands
Apartment 57
Farfetch
MATCHESFASHION
NET-A-PORTER
Selfridges
Thread
Work Experience
Assistant Styling Manager
Apr ‘22 - Now
Selfridges

- Manage stylists, leading and encouraging their development through training and feedback, as well as conduct 1-2-1's and annual reviews for direct reports, retaining and developing key talent. - Sub edit daily contact sheets, working to high-capacity daily deadlines to ensure all styling is dynamic, aspirational, on brand and in keeping with our in house style guides. - Create and maintain menswear character guides, updating seasonally. - Supporting with briefing in new season following shows and buying seasonal downloads - Liaise with the Buying teams to ensure brand imagery consistent with the business & brand vision. - Work closely with the Head of Art Direction – Photostudio, casting and the Production team to ensure brand-appropriate models are booked, carrying out model castings and composing draft Call Sheets. - Overseeing daily ecommerce shoots and ensuring the creative styling vision is being executed and aligned. - Manage the styling team and leading weekly team meetings, in the Styling Managers absence. Driving team morale, implementing best practice, sharing successes and initiatives. - Liaise with photography, art direction, retouch, product and copy teams to ensure daily production targets are met and implement most efficient ways of working. - Organise and lead training sessions and styling workshops with the styling team and wider photostudio department. - Update and maintain studio wardrobe (both own bought and sample) and consumables. - Lead and inspire, living the Selfridges values.

Senior Stylist
Jan ‘22 - Apr ‘22
Selfridges

- Work with the Styling Manager and Assistant Styling Manager to lead all Fashion represented on selfridges.com, ensuring that the Online Stylists, Stylists Assistants and Hair Stylists work efficiently and on brand. - Support the Styling Management in the preparation of the day's shoot when required - Manage Assistant Stylists, leading and encouraging their development through training and feedback, - Carry out regular site walks to ensure all imagery on site is correct, and update relevant departments where changes are required. - Work alongside the Styling Manager and Assistant Styling Manager to maintain and update the Style Guides, ensuring visual quality and consistency across all imagery. - Draw inspiration from a variety of fashion media to influence styling ideas, helping the Selfridges website remain fresh and forward thinking. - Lead and inspire through sharing knowledge and achievements with the photostudio team.

Senior Stylist
Oct ‘20 - Jan ‘22
Farfetch

- Delivering an experienced level of styling across womenswear and menswear - Passionate and motivational leader, guiding the on set team to deliver high quality assets through impactful styling, model direction and art direction - Commercially translates product with the Farfetch customer in mind, understanding the USPs and how best to capture them across the narrative - Challenging the wider team to change processes and systems to further reach objectives and boost morale. - Maintaining a high quality of assets whilst producing in a fast paced, high pressured environment - Seeks collaboration to help the team collectively achieve their goals - Strong understanding of proportions, silhouettes and brand DNA - Deep knowledge of the Farfetch Personas, brand associated with them, likely style tweaks and communicates on set attitude to model and photographer - Offering support and guidance, from junior members of the team to Production Leads and Styling Editors - Effectively managing the time of the team and myself to ensure we maintain a high efficiency rating. - Trusted as a key hire to launch the GOLD MW project.

Editorial Stylist
Sep ‘16 - Sep ‘20
Thread

- Delivering high quality imagery with a quick turnaround for editorials (RTW & Still life) and e-commerce - Collaborating directly with the art director and production manager to balance commercial objectives and KPIs with a creative vision - Strong research and referencing in line with brief objectives, brand principles and target demographics - Pushing beyond expected KPIs, proactively maximising potential iterations for rapid growth - Running retrospectives to provide feedback on work as an individual and as a team, identifying tools and processes that may aid shooting as well as general areas for improvement. - Mentoring junior stylists in all parts of the process - Iterating on shoot process to increase shot count as well as quality of assets - Adaptive thinking, able to make key decisions in high pressure environments - Driven brand ambassador with a strong self-starter work ethic, bringing motivation and positive energy to the company in the pursuit of exceeding goals. - Asking the hard but necessary questions needed for growth and development.

Product Library Stock Assistant
Aug ‘15 - Oct ‘15
NET-A-PORTER

- Followed all stock related processes and procedures, covering the receipt of products into the studio. - Ensured that high standards and effective operations of the Product Library room were maintained, including accessibility of products being arranged by style, colour and designer. - Facilitated the return of loaned stock to the warehouse - Established a good working relation with my own team, and other departments within the studio by communicating effectively - Worked effectively and efficiently with the team, sharing ideas and contributing to a positive morale

Distribution Assistant
Jun ‘13 - Sep ‘16
NET-A-PORTER

- Processing customer returns within the given time period - Supporting distribution teams enabling others to meet their goals - Using strategic thinking to build more efficient processes throughout my role and others. - Building skills across different teams, including skills required to assist First Line Manager - Played a key role in training new staff for the new distribution centre for The Outnet. - Gained VNA Truck driving certification

Stylist & Art Director
Mar ‘13 - Oct ‘19
Self employed

- Built up experience styling menswear & womenswear across a variety of platforms/client brief - Levelling up quality of styling through effective research and referencing - Creating and actioning high level ambitious creative concepts - Offering guidance to junior stylists, sharing responsibilities and actively giving feedback to help shape their development and build on their confidence in a motivational manner - Working to tight deadlines, whilst maintaining focus on the finer details.

Founder & Creative Director
Jun ‘12 - Sep ‘16
Apartment 57

- Curating and sourcing brands to be stocked, building relationships with established and emerging design talent. - Building strong client relationships, delivering a strong personalised shopping experience. - Delegating and distributing workload amongst team members. - Heading all creative and marketing work. - Chief decision maker. Key Business Functions - Curate specialised selections using my knowledge of retail fashion trends for both men and women - Focus on a personalised shopping service for clients, with a key focus on individuality - Built a strong trusting client relationship, profiling their tastes and not compromising on delivering a strong service - Developed unique business philosophy helping to retain customer interest

Stock Controller
Jan ‘12 - May ‘12
MATCHESFASHION

- Working closely with Merchandising team to make new stock available for purchase as soon as possible - Correcting stock discrepancies in the system - Co-ordinating workflow effectively with the stores and the warehouse to ensure a smooth transition of stock to new locations Organising the stock room for a more effective stock picking system - Worked closely with on locations management to help them achieve their targets efficiently

Order Management
Jan ‘11 - Jan ‘12
MATCHESFASHION

- Swiftly fulfilling customer orders by sourcing all stock as fast as possible - Working closely with the MyStylist team to push forward high profile priority orders - Communicating with the stores to ensure stock is sent to the warehouse for order fulfilment while simultaneously helping with stock issues and system discrepancies.

Assistant Stylist
Jun ‘10 - Mar ‘17
Self employed

- Building an understanding of styling and production processes - Learning from lead stylist key skills and attributes, iterating on them where possible contributing to the development of the lead stylist. - Supporting the creative process through thorough research and referencing, freeing up the lead stylists time to focus on whats necessary - Helping to ensure photoshoot is running smoothly - Adding creative input to editorial concepts - Keeping the studio and set organised and tidy at all times - Preparing garments ready for stylist to review - Assisting models with outfit changes in accordance to stylists request

Languages
French - Basic
English - Native
German - Basic
Portuguese - Basic
London, UK