An interview with Nora Swann | A stylist revolutionizing looks, one style at a time

For anyone who admires fashion or simply loves to shop thinks of a styling career as an opportunity fallen straight from heaven. Playing dress up or shuffling clothes does not even sound like an actual job to some. However, the reality is far different. The journey to becoming a personal stylist is a lot more than picking out clothes or chasing fashion trends. Thus, we decided to reach out to Nora Swann, a creative entrepreneur and personal and group stylist who has adorned countless events with her incredible styling wisdom.

Nora has been in the business of fashion for a decade and has captivated the attention of  NZ’s US Embassy, various government departments, as well as Hawaii's Fashion Week (2018). Driven by passion and her creative endeavors, she has pioneered events that showcase the skills and talents of Pasifika creatives in NZ. Today we caught up with the artist to understand her thoughts on the industry and the stories behind her entrepreneurial success. 

1). Please walk us through your early life and how did you become a stylist? 

My journey in the fashion industry started in 2012 after winning the Cleo Magazine competition ‘Who wants to be a Fashion Stylist?’. The competition was to explain in 100 words why you thought you’d be a great stylist and out of 4,000 entries nationally I won. I used this opportunity to use my creativity and basically described my flamboyant wardrobe in a runway setting, giving my clothes feelings. 

My prize was a Fashion Styling course valued at $5,000 at the time with New Zealand fashion stylist Angela Stone. Angela taught me the basics of Personal Styling and after graduating from this course, I decided to take the leap of faith and start my own business.  

2). What's the biggest misconception that people have about your job? 

That my job is all glitz and glamour. People do not see what happens behind the scenes i.e. concept creation, research, bringing a vision to life, making sure the client is happy with your work, building a well trusted network and maintaining these relationships, hustling  – repeat, repeat, repeat. Yes, they are times when I’m in front of the camera but most times I’m behind the scenes working hard and at time that includes being the cleaner.

3). According to you, which skills make someone a successful stylist? 

Strong communication skills, well organized, industry knowledge, up to date with seasonal trends, flexible, both physically and mentally agile, technical know-how and GREAT style is a must!

4). What is your usual process of deciding and curating the looks for an individual or a group?

It’s really important to build a strong rapport with your client/s so they feel comfortable to share with you honestly why they have come to see you. Making a genuine connection allows you to get to know your client on a personal level, learn where they are currently at with their life and how their new image will affect their life moving forward.

Once I’ve collated all this information, I then suggest a few styles that I think would suit them. My goal is to make sure that my client’s true inner self is reflected externally hence why that first stage of the process needs to be accurately discussed with care.

5). What does it look like to be a stylist in 2022? 

The pandemic has forced us to become digitally savvy so you should be offering an online service in addition to your face-to-face services. I personally prefer my face-to-face services because a digital service causes a bit of disconnection so how you communicate with your client online is very important and requires strong communication skills.

In 2022 we should be pushing ourselves to go beyond the boundary when it comes to style and fashion. Fashion trends tend to come back in season, so I think we need to utilize the digital capabilities to innovate and create concepts that haven’t been thought of before. 

6) Lastly, if you would ever want to change something in your industry, what would that be? How are you planning to make that change happen?

Getting rid of mainstream fashion because it creates a class system and an ‘exclusive mentality’ within the fashion industry. Why can’t we all share the same platform and just celebrate the beauty of expression and creativity? I’m not a stranger of trailblazing fashion concepts in Auckland, NZ and then having my ideas copied by mainstream fashion, who obviously have a stronger influence in general and as a result are credited for my ideas.

So, I’ll continue to be innovative and disruptive and own my space because I have seen a change of the tide which is quite exciting. This change will allow for Pacific fashion to be acknowledged as contributing to the NZ fashion industry and hopefully is the beginning of the end of ‘us’ and ‘them’ to ‘we’.