Styling is one of the most sought after and competitive jobs in the whole industry; working at a highly creative level everyday and collaborating with the industry’s biggest and brightest makes the job a dream for any person who loves fashion. So what does it take to get to the top, and who is regarded as the best in the industry now? Running In Heels takes a look…

Edward Enninful

Edward Enninful is one the most highly sought after and respected stylists working today. His rise to the top began when, aged just 18, he has appointed Fashion Director of i-D magazine, one of the industry’s most original and creative international titles. Since then his career has read like a who’s-who of the fashion and luxury goods industry; he has worked as Contributing Editor of American, Italian and L’Uomo Vogue, collaborated with the world’s best photographers including Terry Richardson, Craig McDean, Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Klein, and consulted for some of the most covetable haute brand, such as Lanvin, Jil Sander, Missoni, Dolce and Gabbana, Celine and Calvin Klein to name but a few.

Edward Enninful’s aesthetic style is a carefully balanced mix of avant-garde and commercial, creating unforgettable images that capture the imagination but also appeal to the shopper. He has worked with some of the greatest supermodels of all time too; name-checking Kate Moss, Karen Elson and Naomi Campbell. He’s also keen to work with and promote new faces such as model of the moment Linsday Wixson, as seen in the Spring Summer ’11 Mulberry campaign. Enninful has remained a fashion force to be reckoned with during his 17-year career, and will undoubtedly continue in the same vein in the future.

Enninful’s aesthetic style is a balanced mix of avant-garde and commercial, creating unforgettable images that capture the imagination

Kate Phelan

Kate Phelan has been working as Fashion Director of British Vogue for nearly two decades, producing one of the UK’s, if not the world’s, best glossy fashion magazines. British Vogue has a reputation for carefully edited fashion picks and original and accessible editorials, and Kate has helped bring the title successfully into the new millennium and ride through the ups and downs of an industry that favours only the new.

Her work always has a feminine air to it, styling looks that feel natural and uncontrived, and always working with the model to achieve a fun, yet achievable look. Who could forget Lily Cole’s ‘Lily Takes a Trip’ editorial in the July 2006 issue, or ‘White Nights’ with Sasha Pivovarova in January 2007? Both editorials were shot by Tim Walker, and both Walker and Phelan’s fantastical and feminine styles complemented each other to great effect. Kate remains at the helm of British Vogue and, as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Phelan's work always has a feminine air to it, styling looks that feel natural and uncontrived, creating a fun, yet achievable look

Marie-Amélie Sauvé

Marie-Amélie Sauvé is perhaps the most celebrated French stylist today, known for her editorial work with Paris Vogue and consulting for Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga. Marie-Amélie’s personal style is an elegant mix of modern minimalism with edgy accents, such as the much coveted Balenciaga motorcycle jacket paired with black skinny jeans. Steering clear of Gallic stereotypes, Sauvé favours a healthy lifestyle of no smoking or drinking, lots of exercise and a diet of lots of sushi and sashimi.

Her work during her early career as Editor-at-Large of Paris Vogue saw her creativity roam free, styling shoots with top models in far flung locations using only the best high fashion and often quite conceptual artistic themes. Her consultation and styling work for Balenciaga is one of the reasons for the successful rejuvenation of the brand, and no one wears the label better than Marie-Amélie, the fashion house’s best ambassador. In recent years her career has shifted gears to styling editorials for Interview, Teen Vogue and US Vogue, as she has become increasingly recognised for her innate skills as a style and image maker.

Sauvé lets her creativity roam free, styling shoots with top models in far flung locations using only the best high fashion

Jane How

Jane How’s long career in the fashion industry reads like a list of dream magazines and people to work with, yet she maintains a down-to-earth, quiet demeanour within the industry. Aside from contributing to W, i-D, Purple and Self Service as a stylist and editor, Jane has consulted for Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela and Calvin Klein. She has also worked with acclaimed photographers Juergen Teller and Alasdair McLellan (with whom she regularly collaborates), and styled for high street giants Topshop and H&M on their campaigns.

Her work is poetic and memorable; it doesn’t clamour for attention with bright colour or jarring movement, but creates a more quiet sense of style. Her editorial work tells a story, presenting a character, not a just model, which helps bring a sense of realism to magazine pages. Her personal aesthetic is sporty minimalism, and this comes through in her work in the form of lots of denim and natural fabrics, photographs that are filled with natural light and space, and models that look healthy and happy. However, How can pull out the glamour big guns when working for the likes of Italian or Paris Vogue, by creating eye-catching, glitzy high fashion editorials.

How's editorial work tells a story, presenting a character, not a just model, which helps bring a sense of realism to magazine pages

Karl Templer

Karl Templer is a man with many talented strings to his bow. As a stylist he knows what people want to see, and that talent has shone through in his roles as one-time Editor-in-Chief of Arena Homme, and as current Creative Director of world famous magazine Interview. Creating sublime and often dramatic editorials, he has a penchant for making big images that make a big impact; whether it’s a rocky beachside with über model Sasha Pivovarova or, infamously, a mental hospital filled with supermodels such as Lara Stone, Agyness Deyn, Tasha Tilberg and Missy Radyer. Even with a simple, yet high impact black and white shoot with Kate Moss, Templer knows how to grab a reader’s attention.

Quite in contrast to his bold editorial work, Templer has worked for Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein for years, describing his role not as a stylist but as, ‘an instigator and sounding board’, providing a clear vision and a second pair of eyes for the designer and his catwalk collections. It is this diverse mix of job roles and creativity that makes Karl Templer a unique and leading figure in the fashion industry today.

Creating sublime and often dramatic editorials, Karl Templer has a penchant for making big images that make a big impact

Vanessa Reid

Vanessa Reid must have one of the most enviable jobs in the world. Working as both Senior Contributing Fashion Director of POP magazine, and as a stylist for Missoni and Alberta Ferretti, Reid is often given the opportunity to let her creativity run wild. And run wild she does! One of her greatest skills lies in her ability to work clothing and get the most out of them, either through juxtaposing texture and colour, or mixing silhouettes to create images that need to be analysed, not glanced over. She is a master of layering, a very difficult skill to learn, as is evident in the Missoni A/W 2009 collection and advertising campaign; a beautiful selection of pastel knits artfully layered over loose leggings and cardigans and scarves, creating eye-catching silhouettes and luxurious textures.

One of Vanessa Reid’s latest great aesthetic achievements was styling the Kenzo 40^th Anniversary show, which featured a slew of models layered, wrapped, draped and bundled in clothing piled high on the body, (even on the models heads!) in order to express the exotic and colourful ethos that is renowned with the Kenzo brand. It was a styling feat worthy of the great praise she received, and it has become apparent from that show that Reid’s mark on the industry is only just beginning to show.

One of Vanessa Reid's greatest skills lies in her ability to work clothing and get the most out of them, juxtaposing texture and colour