Anna Cockburn described in interview how she became a stylist:
I did two years of fine art at Central St Martins, but I knew I wasn't going to paint. I was much more interested in making images, so I left and worked as an assistant to a fashion photographer, knowing nothing much about fashion. For six months it was a bit of a nightmare. Then I got a job at Joseph (the designer fashion retailer) and it was interesting to me because of the contact with customers. I became more conscious of clothes and the personal thing of helping the customer to choose. At that stage I didn't know what a stylist was. But I wanted a change and heard there was possibly some work at Harpers and Queen, assistant to the fashion editor, and I got the job. During this time I was working in a pub during the evening to pay my bills. At Harpers I found myself with six pages and whether it was a collection I saw, a film or a dream, or a painting, it was the idea that was important... The stylist and the photographer can both be mavericks and it works. I got promoted to Junior Fashion Editor in 1988/9 and then the recession hit and it all became more commercial, you were forced to be less creative. I went to Elle and I was on Best Buys with cheaper clothes and of course I tried to make it good with the best photographers, but there was a lot of pressure and I didn't really settle down. I then spent a year in America on various projects, came back as contributing fashion editor at Vogue... it was a bit disappointing because everything had to be agreed and approved, from the models to the photographers it was all done at the level of 'house style'. Since then I have been completely freelance. The agent, Camillla Lowther, calls me up and says there is a job here or there. At the same time, right through this whole period I have worked for The Face and i-D who don't pay but it is exposure and it's advertising for people like myself and the photographers who I've worked with for them. It always costs me, but it's worth it for the freedom, the exposure and the space. They are also generous with the credits which are more visible and bold.
