Life & Work with Mariela Suaya

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariela Suaya.

Hi Mariela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Mariela Suaya, a NYC based Fashion Stylist.

The reality is that I have always been interested in the Fashion World. I still remember when I was a kid, I used to tell my mom that I was going to have my own clothing brand in New York (I was born in Argentina, and I visited NY for the first time in 2016 when I was 23 years old). But I don’t know why, I was always in love with NY, and when I met this city for the first time, I confirmed what I thought.

While in high school, I found another passion I didn’t know I had: FINANCE. I was obsessed with Wall Street and everything related to that world. When it came time to choose what career I was going to study in college, again, I was between Fashion Design and Accounting.

At the time, I knew that the fashion world fascinated me, but I wasn’t convinced about studying Fashion Design. Therefore, I enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires in Accounting.

During college, I worked as an Accountant for a clothing brand in Argentina, and then I started working as an Assistant Portfolio Manager for a Hedge Fund. That was the beginning of my professional career in the Finance World.

In 2016 I graduated as Accountant with Honors and was promoted to Portfolio Manager Jr. I immediately enrolled to study a Master’s Degree in Finance at Torcuato Ditella University in Buenos Aires.

After a year, I graduated and was promoted to Sr. Portfolio Manager.

At the age of 27, I had already achieved what I had set out to do professionally, and although I loved my job, there was something that didn’t quite fulfill me.

So, I decided to reconnect with my creative side and my love for fashion. I started studying Fashion Production, then Image Consulting, and since then, I’ve never stopped studying and taking courses related to fashion (Personal Shopping, Male Image Consulting, Colorimetry, etc.).

I created an Instagram account in which I started to post Fashion Tips until Covid came along.

Obviously, I couldn’t post pictures of my looks since I was at home in quarantine, but I kept uploading posts and I kept taking online courses. After a few months, I got my first client as an Image Consultant, and that’s when I started to perfect my methodology with different clients. Of course, at the same time, I was still working as a Portfolio Manager.

After COVID-19, my Instagram account started to grow, and I not only work as a Portfolio Manager and Image Consultant but also work with Argentinean brands as a fashion influencer. I was working from Monday to Monday with no breaks.

In 2023, thanks to my husband’s work, we had the possibility to move to NY… What I had always wished for had arrived.

Although coming to live here has always been my dream, making the decision to leave my country with my work, family, and friends was really hard, but we embarked on this adventure.

When I decided to move to NY, obviously, I had to quit my job in finance, and that’s when I decided to dedicate myself 100% to the Fashion World. This was something that scared me a lot since I was starting a new professional career at 30 years old, in another country and with no contacts.

When I arrived, I started taking courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The first one I took was Personal Shopping with Danielle Marshall, then Fashion Styling Fundamentals and finally Fashion Styling Advanced. Here I realized that I didn’t like to design clothes, but to play with the clothes that were already designed.

After the first course I took, Danielle Marshall gave me the opportunity to assist her on a job, and from then on, we never parted ways. I always tell her she is my Fashion Mom in the United States. She was the first one to trust in me and who opened many doors for me.

In February of this year, I also started working with Jeffrey Ampratwum, another F.I.T. instructor, on several projects, and I am still working with him.

And also, I continue to be an Image Consultant and Personal Stylist with clients from Argentina and South America, virtually (ZOOM).

Studying at FIT has opened many doors for me to start my career as a Fashion Stylist in NY. Although I have been working as a Stylist for a year and I have a lot to learn and grow, it makes me very happy to realize how far I have come, starting from scratch in another country, with another language, and in a new profession.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Clearly it was not an easy road!

As I mentioned, it is not easy to leave your profession to start a completely different one. And it is even less easy to do it in another country, far away from your family and friends.

It’s a roller coaster of emotions. Every day I learn something new such as how to manage my emotions and anxiety, how to deal with different people constantly, how to work in different fields of the industry, etc. And for this, the support of my husband, family and friends is very important. Without them, everything would be more difficult.

The language was another challenge, because my first language is Spanish, and although I speak English, I am still improving my language skills.

Thanks so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Personal and Fashion stylist. 

Being a fashion stylist and a personal stylist are two very different things, but they often complement each other.

On one hand, the job of a fashion stylist involves working with models or talents, creating their looks for a particular occasion, such as a photoshoot for a magazine, a brand campaign, commercials, or TV shows.

As a personal stylist, you maintain a more long-term relationship with your client by helping them with styling for various occasions.

While I love both, being a Personal Stylist fulfills me because it is beautiful to see the progress of your clients and how happy and grateful they are with the help you give them. It makes me proud when my clients send me happy messages or photos of their looks, thanking me for the help I gave them. In my consultations, I don’t just talk about the clothes, I try to get to know the person (and help them get to know themselves as well) so we can bring out the best of them.

Regarding Fashion styling, I love working on projects where you can build a relationship with the team, such as TV shows or commercials.

And although I thought it would be useless, my background in finance makes a difference in a creative world because it makes me a very organized person who can handle budgets very well and manage the organization of a whole project in a short time and under pressure.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think it’s important to have at least one mentor who can help you.

Personally, studying at FIT helped me a lot to start having contacts and mentors in NY.

But it also depends on you… nowadays where social media is used a lot, don’t be afraid to send inboxes on Instagram. Even if it’s a person you think is unreachable, if he/she is a reference for you, send them a message or an email… you never know what response you might receive.

And obviously, if you are starting your career, connecting with people who are in your same situation helps a lot. For example, photographers, make-up artists, models, everyone wants to build their portfolio, and you can always find people to collaborate with.

Contact Info:

• Website: bymalusuaya.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bymalusuaya
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariela-suaya-a25a9475/

Image Credits
Thanasi Asimakopoulos
Jenny Lee
@agen0371