Today we’d like to introduce you to Darryl Anderson.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been very interested in clothing and how I presented myself daily through what I was wearing since I was a child, I won best dressed in the 5th grade.
I remember really being obsessed with the movie clueless, I just loved all the costuming seeing that at such a young age really crafted my creativity and imagination. At age ten, I was rhine-stoning bandanas and selling them for $5 and $10 to my mom’s friends.
By the time I got to high school, I was the fashion boy. I sketched designs and fashion things all day and soon joined a local organization in my hometown of New Orleans called The Fashion Lab.
The Fashion Lab was this group where kids got together and put on fashion shows and events for the city, it was kind of a big deal we had celebrity guest such as Teyana Taylor hosting our shows so it was cool to be apart of. These events are where I began styling, I even made a couple of bucks. I was 16 at the time when I started participating in this organization after that, my title was stylist that’s just what I started to do.
Once I graduated high school, I made my way to Atlanta where I attended Bauder College for Fashion Design and Merchandising. During this time, I was enrolled in an intro to styling class where I met this really stylish chick who ended becoming something like a sister to me, we just vibed so well and wanted to start our own styling service company so that’s what we did.
We launched a company called Friends with Benefits, we had a blog and we styled. We attacked Photoshoots and personal clients, our professors gave us a lot of leads and contacts to pursue. We staged our own shoots that I called portfolio builders, it was a concept that I know now as a test shoot where everyone just chips in and creates with no financial gain to add imagery to your book.
Life took over and that concept company came to a stop and I wasn’t sure if I could do it alone but styling is still and has always just been a very passionate thing for me it’s not something I try so hard to be it is just something that I am so there is a hunger there that is never satisfied.
So I continued solo, I networked a lot. I went to every local fashion show, talked to every local designer, mingled with every makeup artist, hairstylist and photographers I came in contact with during that time it was just fun. I was just doing a lot of shoots, I started doing editorials for a couple of magazines which brought me into another realm of creativity because the outfit didn’t always have to make sense, it was just about moods and feelings.
I spent six years in Atlanta, where I worked with a few celebrities on various projects, I also started working with companies and was doing print and marketing gigs, I really did everything during those years at least twice.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, this is my life’s work so I am constantly facing obstacles and challenges I don’t think that would ever change.
My first huge challenge was losing my mother some years back and even tho I had been taking care of myself since I got my own apartment at age 17, the reality of not having that huge support system was something I truly would miss!
When I first moved to LA, I was homeless. I initially didn’t have any leads on work so the money ran out quick. I found a job styling full time rather quickly though however money still was slow so I would go to my storage every morning at 6 am and change into a new outfit go to work and then sleep in my car during the night, although this was a huge challenge I knew it was something I would overcome so I tried really hard to not let it slow down my hustle.
Please tell us about Styled by Darryl.
I am fashion and product stylist, specializing in on and off figure styling.
I do a wide range of things, on the fashion styling side I do consultations with personal and cooperate clients. I handle all things dealing with the styling from start to finish so shopping/ sourcing clothing, moodboarding and researching down to outfitting and accessorizing.
The off figure/ product styling part of my job is always hard to explain. I give life to product for photo arrangements. I take both areas of my styling very serious and love them both equally and I am most proud when I get booked for both by the same clients being able to master each side sets me apart!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Save money, manage my finance and credit better in the beginning. This is a money career your finances have to be in order to succeed. I wish I knew that at 18. I would have only gotten one credit card lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.styledbydarryl.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @changeofwardrobe
- Twitter: @darrylstylist
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