Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Stolch.
Jordan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a relatively small city outside of Toronto Canada – a place where a career in fashion was entirely unheard of. I’ve had a love of style and clothing for as long as I can remember, but in early life, it felt like something reserved for cutting photos out of magazines and dressing in outlandish outfits.
After university, I moved directly into a sales and e-commerce position, on a similar trajectory to most of the people I knew. In my early twenties, I visited Los Angeles for a business trip and was immediately enamored by the city. It’s fantastic weather, and an endless array of options gave birth to a drive inside of me that would later view the world as filled with endless possibilities.
Returning home, I couldn’t ignore the unsettled feelings I was experiencing and my newfound desire to create more for my life. Looking to LA and the way people lived there, I determined that a career in fashion was not only what I was meant to pursue but also something that now felt attainable. Within a year I had packed up my life in Canada, been accepted to a great fashion school in LA, and was ready to begin a new chapter.
After graduating from FIDM, I was offered a fantastic position with a styling firm and joined a team of like-minded women who had also set out to turn their passions into lucrative careers. Breaking into the entertainment and fashion industry is no small feat, and the work that has gone into developing my skills as a Stylist since arriving in this country is ongoing.
I’ve had so many opportunities in these last eight years to work with brands and celebrities I never would have dreamt possible earlier, and I often step back and look at my life with immense gratitude as I realize I’ve been able to turn my love of style into a career.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For anyone who works in the entertainment industry, where film studios, brands, and record labels have a constant ebb and flow to the nature of their work, the road never feels like a smooth one even for the most seasoned of veterans.
I can certainly attest to this and have more recently tried to lean into this reality rather than resist it. As a stylist, the nature of my job is reliant on the clients I work for. When they’re busy, I am too, but when things are quiet, I also experience a similar impact on my schedule. When you work in a creative field like this, you don’t get the regularity that comes from a 9 to 5 job, which was something I had to acclimate to at the start of my career.
Initially, I would focus a lot of attention on one brand or individual at a time. While this meant I had fantastic availability for whomever I was working with, it was also a reality that if they took a break or weren’t in the process of creating new content, I too wouldn’t be working. There was a period of time where I really struggled to understand that to succeed in a field like this it’s absolutely essential to consistently have several balls in the air, never basing your entire career around one revenue source.
I think the fear for a lot of people is that taking on too many projects means they will inevitably have to say no to things that don’t want to, and that is a valid concern. What I’ve learned, however, is that once you start to say yes to more than you think you can handle, your skillets adopt and you find new ways to be more efficient in less time.
In addition, taking on more work forces you to say no to the projects that may not be best suited for you to begin with while concentrating your time on the jobs that most fulfill you.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a fashion stylist and wardrobe consultant, specifically focused on commercial and advertisement work as well as personal shopping. I deal with anything and everything that has to do with clothing, image, and style on a given project, from the initial planning stages of conception down to every minute detail of execution.
Majority of my work takes place in the world of entertainment, where I work directly with brands to determine the message they seek to convey through their marketing materials and the role fashion will play in that. Sometimes I’ll style a project where the wardrobe doesn’t seem integral to the campaign, like the commercials I’ve done for Uber or print ads I’ve done for Sprint, yet the way the actors are perceived by the viewer and the image they portray is one of the largest components in creating brand favorability.
Other times I will be working on something where fashion is at the absolute forefront of the job, like a celebrity red carpet moment or the trend segments I style for E! Entertainment live during awards season. In this type of work, the entire essence of the project is formed around style and the creativity that goes into understanding how to pair looks that are relatable and inspiring. There are lots of fantastic Stylists here in LA, and I’ve been privileged to work alongside many of them.
I believe what sets me apart from others and the driving force behind my relationships with great brands, is my skill for listening to and understanding what someone is trying to achieve, and then doing everything in my power to deliver that through the best of my creative abilities. I will never push my personal styling agenda on a project or feel that I know something that the team I’m working with doesn’t.
My objective is always to give a brand exactly what they’ve set out to achieve, and if they aren’t sure what that looks like, my job is to ask questions and prod for more information until it’s clear. I pride myself on being reliable as a Stylist and relentless in my work ethic, always delivering exactly what is asked of me. In addition to entertainment, I also bring my understanding of fashion to the world of personal shopping.
I work with corporate executives and busy individuals who require a polished, professional image in order to execute their job but don’t have the time or interest in maintaining it. I’ve loved pursuing this path in my career because it means I get to make big changes and create value in the way people relate to themselves on a daily basis. I teach my clients that excellent style is secondary and that feeling like the best version of yourself is what really matters.
Personal shopping requires a Stylist to thoroughly understand who their client is and the image they seek to convey to the world, so before I ever begin buying clothing for someone, I work to understand their goals and motivations and how fashion can satisfy those objectives.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have many favorite childhood memories, but the common thread amongst them all is my two siblings and my adoring mother. I’ve been so blessed to have intrinsic support from all three of them, something that started in early life and has carried over to adulthood and my decision to move to a new country.
Growing up we did everything together and were completely inseparable. I remember not wanting to go to friends’ houses for sleepovers because it would mean time away from my family, and to this day we are as close as ever.
Moving my life to a new country and pursuing my career in LA was the biggest decision I’ve ever been faced with because it means I no longer get the time together that I once had with them. I am so grateful for the love we share and the support we have for one, and I know that it is what drives me to reach new heights.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jordanstolch.com
- Phone: 213-984-8108
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Brian Hickman, Diane Jong, Catherine Powell
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