Stalked: Laura Parkes, Stylist

I was recently introduced to the lovely Laura Parkes by a previous stalk of mine, Tarra Rosenbaum the jewellery designer behind my favourite 'The Bat' collection. Laura is a stylist from London, she has worked with he likes of Lenny Kravitz, Telegraph, Marie Claire, Henrietta Ludgate (another previous stalk of mine when I very first started the blog) and Yasemin Bibin. I caught up with her on the backstreets of Westminster looking gorgeous in a transparent dress and leather jacket.. she certainly made the day for many passerby MPs from Parliament!!

How did you get into styling and what do you love about it?

I have always worked in fashion and when I was 18 I set up my own clothes line, which I ran for almost 7 years. I missed working with people and was reading an article in Vogue about a stylist and decided that that was what I wanted to do. So I went to LCF and studied. I worked at Matthew Williamson and helped out with friends films. Another friend was working with Osman so I was helping out with the styling at his LFW shows.

What are you wearing today? 

I'm wearing a Yasemin Bibin biker jacket from her black collection, a vintage dress that I picked up in vintage boutique in Frome, trainers from Kat Maconie, my earrings and gold ring with Sapphires and emeralds are custom made by Allan Jaraba for Eagle Fly, gold cobra ring and moon cycle ring are from Rachel Entwistle, thin gold stack rings with diamonds are from Jessie Western. 

What's the most interesting job you've worked on?

With each project that I work on, there is always something that adds to my experience as a stylist. One of the most interesting projects though has to be for Lenny Kravitz. It was his world tour in 2011 and I had to style the dancers for 3 of his tracks, which were then going to be projected onto 3 massive screens whilst he was performing them. So we were filming against a green scene. We were invited to his show at the Apollo and it was incredible to see our work up there with him live. It was a great moment of achievement. 

How do you feel the styling industry has changed in the last 5 years and are brands leaning more towards film than traditional photographic campaigns?

The use of social media has definitely changed the way that brands work. They have a wider scope for creativity which I think is a great thing, which in turn gives them a greater platform. Film is more prominent, but photographic campaigns are still crucial to the brands development and standing.

Which younger/emerging brands are you coveting at the moment?

I'm a massive fan of Yasemin Bibin and Sera Ulger. Two very different designers. Sera is very London and I love her use of colour, her prints and the way she brands herself. Yasemin Bibin who currently has labIMAGINE is about to release a black label, which is a high end line of Italian leather biker jackets and silk printed scarves.

Five items you can't live without?

iphone. lip balm. Blink brow bar. Yoga. My son.