I have never imagined any other career for myself, because nothing excited me as much as fashion did.
In this interview, we catch up with FAD Fashion Styling Student Bryna Das, who along with freelance fashion styling for brands, is also currently the creative director and in-house stylist for an experiential marketing agency called Onism, based in Calcutta.
Tell us a bit about your background & how you ended up in Fashion Styling.
I am actually a graduate in Fashion Design and stepped into fashion styling very suddenly. My final year major portfolio had to be accompanied by a minor portfolio. We were given a choice between textile embroidery, business and styling, and my gut told me to go with styling.
I pursued styling because I really find joy in weaving stories/concepts. Styling helped me experiment with various aesthetics quicker than fashion design, because I get to play with clothes that already exist and turn them into something grander than what they are.
Where do you find the inspiration for your work?
Inspiration for me comes from movies, music and the things that I read because after consuming these channels of inspiration, I start wondering about how I can tell the story differently with diverse visuals. I absolutely love the process of how I do a project, live in it and then move on to the next and work on it even harder because I want to portray the next story in an even better way.
What internships or roles have you taken up in the past? Any memorable experiences?
I began interning during the lockdown period of July 2020. I started writing fashion articles for Femina Magazine and even though it was a virtual internship I still learned a great deal from Femina's senior fashion stylist Yukti Sodha. Post Femina, I interned for 2 social media marketing companies, one based out of Goa called The Chi Studio which is a boutique agency for sustainable fashion brands and the second company was Rhetoric, based in Calcutta where I helped in social media strategy for fashion and lifestyle brands.
The most memorable experience has been working for Femina, because it took me out of the pandemic sadness and got my work wheels rolling. I never imagined that I had the capacity to ideate and write over 80+ fashion based articles. I have not stopped working since then.
You interned with FAD for London Fashion Week, what was that like?
That was like a dream, and I still sometimes cannot believe that I was working backstage during London Fashion Week. It was a little overwhelming because the next day after landing in London, and were sent out into the city to do the sourcing for the show. But I am so glad for the opportunity, because we discovered and learned so much, not just work-wise but also how to adjust and adapt to situations in a new environment.
What are you looking to do next?
I want to continue what I am doing right now, which is working with brands and understanding their perspective in a modern-day tech world, along with freelance styling. I tend to get bored if work remains monotonous, so these two things really keep me up and running and help me stay relevant.
Explore more of Bryna's work here.