ZOOT MEETS PULP FASHION PRODUCTIONS AT LX FACTORY

ZOOT talks to Susana Marques Pinto, teacher and co-founder of Pulp Fashion school in Lisbon’s LX Factory, as well as four of her graduate students from the Fashion Styling course of 2011.

By Lucy Mclean

Susana Marques Pinto began her career in 1971 on Bond Street, London, where she was working for Yves Saint Laurent. Her professional career continued to develop within the world of fashion, becoming involved in management for various shops in the city of Lisbon as well as responsible for the sale of new collections. At the beginning of the 90’s she started a new phase, launching herself into areas of styling and image consulting.

As well as more varied projects within the areas of fashion; styling, consulting, publicity and television, Susana Marques Pinto coordinates courses and workshops through her Lisbon-based Pulp Fashion School, which offers training for the future and potential professionals in this sector. The Pulp Fashion business also provides DJ services, compilations and playlists for events and openings.

Both Susana Marques Pinto and Xana Guerra, the co-founder of Pulp Fashion, have now also joined the official team for ModaLisboa / Lisbon Fashion Week, contacting designers and helping them to accomplish the performance and concept of their collections.

www.pulpfashion.pt

ZOOT Magazine: What have you learnt from being a teacher?

Susana: I got to know the human side of this profession, besides the luxury, the clothes and the brands. Being in contact with people that otherwise I would never get to know and that are just starting their career and looking forward to the future.

ZOOT Magazine: Describe to us the courses and workshops you offer…

Susana: Students get theory and practice in equal parts, with the following time frame for each course:

Styling – 4 months; Image Consulting – 3 months; Cool Hunting – 3 months

ZOOT Magazine: How do you prepare the students for a career in the fashion industry?

Susana: By giving them the opportunity to experience how it all happens in real life, providing contacts with well known professionals within this area. After the course they can then start an internship in one of the two that Pulp Fashion has established with fashion magazines.

ZOOT Magazine: How do you think Portuguese fashion compares to fashion in London or Paris for example?

Susana: I think it presents itself as something very specific and differentiating. We have very good and interesting designers and a very well organized and professional fashion week. I really believe that the portuguese designers are working better and better. Some designers are developing as good a product as any others in Europe. Some work mainly for the internal market, some work for the international one. The organization of ModaLisboa gives them the opportunity to develop, thanks to the exposure they gain amongst press and buyers.

ZOOT Magazine: What do you think is in the future for Portuguese fashion?

Susana: It is my belief that, given the recent state of things, we have to support our designers so that they can continue their good work. Besides, there should be a change of perspective toward fashion, which is sometimes badly regarded by our culture, and the designers themselves need to do their own marketing so that they’re able to access the international panorama. It is important to establish selling spots abroad, hopefully they will then become more internationally recognized and successful.

ZOOT Magazine: What are your next dreams and aspirations?

Susana: I would like to achieve a considerable presence within the fashion domain and contribute to the discovery of new talents and the growth of the creative side of fashion in Portugal, so this is the goal I’m actually working to achieve…

This year, the students of the 2011 styling course completed their final editorial photoshoot, working with industry proffesionals to create 3 final looks under the title and concept of the COTE D´AZUR:

Turquoise sea, rocky beaches, beautiful people. This Summer, let yourself be carried away by all that the French Riviera has to offer. Go boating, lose yourself in shopping and by night be guided by the movement of the bars and restaurants, the place where everything happens. It may be that you collide with George Clooney or the royal family of Monaco… Feel like a star for the holidays!

STYLIST: CAROLINA ESPÍRITO SANTO

MODEL: INÊS PAIS AT CENTRAL MODELS

ZOOT Magazine: Have you always wanted to work in fashion?

Carolina: I always loved fashion but never looked at it as a possible job. I graduated in Journalism and in my second year I started to feel that the fashion world was more than a passion and it could be something to work on and discover.

ZOOT Magazine: What music are you listening to at the moment?

Carolina: I’m addicted to Roisin Murphy – slave to love.

ZOOT Magazine: How would you describe Pulp Fashion?

Carolina: Innovative, Creative, Responsible, serious, special, dedicated.

ZOOT Magazine: What is the most important thing you have learnt about the fashion industry?

Carolina: It´s harder than we think. It´s really different to be just a simple reader/consumer and watch just the final product than being inside and a part of everything. It takes a lot of work, time and patience.

ZOOT Magazine: What are your dreams for the future?

Carolina: I would love to work in the fashion industry. It could be in a fashion magazine as an editor or stylist, host TV fashion shows or become a personal stylist. I can’t lie: I would also love to create a shoe collection!

ZOOT Magazine: What advice would you give to a young person who is thinking of becoming a stylist?

Carolina: Work hard, don’t give up, be updated about everything (especially watch several fashion shows and read all the magazines you can to educate and develop your styling skills), be attentive to the things that surround you everyday (little details) and don’t be afraid to create and mix colours and patterns. Transcend yourself.

STYLIST: MARIA ANA GÒIS

MODEL: TERESA MELLO AT CENTRAL MODELS

ZOOT Magazine: What made you want to become a stylist?

Maria: I have a blog about fashion and while searching for post ideas I realised how much I would love to take part in something like that. Also, the opportunity to be creative and work with creative people in order to generate beautiful and inspiring things.

ZOOT Magazine: What is the most difficult part of becoming a stylist?

Maria: Destroying the barriers of the real world.

ZOOT Magazine: If you could be a personal stylist for anyone, who would it be?

Maria: Florence from Florence and the Machine.

ZOOT Magazine: What music are you listening to at the moment?

Maria: The XX, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend…

ZOOT Magazine: Who are your favourite designers/brands to work with?

Maria: I would love to work with Stella McCartney, Prada, Chanel, Marc Jacobs…

ZOOT Magazine: How would you describe Pulp Fashion?

Maria: A school that lets you experience the profession.

ZOOT Magazine: What is the most important thing you have learnt about the fashion industry?

Maria: Always think out of the box but stop before it becomes weird.

ZOOT Magazine: What is the best part about a career in styling?

Isabel: To be able to use, abuse, be daring and make everything more beautiful, to tell a story interpreted by yourself, and this is how you make each editorial unique.

ZOOT Magazine: Who are your favourite designers/brands to work with?

Isabel: I don’t have one, I have several: Chanel, Lanvin, Isabel Marant, Proenza Schouler, Diane Von Fustenberg, Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Celine, Prada etc. It depends on the collections, and if it’s accessories then I like other brands: Balenciaga, Chanel, Hermes…

ZOOT Magazine: How has the school helped you to develop your career in fashion?

Isabel: As well as all the theory, the practical experience was crucial, mainly the two editorials that we created, it was very important to be able to understand how it all really functions with the team and logistics etc.

ZOOT Magazine: What is the most important thing you have learnt about the fashion industry?

Isabel: More than having “good taste” you have to be persistent, innovative, different, have experiences, good contacts, an excellent team (model, photographer, makeup artists, hair stylist), and a personality that can adapt and stay flexible.

STYLIST: MARIA HOMEM THEMUDO

MODEL: ELIZABETE AT CENTRAL MODELS

ZOOT Magazine: Have you always wanted to work in fashion?

Maria: Yes, I love fashion since I was a child. When I was small my favorite games were to get dressed in the clothes and accessories of my mother. Later, I started to design my own clothes. Then I started to sell them.

ZOOT Magazine: What made you want to become a stylist?

Maria: I love all the creative part of styling. I love being able to set myself free, to create without any limitations, go beyond the limits of being different but always keeping a certain consistency, and thus, leaving my mark and a little bit of what I am. In addition, I also love to be able to inspire others, convey a message in order to enable them to create and innovate and to make them understand that fashion is much more than clothes.

ZOOT Magazine: If you could be a personal stylist for anyone, who would it be?

Maria: Uma Thurman

ZOOT Magazine: What music are you listening to at the moment?

Maria: Aloe Blacc – “Femme Fatale”

ZOOT Magazine: What is the most important thing you have learnt about the fashion industry?

Maria: It is an industry always in motion, always changing and in transformation, so we have to be always “in”, always aware of trends, always adapting and renewing ourselves.

ZOOT Magazine: What advice would you give to a young person who is thinking of becoming a stylist?

Maria: More important than dreaming to become a stylist because you like fashion, you should know that fashion is much more than “taste”, you need to feel it, live it and come out fighting.

Photography : Gonçalo Gaioso

Make-up: Inês Varandas

Hair: Pini, for Griffe Hairstyle

Production: Pulp Fashion

Models from Central Models