How I moved to New York to become a stylist
Last summer I broke up with a young man, packed her bags and left for New York. Before that, I was cut, and for the second time in half a year, the publications where I worked closed because of the crisis. In New York, I wanted to be about twenty years old, but something kept me constantly: either there was no money, then there was a boyfriend, then a career. But then everything turned out to be one to one: when they cut you down, they make you a lump sum payment, but they paid me twice, so some kind of material base accumulated, but there was no more work. Plus, when rumors of a reduction began to appear, I quickly collected all the certificates and put down all the visas that were possible. American too. We parted with the boyfriend just because of the move - I understood that I would not leave for a month, and did not want to give up my dream, but he was not going to go with me. Maybe I'm an egoist, but between career and love, I will choose a career.
For a start, I went to a six-week summer course at the Fashion Instintute of Technology. It cost me three hundred dollars, I didn’t even have to take a language test, and I flew on a tourist visa - in 2015 they stopped the practice of issuing student visas for summer courses. As a result, you will not be given any degree, this is just a course for yourself. If you take 13 different FIT courses, you will receive a stylist certificate, but this is also more likely to soothe the soul. The composition of the audience is exactly what you can imagine at the summer courses at a prestigious fashion university: out of 20 people there were 8 guys from Asia, 2 girls from Brazil, a few people from New York and other states.
Of all of us, only one girl has already assisted someone in New York, most of them have never worked as stylists and even didn’t really understand what it is, but they really wanted to try. Honestly, on the exhaust from this course, I did not get anything except knowledge of how the educational system at FIT works. I was also left a textbook with addresses of shops where you can take things for shooting, and instructions on how to collect a stylist's case for yourself. But it’s not worth waiting for after that you will be taken to an employment center or offered to work. True, my teacher suggested that I help her if I stay in the city, but it wasn’t particularly interesting to me: she’s a good practicing stylist, but she’s mainly filming Otto-style catalogs, and I’ve already met other stylists suggest more interesting tasks. In general, the stylist is more likely to get an education "in the field": by assisting, you will learn more in six months than in a year in the audience.
I was very lucky with my work. In New York, I met a photographer, he called me to a party, then we went to yoga together, I told him about myself - and he introduced me to his girlfriend Stephanie, a stylist. I began to write to her constantly, and in three weeks she gave up. She began to teach me from scratch, then met another stylist, her friend. Together we shot advertising campaigns of Pamela Love, SoulCycle, made shots with comedians for Playboy, promo with YouTube-bloggers for The Hunger Games. It was a very rewarding experience, although not always a pleasant one. In the spirit of all the clichés, Stephanie could have shouted at me for all, for example, for opening the suitcases in the wrong sequence. But in general, in this environment, a certain style of communication, even in business correspondence. When I wrote requests for things, I paid attention, as other girls write: "Hello, honey, I will drop by today!" You need to get used to it.
Even if you are a world-class stylist, the agency will take you only if you can bring him new clients.
For stylists, as well as for photographers and models, have their own agencies. Anya Zyurova, for example, is represented in New York by one of the strongest - the Jed Root Group, namely the agent finds her a job. I worked with her, including shooting the Victoria's Secret catalog, where I was already the first assistant. But it happened by chance, I was just asked to replace another girl. Jed Root has the coolest stylists in the world, and I have no idea how to get to them. Even if you are a world-class stylist, the agency will take you only if you are sure that you can bring new clients to it. But before that it is necessary to grow very long. All the stylists with whom I worked began as assistants for cool guys or in cool magazines. The same Anya was an intern in the accessories department of American Vogue. Another stylist assisted five years - five! - in the magazine W. And then everything is like with us: you work, you make contacts, and you are beginning to be called to stylize the shooting. This does not happen in a year: you have to be ready to carry suitcases for several years.
With housing in the States it was more complicated and not at all immediately. At the stage of fees in New York, I wrote a couple of my good friends who live there - I gently wondered if I could stay with them while I looked for an apartment. In response, I got rid of the link to Airbnb. As a result, there was a man who said: "Galya, of course, come!" - met me at the airport, and two days later ordered me to move out. He was a very adult man, and, apparently, he had some expectations of his own. Literally at breakfast, he told me: "Move up to twelve - there is a cheap hotel around the corner." By New York standards, it is really very cheap, $ 100 per night, but there is a common shower on the floor, Chinese wallpapers - this was the saddest hotel in my life. So I lived for five days, and then a familiar girl-makeup artist from Moscow showed up - and we found an apartment.
True, at the last moment she decided to return to Moscow, and I had to rent an apartment for one month, it turned out to be very expensive. But I do not regret: it was a great time, which passed in a beautiful huge studio. At the same time, a familiar model wrote to me that her friend would hand us her studio in SoHo, and very cheaply. We took it off and lived in perfect harmony. When I moved to it, I caught the usual yellow taxi (usually used by Uber), drove, paid in cash, did not take a check, left the wallet in the back seat - and went out. There were all my cards, cash and the amount for the apartment for a month in advance. Fortunately, most of the money remained in the suitcase. And it turned out, by the way, that this is for the best: when I was left without money, I had the feeling that I needed to do something. They began to appear offers to assist for money, and not just for free.
If you regularly meet and sleep, but you have not been made an offer to become "his girlfriend", then you are not a couple
The first time I lived on the accumulated funds, then began to stylize model tests for one agency - they paid $ 100 for the test, but sometimes I could have three shots per day. Then they began to pay me as an assistant stylist: for example, $ 150 a day, but you can be booked for a week - and it turns out very well. Plus, in New York, I learned to save. First of all, they always feed on all filming: you come - and breakfast is waiting for you, everyone takes lunch to the containers and takes home because it is gigantic - I also began to do that. I take the subway - unlimited travel for a month costs $ 115. At the same time, I will not say that I limited myself to something. Well, for some reason I was also constantly called on dates in restaurants, in Moscow this did not happen to me. In general, in a pinch, you can dine and on dates.
In New York, I discovered the dating applications. Of course, I tried to use Tinder, but they only look for one night stand in it - and nothing more. And on one of the shootings, the model told me about the local application of The League, which is currently valid only in three cities. To register there, you need to throw a link to your LinkedIn to a hard moderation, and it turns out that as a result, half of the users of this application are Ivy League graduates. It allows you to search for partners in a variety of parameters, including growth and eye color. From one guy from there I went on a date. But it's a little bit difficult for me with American men - we are too different. They are like grown-up children and very spoiled. The logic is: if I am tall, handsome, successful, then why do I need only one girl?
Such applications have only aggravated this situation, and as a result, almost everyone meets with two or three partners at the same time. True, it is very easy to open. For example, I had such a story: my friend introduced me to a man, with whom we eventually met for a couple of months. At least it seemed to me that they met. So, one morning I decided to put the dishes in the dishwasher, open it - and there are two glasses of wine that we didn’t drink, and also anal plug and dildo (which we didn’t use either). Later, I learned that if you regularly meet with someone, have dinner, chat, play sports and sleep, but you did not make an official offer to become “his girlfriend,” then you are not a couple.
↑ Works by Gali Maslennikova
On my tourist visa, I can’t be in the United States for more than six months in a row. Then you can go - and re-enter. When I realized that I wanted to live in America, I went to a lawyer who specializes in emigration issues. It turned out that there is an official procedure, with its help I can extend my visa for another six months, but I decided not to go along this path and began to collect documents for "a talent visa for people with extraordinary abilities." All models, representatives of creative professions and even Nobel laureates usually do it: you can live and work for it for up to three years, after which you can try to get a green card. The most important thing in obtaining this visa is the portfolio: there should be a lot of publications confirming that you are in demand. When I came to a lawyer, I already had a portfolio: publications in magazines, mini-master classes that I gave in Russia (this is very much quoted there), and it turned out that you can submit it in this form. I collect the rest of the documents now.
Photo: 1, 2 via Shutterstock, Galya Maslennikova