Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cat Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cat, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

My first job as a stylist was working for E! News but while I was there, I was constantly working overtime and weekends to build my portfolio by doing test shoots, side gigs and networking. One of those jobs was a cover shoot with a young artist and while we were on set, a marketing babe from a record label was in town and stopped by to visit her. She and I quickly hit it off (she is now a VP and a very good friend of mine) and we kept in touch about working together in the future. The future came around and she was working with the band New Politics who was performing at the LOGO Awards in LA. They were coming in from New York and I would have to fit them the day of the event-which was beyond stressful-but it went well and I went on to work with them through all of the press and performances for their song “Harlem” which was a massive hit. While New Politics weren’t my first “clients,” they were the first group I worked with that was really in the spotlight, doing press and performing on the late night circuit and one of my first consistent projects outside of everything happening over at E!

Cat, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After graduating with an undergrad degree, I moved to LA and went to FIDM and studied Product Development. While I was there, I interned in the E! News wardrobe department and also for celeb stylist Cher Coulter. I worked my way up at E! and was eventually dressing the host of the show but left after eight years to pursue other styling opportunities. Since then I’ve had so many different types of projects from dressing celebrities for events to editorial shoots to working directly with the brands to shoot campaigns and catalogues…which is where my focus is now. I’ve also written for various outlets, covering fashion trends, offering style advice and interviewing LA tastemakers.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Any new work I get comes exclusively through word-of-mouth. Usually people that I’ve worked with before: producers, makeup-artists, publicists, etc. will refer me on a project they’re working on. In fact, I can trace several clients back to a production assistant I met on a television show about six years ago who gave my name to a producer who then referred me to another client, who’s art director then went on to work at another brand and brought me on, etc.

I went the agency route for a while but felt I was getting more work on my own so it didn’t make sense for me to continue doing that. I really feel like yes, you have to show up on time and do a good job, but at the end of the day you have to have a good attitude and that’s what keeps work coming in.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I really live for a final product moment. Finally seeing your client walk down the carpet has always been my favorite part about award shows. For the stylist, the project begins long before the shoot day or the event. When shooting a campaign, we are in creative meetings, looking at decks and shopping days and weeks before the actual shoot happens. For award shows (or any red carpet), there are fittings on top of fittings before deciding on a look and picking out jewels. When writing a story, there are interviews, research and (if you work better under pressure and procrastinate like me) 3am edits before anything is ever published or sent to the editor. Finally getting to see all of your hard work come together visually is when everything feels the most worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.catwrightstyle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catwrightstyle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatWrightStyle/
• Twitter: twitter.com/catwrightstyle

Image Credits
Asher Moss, Menelik Puryear