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 ROSSANA
PASSALACQUA
FASHION STYLIST / EDITOR
PARIS, FRANCE
 ossana
has worked in the industry for seven years and has
accomplished to work as editor for few fashion magazines
such as; Grey, The End, Rodeo, Studio, and Metal. Rossana's
work has been seen in editorials such as; L' Officiel
France, Vanity Fair, Wallpaper, Neo2, The Room, L' Umom
Vogue, and Above.
Exclusively Fashion Magazine:
Can you tell me how your career as a fashion stylist
began?
Rossana Passalacqua:
I studied in Rome as fashion designer but after
being an intern for different brands I got I liked
styling more than designing; so I moved to Milano where
I started to assist a stylist at Elle Italia. After a
couple of years assisting stylists at Elle, Condenast
Italy, and other magazines I started to style on my own
mostly for independent Italian and not fashion magazine
and brands. Now, here I am.
EFM: How did you know that
working in the fashion industry was something
that
you wanted to pursue?
RP:
Aesthetics matters in general
have always being important in my life. I arrived to
work in fashion through my general interest for
cultural, sub cultural and anthropological matters.
For me fashion - like cinema, music, theatre and
literature -is part of our cultural system,
something really important to describe our past,
present and future.
EFM:
So far, what has been your most memorable moment?
RP:
Many of them, in general, starting a project from
the beginning - like a new magazine for instance - is
always something really exciting. And, of course,
meeting and having the chance to work with great people
I admire is another thing I like to do: it was a really
beautiful experience for me to work with iconic model
Hannelore Knuts for instance.
EFM:
‘Today’ do you think that it’s hard to become a fashion
stylist?
RP:
Yes it is. There are a lot of people that want to
become a fashion stylist, it’s a really competitive work
field, and lots of people are ready to style for free. I
think the very real goal for becoming a fashion stylist
it’s to create your own identity first and then, when
you feel pretty sure of who you are ethically talking,
you can start play and experiment with your style.
EFM: You
are also a fashion editor for magazines how do you
balance being a stylist and being an editor?
RP:
At the moment I’m fashion editor of a new Italian menswear magazine called Studio
www.rivistastudio.com
and Italian editor of Metal.
One job help
the other. Having the chance to sit on both sides of the
desk is something really helpful to understand both
stylist and magazine needs. Being part of the process in
the creation of a magazine is something that made me
grow up also as a stylist.
EFM:
How important do you think it is to assist an
established stylist?
RP:
Fundamental to assist an established stylist is
something compulsory in our field. You have to do it.
EFM: Do you think that it is
important to have an agent?
RP:
Yes it is. It’s not easy at all deal with all the
aspects of our job: relationships with clients and
magazines, money stuff, production, etc. You have to
find somebody who can help you with all these things.
But, above all, is super important to find somebody who
strongly believe in you, understand you, push you in the
right direction and is able to build a proper strategy
for your career.
EFM:
Describe your personal style?
RP:
Soft,
romantic, feminine, and decadent.
Always looking for elegance with little wrong
things on it.
EFM: How
would you describe your work ethics?
RP:
Always looking for the perfect balance between being
serious and professionalist as much as possible and keep
in mind that, in the end, we are just talking about
clothes. Not easy at all.
EFM:
What advice can you give to the aspiring?
RP:
Don’t wait for people to call you. Even if you think you
are the best stylist in the world, it’s not enough. You
have to work hard on it: wake up early in the morning
and be ambitious.
Interview by Rochell “E” James
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