How to Book Work Without Waiting to Be Discovered in the Fashion Industry
Free Guide Series 4/4
Hello Everyone,
Early in your career, you have to start before you feel ready.
You can make your own path — long before anyone else sees it.
You don’t get discovered in this industry.
You get seen because you showed up, reached out, and made something happen.
This is one of the hardest lessons I learned in my first few years as a stylist. I was working hard — assisting, testing, saying yes to every opportunity — but deep down, I was still hoping that someone else would spot me and elevate me. That a photographer would say, “You should style this campaign.” That a brand would find my Instagram and say, “We’d love to work with you.”
Sometimes it happens. But most of the time, it doesn’t. And the reality is: the stylists who consistently book work are not waiting for these moments. They are initiating them. They are building relationships long before the job exists. They are crafting opportunities in the gaps between the obvious ones.
If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this:
You are allowed to go first.
You are allowed to introduce yourself.
You are allowed to suggest an idea.
You are allowed to follow up.
Here’s how I approach this — and how you can, too.
You won’t feel ready at the start. You have to go anyway.
Initiate Before You Are ‘Ready’
If you wait until your portfolio is perfect, your title is impressive, or your follower count is high, you will wait forever.
Almost every breakthrough job I booked came from initiating relationships before I felt ready. I reached out to photographers I admired. I sent warm emails to junior editors, junior art directors — people at my level, not just the gatekeepers. I collaborated across, not just up.
Collaborating horizontally is one of the most powerful ways to build your career. The photographers, directors, producers you test with today are the ones who will be hiring you for paid work in six months, a year, two years. But you have to build those relationships now — not when they’re already booking campaigns.
When I first started assisting, I’d email a photographer after a great test and say: “If you have any other shoots coming up where you need styling — commercial, test or otherwise — I’d love to be considered. I’ve attached my portfolio if helpful.”
Sometimes they said no. Sometimes they ignored it.
But sometimes they said yes — and that “yes” led to paid work I could never have planned for.
Write Warm Introductions
There’s a big difference between pitching cold and writing a warm introduction. A cold pitch sounds like: “Here is who I am and why you should hire me.”
A warm intro sounds like: “I love your work — here’s a little about me, and I’d love to collaborate if ever helpful.”
Every week, I would send 3–5 warm intros.
I do not expect an instant booking. I send them to plant seeds. I do it consistently. It works.
If you want help with this, I’ve written The Pitch Email Template — it gives you the exact wording I use to book both assisting and styling jobs. If you’re stuck on what to say, it will save you hours.
Build Your Offer
Another reason stylists don’t book work? Their offer is too vague.
You need to be clear about what you do and how someone can work with you.
If you’re assisting, do you do prep? Returns? On-set only?
If you’re styling, do you test? Book paid lookbooks? Do personal styling?
Be specific — and back it up with a link to your portfolio and a clear rate.
This is why I recommend having:
A portfolio (even a simple one) — if you haven’t yet, you can use my Portfolio Building Guide (free post) to start this now.
A rate card — I have two paid Substack breakdowns that will help: The Rate Card for Stylists and The Rate Card for Assistants. These are not to copy blindly, but to understand the structure and pricing expectations so you can confidently share your own.
When you have this in place, your warm intros can include a simple line like: “If you’d like to see my work or rates, here’s a quick link.”
This removes friction. It makes it easy to say yes.
What to Focus on This Month
If you’re reading this thinking “But where do I start?” — keep it simple:
Build or update your portfolio — a strong, clear body of work opens doors.
Draft one warm intro email — plant seeds, start conversations.
Create a simple rate card — make it easy for people to work with you.
You don’t need to overthink it. You don’t need to do it all perfectly.
You just need to start.
(Everything you need to help with these steps is already linked above.)
Then, send 3–5 warm intros this month. Just start.
The industry does not reward those who wait politely.
It rewards those who quietly and consistently show up.
We’re not waiting to be discovered. We’re building the career we want.
The Fashion Industry Does Not Give You a Road Map
That’s why most people feel lost at some point.
There’s no manual for:
→ how to go from assisting to styling
→ how to build a sustainable career
→ how to charge properly
→ how to shift your direction when things aren’t working
→ how to connect with others doing this too
That’s why we’re building SOSE.
Studio of Stylist Elixir.
A members club for fashion creatives who want structure, growth, and support — not just more noise.
No public feeds. No hype.
Inside SOSE, you’ll find:
• a full course library (the 6-Month Rebuild Plan, the Rate Guide, the Pitch Email Guide, and more — all included)
• member-only tools, templates and checklists
• monthly live events
• a private chat space where you can actually talk to other stylists, photographers, art directors, creatives
• a vetted community — no spam, no flexing, no selling
You won’t get a map in this industry.
But you can build your own — with others doing the same.
→ SOSE opens for founding members in July.
→ Applications will be hand-picked — we’re keeping this community strong and focused.
→ £20/month founding rate.
Join the waitlist here:
If you’re tired of trying to figure this all out alone — SOSE is for you.
Why is this different from Substack?
Stylist Elixir on Substack is where we write and reflect — it gives you tools, strategy, and perspective through essays and guides.
SOSE is where we build.
It’s an active platform — not just reading, but doing:
→ full courses, tools and templates to use in your career
→ a private member space where you can ask questions and get help
→ a peer community — not public, not performative
→ live sessions where we deep dive and workshop things together
Substack gives you ideas.
SOSE helps you apply them — with the people, structure and support you need to move forward.
Both are designed to work together — but SOSE goes beyond the page.
With love,
Emily - Stylist Elixir