I think most people who choose a career in fashion knew it was meant for them from a young age – and although the industry is very different from the art of fashion expression, creativity always finds a way to burst through even in the most commercial or modular briefs. While celebrating designers is hugely important, working in the periphery of this space has shown me that design and garment construction are truly one aspect of how fashion is born – and that the teams behind our most beloved editorials and inspiring shows are equal to bringing a sartorial vision into being. We have an incredible, burgeoning array of sartorial talent in South African, and Erin Simon is a stylist I believe constantly invites us into her own viewpoint and essence in her work. Kaleidoscopic colours, textures and style dart between her work and her own personal style, and there is a joy in both that remains congruent; a clear example of how one’s own personality as a creative has immense power to direct a vision.
In our conversation, I ask about the very beginning of it all – and Erin reflects far back to when she was a kid, apt as she has moved back to her family home and is speaking to me from her childhood bedroom. “My career story is definitely like many artists and creatives in that it was a balance of right time, right place and then my ability to show up and respond to those moments. But further back than that, I always used to look at the mannequins in the windows and think someone must be dressing them – and who is doing that? Is that their job? My mom really encouraged that curiosity, because I always loved clothes and from a young age selected clothes that made a statement, I always stood out, even like wearing weird red sneakers to match my red bike. It was always an important aspect of showing who I am.” I can relate to this – I am told from the age of 3 or 4, I would ask my god-mother if I could try on her “klip-klop” shoes – high heels – and with Erin, that fascination seems to be completely inborn; a part of who she is, too. How then, did styling happen for her? “When I matriculated, I was convinced I needed to go to design school. That seemed like the only avenue to get into this world. My mom, luckily, suggested I think more practically and we ended up finding this pamphlet for a course at CPUT. Although it was about becoming a buyer, the pamphlet had a few potential job outcomes from this qualification – and I saw the word “stylist”, and I was in the back of the car, the sun beaming through the window and shining on that word. I think that is probably the single, quite poetic moment that I refer back to even today.” I am reminded of my own experience with fashion education in South Africa being very singularly focused on design – and even the array of schools we do have tend to be quite inaccessible. In this way, fashion is one of those industries that does require working as experience – shadowing, learning and adapting.
“I was spending more time in town and ended up meeting Fani Segerman – and it was before the days of IG and I messaged her on Facebook, asking if I could shadow her. It was Fani who connected me with Crystal Birch, before she became a milliner, and for whom I assisted and learned so much from.” Erins tells me in this really wonderful, cross-connecting piece of 2010’s Cape Town fashion history. “Styling is one of those practices that is learned through working with others. Having an eye is a great start, but I think it was Bee Diamondhead who said in an article that I read, that test shoots are so critical for experimenting, playing and honing in on your own aesthetic language. I stand by that today, and I think a lot of the most successful stylists are those who have been able to make it happen, even with limited resources and one or two friends, to just get that creative energy out and unleashed in the world. ideas can’t be stagnant, and they don’t have to always wait for the “right” moment to come out. Building a good book is a dance between proving yourself, while getting the recognition from your peers for jobs at the same time.”
Erin’s personal IG feed is a sublime curation of creative power – and the feeling of fun is so necessary in an all-too-often stiff industry. In bring her styling practice firmly into her sphere of self-expression as an artist and performer, Erin teases an exciting new venture for her own artistry – an alter ego, soon to be released alongside an EP; “I have always really loved rock music, the punk scene and the aesthetics that go with those spaces – it’s a huge way my older brother and I have always bonded, through metal! One day I was at work and I was writing this punk song in my head, and by the end of the day I was like – woah, I like this…and my brother is a musician, so we decided to make an EP. So ED was born, the character I become who creates this music, and is able to dress and say all the things I might be too reluctant to as Erin. It’s an extension of myself – of course – but she is also this whole new part of me that I am bringing into being, and it’s been quite incredible.” This astounds me – as stylists are expected to be the unseen hands, the Elven hands that magically make things happen behind the scenes. Erin is making herself her own muse – and that, I believe, makes her ability as a stylist and image-maker all the more authentic. Challenging how we think people or society want to perceive us or our work is beautiful and brave, and Erin is doing this, instead tapping into the innate wellspring of inspiration we all have within us.
Where does Erin see the potential or pitfalls in South African fashion, right now? “We absolutely need far more people of colour in production teams. A lot of the work is still quite centered around a white-viewpoint – and while there is space for everyone, it just doesn’t speak to the reality of our country. I would love to see more HOD’s (Head of Department), production companies and agencies prioritizing this – and giving people the ability to have trainees. Mentorship is critical, and it was how I and many of my peers got started.”
/// Keep a look out on Erin’s Instagram for upcoming releases of her punk persona, EEEDDEEE!
Written by: Holly Bell Beaton
