INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Stylist Brighley Dangerfield On Storytelling Through Style and Inspo In Lockdown
Brighley Dangerfield’s Instagram is a trove of styling tips, designed to bring out the best in our wardrobes and ourselves. Her styling skills had previously been confined only to a lucky few, mostly her circle of friends and family. Inspiration struck the Gold Coast stylist during lockdown, and after gaining traction on social media, she decided to nurture her undying love for fashion into a flourishing career. Brighley’s styling reflects a bright optimism, which has already landed her collaborations with Homebodii and Calm Crew.
What inspired you to become a stylist? For as long as I can remember I have simply loved observing the way people dress and why they have that way. I like to think about their story and their personality from the way the dress. If I couldn't figure out their story, I would just make one up and that's what I enjoy most about styling - the story telling. It is as simple as Miuccia Prada once said 'What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts go so fast. Fashion is instant language.' So, I think before I even knew I wanted to be a stylist, I was one in the making. To answer your question more straight-forward, what actually inspired me was the messages I was receiving from people when I started my hobby styling page (@styling.bd) as a creative outlet during lockdown. Without that external push of 'YOU HAVE TO DO THIS!!', I'm not sure I would have had the guts to call myself a stylist haha.
You provide a lot of styling tips on your Instagram. What is a tip that you personally use most often? haha yes, I do! I haven't put a lot up about this recently, but it is the creating a story to the look I want to achieve. I envision and channel a mood before I dress myself or any clients. If you could style any famous person, who would it be and why? Oh gosh! Probably the original Vivian & Hilary Banks off Fresh Prince of Bel Air or Zendaya, for the modern time. I just love how well colour and structure works on these ladies. They have such great features! What has been your favourite moment of being a stylist so far? Not from a business client, but from a (now) personal client. She sent me a message saying that she used to cry thinking that she was fat, but in actual fact she just wasn't buying the right things and with my style tips she went to the shops with no drama and bought the perfect pair of pants. It made me sad to think that someone actually cried about how they looked, but it filled me with so much happiness that I was able to help someone - without even really knowing - to build up their confidence. I have since worked with this lady a lot more and worked on her wardrobe - she's become a friend after all this. Styling is an emotional thing, I tell you! haha Do you have a favourite brand or aesthetic that you prefer to style with? I have a bunch of brands that I love for different reasons, but the one thing that they all have in common is quality. A well-made piece with quality fabric is simply unmatched (and yes, I love my designer brands ahmm YSL holla at me!). As for aesthetic, I honestly enjoy working with anyones vision because it's that chance to try something new; a new story.
What do you like to do when you’re not being a stylist? I love to go bouldering at my favourite indoor climbing gym - Alpine. Unfortunately I haven't been able to go a lot recently due to work and being lucky enough to work on a movie production!! But I am hoping to get back there very very soon. Besides that, you will find me doing yoga, writing, being out with the girls and spending time with my partner (mostly annoying him about wanting chocolate...) What is a trend from the past that you’d want to see revived? I feel like any trends that from the past that should be revived have been. Although, I think SOME bold 60s fashion would make a nice addition to the comeback trends.
Do you have any new projects coming out at the moment and can you tell us about them? I recently just completed a small project for two brands that I love to share: 1. Homebodii - I released the blog post on wearing sleepwear as daywear and was lucky enough to be able to include homebodii as the inspiring pieces for this post. You can find it both on my Insta and website 2. Calm Crew - These image sets haven't been released yet, but I am so excited for Calm Crew to become known, especially for women who suffer from painful periods or people with minor back pain. As someone who does suffer from discomfort when it hits that time of month, this product is a real game-changer for me and I was lucky enough to be both stylist and one of the models for them. Their core product is a jumper that has a discreet pocket at both back and front for their branded heat pack to go into (you put the pack wherever you feel discomfort). At the collar there is another discreet pouch where you place a disposable pad of calming essential oil. It's basically therapy... haha! Stay tuned for that blog post There are also a couple other projects I am working on at the moment, but I won't say anything about those just yet ;) In the meantime, you can receive your free styling tips by following me on Insta @styling.bd
You can follow Brighley on Instagram @styling.bd and on her website www.sxbd.com.au
Images courtesy Brighley Dangerfield