Celestine Cooney for SoHo Symposium

Celestine Cooney is one of those girls that I put in the category "You walk carelessly in the street and all girls envy your style, without you even knowing it". Being a stylist for -among others- Vogue, V, Dazed&Confused and the Fashion Director of the biannual Twin magazine, of course she has direct access to all beauties, but as she confesses "Girly stuff look weird on me"! So, she has decided to dress according to her taste and that's why Garance' Dore has photographed her unique style for Vogue and the Street Photographers love to capture her pictures during the Fashion Weeks!

Celestine was kind enough to answer some questions exclusively for SoHo Symposium and the only thing I have to say is a big Thank You!
You have worked for magazines such as Vogue, V and Dazed& Confused. On the other hand you are the fashion director of the bi-annual Twin and you also have a blog! How liberating is, to work for something that's your responsibility in the end?

Twin was kind of a dream come true for me i know that sounds cheesy but i always wanted my own thing that i could give 120% to and love completely from head to toe. So being a fashion director i get to do all that.We have such a mega team at Twin and it's been a pure pleasure.

What's your opinion on the internet fashion revolution and where do you think all this will take us?

I think the internet is making everyone more savvy, it's so fast, information comes in by the mili second and if you blink you'll miss it. Blogs are the future in my opinion and real way to get a feel for how people are reacting to certain things including fashion, film, music its all relevant to our industry. The great thing about Blogs is they are uncensored opinion, it's like a public diary most of the time. I think they are so revealing about a person and essentially fashion is all about people.

You have styled some of the best 'style icons' of the moment, such as M.I.A., Daisy Lowe, Florence and the Machine and Marina and the Diamonds! What's different in styling these young ladies? They all seem to have a very unique style and they are all considered as trendsetters for their uniqueness! Do you think that personal style is where the emphasis is given right now?

Yeah for sure all three of these girls are very sure of what their style is, it's not like x factor where the kids go in one end like a basic sponge cake and come out the other all iced up with a cherry on top. These girls are all super bright funny girls, Marina and Florence write their own music and they have a very strong sense of their own image. I guess i just kinda find cool stuff for them to wear, i never ever tell musicians what to wear i will try to get a sense of them and then using whatever i know about fashion suggest designers i think they'll like or encourage them to try new things in the same vein as what they are doing already, just to keep things fresh and fun.

..And can you still be a trendsetter if you have a stylist?

Yes totally. When you have your own opinion you are essentially dressing yourself, stylists just get all the mega stuff together for the artists or actress to choose from. Styling a musician is about knowing what suits their body shape, what they need to perform in, what colours they like, what designers, new cool stuff they would love etc....it's not like dressing models where you can do whatever you like and they can't say this is gross i don't want to wear it.
Style editors and stylists are photographed even more than celebrities during the Fashion Weeks! Why do you think that the world is suddenly interested in them, while in the past they remained "hidden"?

I think in the beginning nobody knew what a stylists job even was they were very much behind the scenes but it works out now that most stylists are a bit more like creative/art director too and work really closely with the photographer and hair and make up on a whole shoot. The stylist is as involved as the photographer now, they work very closely together. Good styling can make a mediocre picture great and bad styling can make a beautiful picture look awful, when you get the two right, that's when you get great images.

You have styled the up coming video clip of Marina and the Diamonds. Christopher Kane, Henry Holland and Ashish were some of the designers you chose for her. How important do you think it is to promote young designers right now?

Well I've worked with Ashish for 4 years now doing his London Fashion Week show and i adore him he's my buddy and he's so talented and his pieces are perfect for the more creative fun music artists, Rihanna and Katie Perry, M.I.A, Santogold (the last two I've worked with also) all love his designs and they work so great on stage his pieces are so graphic they look awesome all the way up there under the lights.

Henry too is such a gorgeous boy and his work is fun and bright and i love Christopher Kane I've been collecting his pieces since his first collection. They are all pretty established but for young designers being worn by a big artist can be really valuable publicity for them to get their name out there so they can be seen and recognized.

Describe your ideal daily outfit of the moment!

hmmm I'm either in massive heels or Reebok classics!! My style is pretty tomboyish but with heels, girly stuff looks weird on me!

Find out more about Celestine Cooney at:

www.twinfactory.co.uk
www.celestinecooney.com
celestinecooneyblog.blogspot.com

pic sources: wallpaper.com, the selby, modeview.com, the fashion spot, streetpeeper.com, vogue.co.uk, jakandjil, seventhavenueaustralia, screenshots of Marina and the Diamond's new video found here