Fashion stylist from Northampton shares fascinating journey and favourite red carpet celebrities she has dressed
A fashion stylist from Northampton has shared her fascinating journey over the past decade, and her favourite celebrities who she has helped dress for red carpet events.
Marion Perles is originally from France and moved to the UK almost a decade ago. She has since worked for luxury brands, including Prada and Gucci, and dressed red carpet celebrities.
Following her latest role as a private client stylist for ultra-high-net-worth individuals at Farfetch, Marion has now started her own business as a freelancer and relocated to Northampton. She takes pride in consulting for fashion start-ups and helping clients she built up over time.
While in France, Marion gained retail experience and worked for a dance company making costumes. Having failed to get into a prestigious fashion school in Brussels, Marion took the leap to move to London with the goal of working in high-end fashion.
At 24 years old, Marion secured her first job at Prada as a made-to-measure specialist in menswear and tailoring. She assisted the press office with dressing celebrities for red carpets, including actor Cillian Murphy.
“I went to the shops and dropped my CV there,” Marion told the Chronicle & Echo. “I spoke decent English and had experience in retail with a shoemaker in France. They wanted to know how I would behave with individuals and celebrities, and my experience struck a chord.
“I felt really proud to work for such a prestigious name and evolved within the company because of my knowledge of sewing as a garment and costume maker.
“I then went to Gucci and arrived in the same type of position in the menswear department and worked with male clients through the press office.”
Marion was asked what it is like to work for luxury brands, dress red carpet celebrities and style ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
“I’m from a tiny village in the south of France and this is not my world,” she said. “You realise it’s not glamorous and a lot of hard work, but it’s cool and such a good experience.
“You realise a lot of these people and celebrities are very down to earth and appreciative of the little stuff.”
Marion reminisced on the time she helped to style Daniel Kaluuya when he landed his first big acting role in Get Out. He was appreciative of the effort the team put in, and acknowledged Marion when he saw her again on a different occasion.
The stylist also looks back fondly on when she styled actor Kelsey Grammer for an Oscar party and with a short amount of time to pull the look together, Marion was proud of what they achieved.
It is coming up to a year since Marion relocated from the capital to Northampton, as she praised the town as a central location which facilitates her freelance stylist work.
Talking about this decision, Marion said: “I couldn’t see progression within a salaried role. My option to grow would have been a manager, but I like to deal with customers and their style.
“This wasn’t the evolution I wanted and I went self-employed with an extensive client book. There are many I consider as friends and they were very happy to follow me wherever I went. I’m lucky to do this.”
Looking to the future, Marion would love to open a small boutique or premises to host her appointments from – as she could showcase the essential items she recommends to make a clients’ wardrobe work for them.