If you’re an early riser, you’re bound to have caught Mark Heyes styling the nation on GMTV. He recently took a break from his busy schedule to speak to us about style-icons, the must-have items for spring/summer and some exciting upcoming events...
You came from a background in graphic design, how did you end up in styling?
I got into art school at age 17 and was the youngest person to be accepted at Glasgow School of Art. I think I was probably a bit too young; all I knew is there were jobs in graphic design! I had a Saturday job in Kookai and women used to come in and ask me to put together outfits for different occasions. I realised at that point how much I loved styling outfits. Back then, people didn’t really know what a fashion stylist was so there wasn’t that many about, it was a good time to be starting out. I managed to get into lots of newspapers in Scotland and then Channel 4 contacted me to do a show called She’s Gotta Have It which I did for 6 series’ and then I started working at GMTV from there.
What excites you about styling?
Its great working with models and celebrities, but there’s nothing better than styling up a woman who’s lost her way with fashion. When you put her in that outfit and she sees herself in front of the mirror, it’s a great feeling to know that you’ve put all that together. It can make a huge difference to how someone feels about themselves.
Which season do you prefer to style for; Autumn/Winter or Spring/Summer?
I’m an autumn/winter boy! I buy my winter coat in July, that’s how excited I get knowing that autumn/winter’s finally on its way. The fabrics always better and the designs are a bit more dramatic.
If you could be a personal stylist to one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
I would love to work with Lady Gaga again. I worked with her at the very beginning and then she went back to the States so I haven’t seen her in ages. I was only responsible for the big knickers and funny sunglasses so I’d like to take it to the next level. It would be great to get really creative by doing a bit of a couture look on her. At the beginning you’d speak to some designers and they weren’t really having any of it, and now she has them all at their fingertips.
Are there any emerging celebrities that may have the potential to be style icons?
Kara Tointon from Eastenders has such a brilliant sense of style about her. She has this beautiful way of mixing high street and vintage pieces. She had this big, gorgeous vintage cardigan on when I met her and she really carried it off incredibly well. I actually met her in Selfridges in the personal shopping department, and she bought the most incredible Alexander McQueen dress and just looked astounding in it. That’s one fashion icon I would keep my eye on. It’s quite a rare thing to see someone with such an individual style who’s not just doing everyone else does, and she’s definitely got an individual style.
You’ve worked as the fashion presenter for GMTV for several years now, what keeps you motivated for those early mornings?
Maybe it’s my down fall but I do over-work myself. Me and my assistant Sarah are on the high street every single day so I know what’s selling, what people are buying and why they’re buying it. It’s something that I really live for.
Do you prefer to work for live television rather than pre-recorded shows?
I love the buzz of live TV, the more high pressure the better. When you’re out doing a live show where people are going up to you and screaming and you’ve got to finish in 30 seconds, I just love it, I totally thrive on it. It’s something I never expected as I didn’t want to do it when I was growing up but now I’m doing it I adore it.
What has been your most challenging styling job?
It’s difficult to put my finger on it as I will always find a solution for something no matter what. Celebrities can be quite difficult because you need to be precious around some of them and you can’t upset anyone. There are often problems with sizes on the live TV shows. I’ve had call up the store manager of Debenhams, Oxford Street, and get them to open the store for me at 7am before. With live TV you can’t just cancel an item and have 6 minutes of the entire show with nothing in them. However, I do like those kinds of situations because I kind of thrive on it.
You advise the public on how to re-create catwalk trends with high street clothes, but do you prefer to shop on the high street or are you a designer fan?
I do love my designer clothes, there’s no denying it! Boy’s clothes are getting a lot better on the high street though. Girls have got it made as they’re a lot more adventurous and there’s a market on the high street for some more adventurous clothes. The UK tends to be a wee bit dull and it tends to stick to all the same things, so people go to places like All Saints for more exciting pieces. But I don’t want to dress like every other guy that’s gone to All Saints, do you know what I mean? It starts to look a bit common. Zara menswear is actually looking really good at the moment and I think with places like Cos coming out for guys, there is definitely more high street options for them.
In your opinion, which items of clothing should be invested in?
A coat. I’ve invested in 4 really good coats that I’ve spent a lot of money on and I’ll always look after. I’ve got a Balenciaga naval-style coat that I bought immediately. It has gold buttons all down the front and if a button falls off I’m screwed! You just need to take care of it; I think it’s a shame that we’re quite disposable about things now. Saying this, I don’t think you need to spend a £1000 on a coat, there’s some great mid-level ones that look absolutely incredible. If you want basic capsule wardrobe items like black wide-leg trousers that can be worn in so many different ways, then that type of thing as well is worth investing in. Spending lots of money on jeans and white shirts is silly as you’re going to wear them day in, day out. Topshop and Henry Holland jeans are all great and they’re only like £40, so why would you ever bother. I used to swear by Dior Jeans for men, but some of them are £380 which is ridiculous, I couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on a pair of jeans. Denim is denim at the end of the day.
You presented from London Fashion Week for GMTV recently, what was your favourite collection?
I really liked Julien Macdonald. Apparently it was really cut down the middle, some people loved it, some people really didn’t like it but I thought it was quite amazing really. He used to design knitwear for Chanel and Givenchy and he kind of went back to his roots with the knitwear and came out with some really beautiful big chunky knitwear pieces that I think are going to be a really strong look for autumn/winter 2010. He also had some beautiful silk eveningwear, it was black lace and flesh coloured silk which was divine, and I thought it was a beautiful combination.
You’ve got some exciting events coming up at the moment such as your celebrity charity auction for Haiti. Can you give our readers some key information about the event?
The auction is going to be happening on Ebay from Friday 26th March – Sunday 25th April. I can’t believe the people we’ve got involved! Vivienne Westwood, Estelle, Sienna Miller and Naomi Campbell have all donated items. I think anyone that’s seen those images from Haiti would agree that it’s just terrible really. I thought we should do something for the DEC Haiti Fund, so we’ve been sorting it out and people have been really responsive so hopefully we can raise a lot of money.
Out of the items that have been donated so far, which are you most excited about, and who was it from?
Sienna Miller’s vintage Gucci handbag. I was absolutely chuffed that she got on board and it’s great when you get an A-lister helping. It’s quite a fabulous bag and she’s very sweet. I actually bumped into her at the Matthew Williamson show at London Fashion Week and she was delightful, she knew all about the auction.
You also have a book called ‘Get the Look’ coming out in April. Tell us a bit about it...
It’s very exciting. It’s actually my first book and I’ve put everything in to it. It’s about the 10 most signature designer styles, like Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Matthew Williamson, Ralph Lauren and Prada. There’s a brief description about the designer, where the look originates from and celebrities that love to wear it. I’ve got 5 different models; 2 size 10s, one size 16, one petite model and one mature size 14 model, and all of them are styled in each particular designer style. It’s all about what to look out for, so what’s the best kind of Chanel-esque jacket to look out for for your age and for your size. What’s the best thing to wear for different occasions, if you’re going for a Matthew Williamson kind of look; how to dress it up or how to dress it down. It’s a really easy to use, a dummies guide to how to look a million dollars on a shoestring really.
What do you hope women will gain from reading your book?
I love the idea of a quick fashion fix so I’m running by that. I love the fact that the British high street’s so good at doing great catwalk lookalikes. I think that sometimes we do fall into the awful category of just constantly buying stuff because it’s cheap and never really wearing it again. The whole idea is that each and every one of these designer looks will all still be in fashion in 10 years time because that’s their signature style. Dolce and Gabbana’s signature style is not going to change that much in 10 years and Chanel’s signature look has been going for around 100. All of them are such classic styles and kind of prove that no matter what age, shape or size you are, you can always dress in them and still look bang on trend. It’ll be the type of piece you can wear 2 years down the line and still look fantastic.
You were number 25 in the Guardians top 100 most influential people in fashion last year which is obviously a great honour. What has been your ultimate career highlight to date?
Probably being invited to 10 Downing Street with the British Fashion Council by Sarah Brown, that was fabulous. That was last November I think, and then in December I got invited to St James’ Palace by the British Fashion Council and that again was incredible. I was just stood there going ‘what’s going on here?!’ The Oscars was also fabulous, it was an amazing thing to do and a great TV buzz.
Are there any dreams or goals you would still like to achieve?
I don’t know, I’m very much a take a day at a time kind of boy. The book was hardcore because I wrote it all myself and I styled it all by myself. I would love for this book to be successful and I would love to get another book out. That would be an amazing thing.
You were lucky enough to work on the Channel 4 show ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ soon after graduating from university. What advice can you give to people wanting to pursue a career in styling?
I would say you need to go for as much experience as possible and that’s probably heartbreaking to hear because the work experience jobs are hard to get. Just work your arse off by doing the work experience, you’re probably going to be in some fashion cupboard doing send backs at a magazine, and having to work weekends so you can make some kind of living. You need to be dedicated, you need to know that this is exactly what you want to do and just go for it. It’s sad but true but there’s not massive amounts of money in fashion, you need to do things for the love of it as well. I know I always say it, but to wake up and do the job I love every single day is worth it. I adore my job and I always count myself so lucky to do something that I’m so passionate about. If you really want it, you’ll get it. Just put all your effort in to work experience and do as much as you can, getting out there, meeting people and selling yourself – no-one can shout about yourself as much as you can.
Finally, which items should be part of every woman’s wardrobe for the Spring/Summer season?
One of the Balmain-style military jackets. Warehouse have got an incredible one for £150, and Next have got one in at £90. It’s the kind of piece that you can put over literally anything, whether it’s a pair of skinny jeans and a vest top, or with a sequin dress it’ll look incredible. It’s the one trend we saw from New York to London, we saw it in Milan and I’m sure that we’ll see it in Paris too. There was a very strong military vibe about London Fashion Week, so it basically means that if you buy this jacket now, you’ll be able to wear it until next February really, so you’re good to go! The Balmain one I can only imagine would be around £6000, their prices always shellshock me!
Mark’s book Get the Look is available to buy from 5th April.
To stay updated and to get involved with celebrity charity auction for Haiti, join the facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=304117005237&ref=ts
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