Anna Wintour calls it “an indispensable resource for anybody who aspires to work as a fashion editor, designer, stylist, photographer, or anywhere, really, in the fashion industry.” So I read through the TEEN VOGUE Handbook (which P.S. will be available for sale at FASHION U!) and soaked in the advice of Amy Astley, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Camilla Nickerson, and more of the top editors, designers, stylists and photographers in the industry. The common thread? Inspiration boards. Over and over is the concept of collecting inspiration recommended by the best in the business, and I started to realize I’ve been building an inspiration board for years without ever realizing that’s what it was.
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No, I have no formal bulletin board of cut-outs, but in my own way, I have always collected ideas that have moved me. I have a folder on my laptop of images I save off the internet, a blank notebook in which I write down favorite passages from books or songs, and bookmarked webpages that distract me. Keeping track of things that entertain your imagination not only stirs your own creativity but also functions as a way to keep up on the industry. And as the years pass, it’s a fun way to trace your personal development of style and interests. Even more so, let it serve as a reminder of all the collaborative opportunities in this world—of all the esteemed peers and colleagues and their talents, and how embracing and admiring their work will better your own!
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So what’s on my inspiration board? Here’s a quick peak at some of my favorite images, quotes, and clips:
I wish i could write a beautiful book to break those hearts that are soon to cease to exist: a book of faith and small neat worlds and of people who live by the philosophies of popular songs. (Zelda Fitzgerald)
The armies of the ambitious. For them, the future was like a giant oxygen mask, as if there was nothing to breathe in the present. (Janet Fitch)
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Rebelution, “Safe and Sound”
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. (Lewis Carroll)
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Fun, “All the Pretty Girls”
I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline. Particularly when one can’t see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? (Ayn Rand)
