Shiva Shabani: Fashionable Tsunami

June 10th, 2008 | Published in Fashion Lovers

Photo by: Trevor Brady
Styling by: Shiva Shabani
Interview by Maria

There are days when you don’t do much and feel like a slob (Sundays, anyone?) and there are days when you feel like much has been accomplished. I had one such day last week and the cherry on top of it was my meeting with the fabulous Shiva Shabani. Shiva is a fashion stylist based out of Vancouver who has worked on scores of editorials and photo shoots in several different local and national publications. She is an innovator and a go-getter. She gets things done and she gets them done now. She takes pride in the city that she works in and is a full-time contributor to its growth within the fashion industry. She is a top-notch gal who anyone would be lucky to cross paths with—so here I share with you the lovely things we conversed about on that accomplished day of mine.

How did you get started as a fashion stylist?

I worked at LEONE for a while. I had a friend who worked there also who was a makeup artist. One day he said to me, “Hey, we’re doing this shoot and you have a wicked style. Why don’t you just come and style it for us?” I literally pulled about four outfits out of my own closet, went on set, and had a wicked time. The photographer was really amazing in the sense that he allowed me a lot of creative freedom and also let me direct the model a little bit. The model was younger and it was her second or third time so she was a little bit awkward. I was quite high energy and I would be like, “Do this, do that,” so she felt more comfortable with me. It felt like I was in my own element. It felt like, “I am where I need to be.” After that, when I was working at LEONE and going to Capilano College, Luisa Rino would come to LEONE and pull and I was normally the one who helped all the stylists. One day as I was helping her I said, “So you’re a stylist… What is it like? What’s the deal?” She said, “Well I have a class in January at VCC. You should come.” So I decided to take a semester off and go to VCC to Luisa’s class. Later I approached her and I started assisting her in a few jobs. We hit it off and worked pretty well together. Then I was working freelance and assisting—I also assisted Sima Kumar aside from Luisa—and that’s how it all started and here I am!

How would you describe your style?

How would I describe my style…? Honestly, I would say… not normal. Not average. I could look like a total boy one day, and the next day—I love my heels—I can be very chic. At the same time I love eccentric pieces. My style is very versatile. I’ve never been one of those people who set in advance what they are going to wear. It’s always about how you feel that day and expressing yourself through your clothes. So it really changes day by day. It’s unique.

How did you become involved with the creative agency NOBASURA?

I had been working with Jon (Jon Hennessey co-creator of NOBASURA Creative Agency-Ed.) on set for about two years when he approached me. We were working just on and off whenever we had editorials or creatives or whatever it was. NOBASURA is more of a collaboration… and I saw myself fit in so comfortably and easily. I felt like I didn’t have to cater to the same market in a sense. I knew they would understand my aesthetics, my goals, and my needs and position me into the right market—which is really important because as a stylist or as a photographer you can end up working for a really long time, but working at things that you’re not really interested in and it doesn’t even represent you. So there are those three of four years of your hard work and you look through your book and you think, “I don’t see any of me in it”. So yeah, I was like, “absolutely”, I was really stoked. I definitely see myself being with NOBASURA for the rest of my career.

What is your favourite part about being a stylist?

There are so many good aspects of my job. I guess the main thing for me would be getting to work with all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Also, being able to create and express. Those are the three main reasons that keep me going. When you get to work with, again, someone like Jon Hennessey, when we’re collaborating and when we’re thinking about concepts and our next shoot and what we’re going to do and how we’re going to tie it all in and how we’re going to have a story line and… When it gets my brain going and thinking that’s when I think, “Okay. I love what I do.”

What is the most interesting shoot you’ve ever participated in?

I’ve done a lot of interesting ones, but one of the recent ones I did that I was really excited about was a shoot we did for Infamous Magazine. We did it around the time BC Fashion Week happened and we highlighted 5 local designers who weren’t at BC Fashion Week and came up with our own concept. It was very “Canadiana” in a sense. For example, in the Lily + Jae scenario we had a girl drinking maple syrup as if she was drinking a vodka soda. Like she would have a pancakes and maple syrup hang-over the next day kind of a feel. We did for Jason Matlo a fishing scenario and we did a hockey theme for Bloodline, which is a jewellery line. We got a lot of compliments for it and it was very well received. There are designers who can’t be part of BC Fashion Week: they might be behind or they don’t have time or whatever, so it was really nice to be able to highlight at least five of them as well.

What are your favourite places and designers to go to when doing pulls for a shoot?

It all depends on the shoot, but my favourite places in the city are: for men, {ie and Komakino. Those are my two favourite. For the ladies I like one of a few and two of a few. Those are two of my favourites of all time. I like the fact that there is a really nice range of product in there— Michelle’s always got a really great selection of shoes. Gravity Pope is another one of my favourites. I also like nouvelle nouvelle. Hunt and Gather— Natalie is an amazing designer; I love her stuff. There’s Richard Kidd: they still have their studio here even though they don’t have a storefront anymore. As for designers… I love Judith Feller from Lily + Jae. My other favourite is Joanna Kulpa… Mellinda-Mae Harlingten is also really nice. Oh, and also Hajnalka Mandula from Mandula Moda is one of my favourites.

Do you see yourself on this career path in the distant future?

Definitely. I don’t see myself doing anything else. I’m going to become a lot more diverse… but definitely staying in the industry.

Do you think it is necessary to move to places like L.A. or New York to really “make it big” as a fashion stylist?

Personally, moving has always been a part of my plan. I admire change and I grow in change and I define myself in change—when I’m put in those uncomfortable, strange places. So it’ll be something that I would do regardless of whether I was doing styling or not (but Vancouver will always be my home base). As for “making it big”, it depends on your goals and how you measure “big”. It depends on where you want to go with your career. I don’t think you need to, but if it’s something that you see yourself doing, you should be doing that. Period. But, you might think, “Oh my gosh, I’m going to move to L.A. and I’m going to become the most famous stylist ever,” and then you get there and nothing is like you expected. When you move to bigger cities like that and bigger markets, competition gets that much fiercer; it’s all relative. There are people who want to be hot for a moment, but I’d rather stay warm for a long time. My only other desire for moving would be not to become “big,” but to have more product to work with. But I think it’s not even about being famous: the focus should be becoming a master at what you do not to become “big” at what you do. Once you’re really good at what you do, then the fame and fortune and all of that may come after, as a side reward. But if you’re going somewhere with the idea of becoming “big,” it’s not going to work out. You’re not going in with a realistic perspective.

As a stylist in Vancouver, how do you feel about the local fashion scene?

Just now it’s a recent thing where we have an international market paying a little more attention to us and being a little bit more curious about Vancouver. We have stores like Komakino, we have stores like Jonathan + Olivia, we have stores like one of a few and two of a few—fantastic stores. And these buyers from these stores are going out there and opening the border so much to an international audience. That alone is making people stop and look and put us on the map a little bit. Or even stores like Tiffany and Co. putting a flagship store here, or Hermès, or Agent Provocateur… So the scene is changing, but in the meantime the only way that it’s going to get better and stronger and faster is if all of us local people who are in the industry come together. We have to give and take alike—whether it’s information, whether it’s a contact, whether it’s a piece of garment, whether it’s a concept, whether it’s an idea… The more we support each other, the stronger we are going to become and the more our work will be compared at an international and global platform. It’s easier said than done, but we are the ones paving the road. We’ve lost a lot of talented people due to the fact that there wasn’t enough support for them here locally. But that’s changing and now there are some that may feel like they can stay here longer—or even permanently. We’re paving the road, day-to-day, just paving away: getting everyone a lot more excited and aware and interested locally and internationally and globally… it’s exciting and I love the fact that I’m part of it.

Do you think Vancouver will ever compare to international fashion centres?

Never say never. Vancouver’s grown so much already. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. People are starting to pay attention. The pace may be a little bit slower; we’re less strung. In those other bigger cities people get things done, and get it done now, like today. Here we’re like, “Yeah, let me think about it…yeah… oh, I haven’t thought about it…” So eventually, yes. It may be a little bit slower, but yes, we’ll get there. New York is not always going to stay the way it is. The bubble moves; that excitement is going to move. So I do hope that Vancouver does get to that level; there is a good amount of us who want it to. But we need to realize what needs to be done in order for it to happen. And again, I go back to the fact that we need to support each other. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true. I’m doing my part and I know a handful of people around me who are trying really hard to help Vancouver grow.

What advice would you give a fledgling fashion stylist in Vancouver?

I’d have so much advice to give, but if I had to say one thing it would that if you can take an extra twenty or thirty seconds to do what you are doing right, take them.

It sure was a delight to have been able to get to know someone who is so knowledgeable about their work and their setting—and at the same time loving every minute of it (or every other minute because as Shiva would say, “at the end of the day, it’s work”). But do keep your eyes peeled for Shiva’s creations—don’t forget to look for the fine print on the editorial pages of your favourite fashion magazine. OR you could check her latest here. Ta!

Published in Fashion Lovers